The Dutch city of Rotterdam is overshadowed by nearby popular tourist hotspot Amsterdam.
But I chose to spend my first stay in the Netherlands there, lured by the prospect of eye-catching architecture.
With its river setting spanned by graceful bridges, I discovered an attractive city which looks good from many angles. What do you think?
Oh and Rotterdam really is packed with delicious architecture – there’ll be a lot more on that next time.
In this age of staycations, I left Manchester for a few days and crossed northern England to visit the East Yorkshire city of Hull. CONTINUES BELOW
Hull sits on the Humber estuary and has an interesting mix of grand civic buildings, industrial facilities and modern architecture.
The city has suffered from a shady reputation over the years but I found it both impressive and having plenty worthy of exploration.
The marina area has been extensively restored and Humber Street is an excellent spot for eating out. And with its independent telephone company, Hull is famed for its cream phone boxes.
The city also has a rural and coastal hinterland to visit – more on that in future posts.
Portugal’s capital Lisbon is a hugely popular destination for tourists. But not content with this, the Portuguese also have a second city to discover and enjoy.
Porto sits on the Douro estuary in the north of the country. It’s packed with charming old tiled houses, grand buildings which indicate its rich history, not to mention delicious food and drink.
For the photographer, there’s something on every corner and vantage points galore. And if you take a bus ride to Foz do Douro, there’s also an Atlantic beach experience close by.
This was a typical city break experience for my friend and I, with budget flights from the UK, a very pleasant apartment hotel, and walking galore. If you have a spare long weekend, get yourself to Porto.
