Beautiful country with ‘cheapest city break’ just 2 hours from UK | Europe | Travel

Brits’ favourite country for city breaks has been named, clinching the title for the fifth year in a row.

Flight booking data from low-cost airline Wizz Air unearthed the best destination for UK holidaymakers on a budget, with the top spot also being home to one of the cheapest city breaks in Europe, just two hours from the UK.

Poland was Wizz Air’s most popular city destination for 2025, with Romania and Hungary taking second and third place, then Albania and Italy rounding off the list. While Poland took the top spot, Albania climbed the rankings as travellers sought out alternatives to the usual city break favourites.

It’s little wonder that the country has become a go-to destination for short stays. It also has more than one city break destination to choose from, and each place has its own personality.

Poland has lots of options for city breaks, from the cool cultural capital of Warsaw, to historic Krakow and the port city of Gdansk. Krakow in particular is growing in popularity thanks to it often being listed among the cheapest city breaks in Europe. Outside of the main tourist areas, pints can be found for under £3 and mid-range hotels can be found from £50-80 a night.

Krakow was also named as Europe’s cleanest city, and has a compact, walkable centre, as well as an inexpensive tram services that can zip you around for just £3.50 a day. The old town – Stare Miasto – has well-preserved medieval buildings, from a castle to the Cloth Market, and within its city walls you’ll find independent shops, traditional Polish restaurants, and cosy pubs.

Many visitors to the city also take a day trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau, and you can do this via an organised tour or take the train. Admission is free if you book in advance, but it’s worth booking a guide to really explore the depth of this important site.

As you’d expect from a capital city, Warsaw has a vibrant historic and cultural scenes, and its UNESCO-listed Old Town is particularly popular with tourists. While Krakow largely avoided World War 2’s carpet bombs, around 85% of Warsaw’s historic centre was destroyed. But rather than replacing it with postwar architecture like so many other European cities, it was painstakingly restored to look as good as new.

The Warsaw Uprising Museum is another testament to Polish resilience, honouring the heroes of the uprising where an underground resistance took on the occupying German forces. The POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews is another poignant spot that was built on the former Warsaw Ghetto, and the Palace of Culture and Science is worth a visit for the views at the top of this iconic skyscraper.

Meanwhile Gdansk sometimes gets overlooked in favour of other Polish cities, but it’s also a beautiful spot and sits on a historic port. You can explore Długi Targ – the Long Market Square – full of dark tales about witches and public executions. Part of the city walls include the Torture Chamber, a pretty, if creepy building once used as a place to punish criminals.

Wandering around this area you may feel like you’ve stepped into Amsterdam or Antwerp. Dutch and Flemish architecture were both major influences, making it a colourful and interesting city to stroll around. Westerplatte, a peninsula in Gdansk’s harbour, is another interesting place for a walk. It was once a military base, with the first shots of World War Two ringing out here. Nowadays, it’s home to a number of memorials, and also has quiet walking paths along its sandy beaches.

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