The best city breaks in the UK 2024

Liverpool is the top-rated big city in the UK for a holiday.

It got a higher score than other popular cities, York and Edinburgh, and beat local rival Manchester for cultural sights, accommodation, crowds and parking. It was rated better than London, too.

Bath and Chester were the most popular medium-sized cities or towns, while tiny Wells in Somerset was far and away the most popular small city.

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Why Liverpool is the best large city

Liverpool topped our large cities table with a score of 84%. Visitors told us they loved cultural sights such as the museums at Albert Dock, the Walker Gallery and its two cathedrals. The Beatles museum was also very popular.

‘I had completely underestimated how much there was to see and do in Liverpool,’ one person said. Many others enthused over the friendliness of locals.

It was one of several northern and Scottish cities to get a higher star rating for food and drink - four stars - than London, which got just three stars. It got five stars for cultural sights and four stars for accommodation, shopping and lack of crowds. Most of the high-rated cities in our survey got just one star for parking, but Liverpool did better with three stars.

Best large UK cities for a short break

Why Bath is the best medium-sized city

Bath was the top-rated medium-sized city, with 82%. One person described it as ‘one of the top sites in the UK, indeed Europe,’ for its architecture and historical sites. The city itself is a Unesco World Heritage Centre.

It’s best known for its beautifully preserved Roman baths, the Georgian houses of the Royal Crescent and its literary connections, celebrated at the Jane Austen centre. There is even a National Trust park. Prior Park is an 18th-century landscaped garden designed by Alexander Pope and Capability Brown.

It got five stars for cultural sights and tourist attractions, four for food and drink and accommodation. The Yard, an 18th-century coaching inn, was rated by our undercover hotel inspectors as one of the best hotel stays in the UK for under £200.

Leave the car at home, or use the park and ride, as Bath gets just one star for parking.

Best medium-sized UK cities for a short break

Why Wells is the best small city

Wells, tucked below Bath in Somerset, got the highest customer score of anywhere in our survey with 86% which is well above its nearest small city rival, St Andrews in Scotland (78%).

Despite having a population of just over 12,000 it’s officially a city - thanks to its 850-year-old Cathedral - the seat of the Bishops of Bath and Wells. The Bishop’s Palace and Gardens opposite are also open to visitors.

Next door, you’ll find Vicar’s Close, which is described as the only complete mediaeval street in England.

Despite its charm, Wells received four stars for its lack of crowds, cultural sites, tourist attractions and accommodation.

Best small UK cities for a short break

The best city breaks in Scotland

Scotland did well in our survey - with Edinburgh near the top of the big cities table with 83% and Glasgow not far behind on 76%.

St Andrews was joint second in our small cities table on 78%, with Stirling on 75%.

The best city breaks in Wales

Tiny St David’s in Pembrokeshire was the highest-scoring Welsh city, with 74% in our small cities table. It received four stars for accommodation. Cardiff was mid-table among the large cities, with 72% — much better than Swansea, which got just 58%.

The best city break in Northern Ireland

Belfast was the only Northern Irish city to feature but it proved popular with visitors - getting a score of 77%. One said: ‘I think that it should attract more visitors than it currently does.’

Another said it’s a ‘beautiful city, full of history, friendly people, very easy to get around, with lovely food at very reasonable prices and no ripping-off of tourists’.

The worst big UK cities for a short break

The worst-rated big cities in our survey were Derby (56%), Leicester (58%) and Swansea (58%)

Derby scored poorly for food and drink, accommodation, cultural sights and tourist attractions, shopping and ease of getting around - all just two stars.

However, one visitor did comment that, despite a lack of sights and shopping, ‘there are a number of nice villages to explore nearby, many with paths by the river such as Barrow-upon-Trent.’

The worst medium and small UK cities and towns for a break

Two seaside towns - Bournemouth and Torquay sat at the bottom of our small and medium-sized cities tables, along with Fort William in Scotland.

They were both described as ‘dirty’ and ‘rundown’. Visitors complained that Torquay was a ‘typical British seaside resort. . .shabby and unkempt in places, especially the High Street and harbour area.’

Both got just two stars for food and drink, shopping, ease of getting around and value for money.

However, despite famously being the home of the fictional hotel Fawlty Towers, Torquay got four stars for accommodation.

The best seaside towns in the UK - and the best towns and villages

Each year, we also survey the best and worst seaside towns in the UK - with some big names near the bottom and lesser-known villages at the top.

If you’re looking for suggestions of less touristy, inland hideaways with great food and attractions, try our survey of the best small towns and villages.

Why you should leave your car behind when visiting the UK’s best cities

Ten of the big cities in our survey got just one star for parking, including York, Edinburgh, Belfast, Glasgow, Bristol and London.

It was a similar story in Bath, Canterbury, Oxford, Windsor and Torquay, among other smaller cities.

Despite the lack of parking London, was the only city to get the full five stars for ease of getting around. Many cities, such as Bath and Oxford operate park and ride services.

How we carried out our survey

In April 2024, we asked 3,967 Which? members to rate UK cities and towns they’d visited for leisure purposes and stayed in for at least one night in the past two years (since April 2022). We received reports of 7,187 experiences.