Old towns and villages
Walled towns, university cities and villages where the day is spent on foot, with the train that gets you there and how long to stay.
From Paris
All day trips from Paris
Worth a full dayReims
The city where French kings were crowned and where the big champagne houses keep their cellars, 46 minutes from Gare de l'Est by TGV.
Worth half a dayChartres
A small town built around a 13th-century cathedral with its original stained glass, about one hour by regional train from Montparnasse.
Worth a full dayRouen
The old capital of Normandy, with the cathedral Monet painted, half-timbered streets and the square where Joan of Arc died, 1 h 13 min from Saint-Lazare.
Worth a full dayProvins
A walled medieval trading town on the UNESCO list, with ramparts, a 12th-century keep and underground galleries, reached by a direct Line P train from Gare de l'Est.
From London
All day trips from London
Worth a full dayCambridge
A university city on the River Cam, 49 minutes from London King's Cross on the fastest direct trains, known for King's College Chapel and punting.
Worth a full dayCanterbury
A walled cathedral city in Kent, 51 minutes from London St Pancras on the fastest high-speed trains, built around the cathedral where Thomas Becket was killed in 1170.
Worth a full dayBrighton
A seaside city on the south coast, 58 minutes from London Victoria on the fastest trains, with a pebble beach, a pier and the Royal Pavilion.
Worth a full dayOxford
England's oldest university city, about 1 hour from London Paddington by train, with colleges, libraries and museums in a walkable centre.
Worth a full dayBath
A compact Georgian city built around Roman thermal baths, 1 hour 20 minutes west of London Paddington by direct train.
Better to sleep thereThe Cotswolds
A rural area of limestone villages north-west of Oxford, about 1 hour 35 minutes by train from Paddington to Moreton-in-Marsh, then local buses.
Worth a full dayYork
A walled medieval city in the north of England, 1 hour 45 minutes from London King's Cross on the fastest direct trains, centred on York Minster.
Better to sleep thereStratford-upon-Avon
The Warwickshire market town where Shakespeare was born and buried, 2 hours 23 minutes from London Marylebone on Chiltern's fastest train.
From Rome
All day trips from Rome
Worth half a dayCastel Gandolfo
A small town on the rim of Lake Albano with the popes' summer palace, 41 minutes from Roma Termini by direct regional train.
Worth a full dayNaples
Italy's third-largest city, about 220 km south of Rome and 1 hour 15 minutes from Termini by high-speed train, with trains two or three times an hour.
Worth half a dayOrvieto
An Umbrian town on a volcanic rock 100 km north of Rome, known for its striped Gothic cathedral and reached by train in about 80 minutes.
Worth a full dayFlorence
The Renaissance capital of Tuscany, 260 km north of Rome and about 1 hour 35 minutes away by direct high-speed train.
Better to sleep thereAmalfi Coast
A stretch of cliffside towns south of Naples, reached from Rome by high-speed train to Salerno and then a 35-minute ferry to Amalfi.
Worth a full dayAssisi
The Umbrian hill town of Saint Francis, about 2 hours 20 minutes from Rome by direct regional train, with a bus from the station up to the Basilica.
From Barcelona
All day trips from Barcelona
Worth half a dayColònia Güell
A former textile workers' village in Santa Coloma de Cervelló with Gaudí's unfinished crypt, 20 to 25 minutes from Plaça Espanya by FGC train.
Worth half a daySitges
A seaside town south of Barcelona with a long promenade, an old quarter on a headland and two art museums, 37 minutes away by Rodalies train.
Worth a full dayGirona
A walled medieval city on the Onyar river with a cathedral and a well-kept Jewish quarter, 40 minutes from Barcelona Sants by Avant train.
Worth half a dayPenedès
The cava country west of Barcelona, centred on Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, where the Freixenet cellars stand beside the station, 47 minutes from Sants on the R4.
Worth half a dayFigueres
The home town of Salvador Dalí and site of his Theatre-Museum, 57 minutes from Barcelona Sants by Avant train to Figueres Vilafant.
Only with a tourCosta Brava
The rocky coast north of Barcelona, from Tossa de Mar up to Cadaqués. The nearest beach town, Tossa, is about 1 hour 20 minutes away by direct bus.
Worth a full dayTarragona
A port city built on Roman Tarraco, with an amphitheatre by the sea and UNESCO-listed ruins, 1 hour 27 minutes from Barcelona by regional train.
Better to sleep thereAndorra
A small Pyrenean country between Spain and France. Its capital, Andorra la Vella, is about 3 hours from Barcelona Sants by direct coach.
From Florence
All day trips from Florence
Worth a full dayBologna
The capital of Emilia-Romagna, a brick-red university city of porticoes and food markets, 38 minutes north of Florence by high-speed train.
Only with a tourChianti
The wine hills between Florence and Siena, where estates are spread along country roads and the market town of Greve is an hour away by bus.
Worth half a dayArezzo
A hill town in eastern Tuscany with Piero della Francesca's fresco cycle in the Basilica of San Francesco and the sloping Piazza Grande, an hour by train.
Worth a full daySiena
A medieval hill city 70 km south of Florence, built around the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo and a cathedral with an inlaid marble floor.
Worth a full dayLucca
A flat walled town west of Florence, ringed by 4.2 km of Renaissance ramparts you can walk or cycle, 1 h 20 away by direct train.
Worth half a daySan Gimignano
A small walled hill town 55 km south-west of Florence with 14 surviving medieval towers, reached by train to Poggibonsi and a 20 minute bus.
Better to sleep thereVenice
A car-free city of canals in the Venetian lagoon, centred on St Mark's Square and the Rialto, 2 h 14 from Florence by direct Frecciarossa.
Better to sleep thereCinque Terre
Five coastal villages in Liguria linked by a short train line and footpaths, about 150 km north-west of Florence and 2.5 hours away by train.
Only with a tourVal d'Orcia
A valley of hill towns and cypress-lined farm roads south of Siena, where Pienza, Montepulciano and Montalcino sit too far apart to link by public transport.
From Amsterdam
All day trips from Amsterdam
Worth half a dayHaarlem
A compact old city with a large market square, canals and the Frans Hals Museum, about 15 minutes by direct train from Amsterdam Centraal.
Worth half a dayZaanse Schans
An open-air village of working windmills and green wooden houses on the Zaan river, 17 minutes by train north of Amsterdam Centraal.
Worth a full dayUtrecht
A university city built around the 112-metre Dom Tower and canals with quays at water level, 23 minutes by direct train from Amsterdam Centraal.
Worth a full dayVolendam and Marken
Two former fishing villages on the Markermeer lake, linked by a 30-minute ferry, about 25 minutes by bus from Amsterdam Centraal.
Worth half a dayLeiden
A university town of canals and almshouse courtyards, Rembrandt's birthplace and home of the national antiquities museum, 35 minutes by train from Amsterdam Centraal.
Worth a full dayRotterdam
The second city of the Netherlands, rebuilt after 1940 with modern architecture around a working port, 41 minutes from Amsterdam on the fastest train.
Worth a full dayThe Hague
The seat of the Dutch government and home of the Mauritshuis, with Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring, 49 minutes by direct train from Amsterdam.
Worth half a dayDelft
A small canal town between The Hague and Rotterdam, known for Delft Blue pottery and as Vermeer's home, 58 minutes by direct train from Amsterdam Centraal.
Only with a tourGiethoorn
A village of canals, footbridges and thatched farmhouses in the north-east of the Netherlands, about two hours from Amsterdam by coach.
Better to sleep thereBruges
A medieval Flemish city of canals and brick guild houses in Belgium, just under three hours from Amsterdam by train with one change.
From Dublin
All day trips from Dublin
Worth a full dayKilkenny
A compact medieval city with a Norman castle and a cathedral round tower, about 1 h 30 south-west of Dublin by direct train.
Worth a full dayBelfast
The capital of Northern Ireland, with the Titanic Belfast museum on the old shipyard site, 2 h 08 from Dublin on the hourly Enterprise train.
Worth a full dayGalway
A compact harbour city on the west coast, with a pedestrian centre between Eyre Square and the Spanish Arch, about 2 h 30 from Dublin by train.
Better to sleep thereCork and Blarney Castle
Ireland's second city, about 2 h 30 south of Dublin by hourly train, with Blarney Castle and its stone 8 km outside on the 215 bus.
From Lisbon
All day trips from Lisbon
Worth half a dayCascais
A former fishing town with small beaches, a marina and a seafront walk, 40 minutes by train from Cais do Sodré station.
Worth half a dayÓbidos
A small walled town with a castle and whitewashed lanes, one hour north of Lisbon by direct express bus from Campo Grande.
Better to sleep thereNazaré
A fishing and surf town with a long beach and a clifftop quarter, about 100 km north of Lisbon, 1 hour 25 to 1 hour 50 by coach.
Worth a full dayTomar
A small river town below the Convent of Christ, a former Templar stronghold, about 2 hours north-east of Lisbon by direct Regional train.
Better to sleep therePorto
Portugal's second city, on the Douro river in the north of the country, reached from Lisbon in 2 hours 39 minutes by the fastest Alfa Pendular train.
From Madrid
All day trips from Madrid
Worth a full daySegovia
A Castilian city with a Roman aqueduct at one end and the Alcázar castle at the other, 27 minutes from Madrid Chamartín by high-speed train.
Worth a full dayToledo
A walled hilltop city above the Tagus with a Gothic cathedral, two medieval synagogues and El Greco's best-known painting, 34 minutes from Madrid by Avant train.
Worth half a dayAlcalá de Henares
A university town east of Madrid where Cervantes was born, with an arcaded main street and a college founded in 1499, 39 minutes from Atocha by Cercanías train.
Worth a full dayCuenca
A walled old town on a rock spur between two river gorges, known for its hanging houses and Gothic cathedral, about 1 hour from Madrid by AVE.
Worth half a dayÁvila
A small Castilian city ringed by a complete circuit of medieval walls you can walk on top of, about 1 hour 30 minutes from Madrid by regional train.
Better to sleep thereSalamanca
A sandstone university city with two joined cathedrals and a large Baroque main square, 1 hour 37 minutes from Madrid Chamartín on the few Alvia trains.
Worth a full dayCórdoba
An Andalusian city built around the Mosque-Cathedral and its old Jewish quarter, far south of Madrid in Andalusia but only 1 hour 44 minutes away by AVE train.
From Prague
All day trips from Prague
Worth a full dayKutná Hora
A former silver-mining town with the Sedlec Ossuary and St Barbara's Cathedral, 50 minutes from Prague main station by direct train.
Worth half a dayTerezín
A fortress town north of Prague used as a ghetto and Gestapo prison in the Second World War, 50 minutes by bus from Letňany.
Worth half a dayPilsen
A West Bohemian city built around the Pilsner Urquell brewery, which sits a 5-minute walk from the main station, 1 h 13 min from Prague by train.
Worth a full dayKarlovy Vary
A 19th-century spa town in West Bohemia with free colonnades and drinking springs, 1 h 50 min from Prague by the fastest direct bus.
Worth a full dayDresden
The capital of Saxony in Germany, with the Zwinger, the Royal Palace and the Frauenkirche, 2 h 07 min from Prague by the fastest direct train.
Better to sleep thereČeský Krumlov
A small UNESCO-listed town in South Bohemia built around a large castle, 2 h 35 min from Prague by the fastest direct bus.
From Athens
All day trips from Athens
Worth a full dayHydra
A Saronic island with no cars, a stone harbour town and a coast path, 1 h 10 to 1 h 30 from Piraeus by high-speed ferry.
Worth a full daySaronic Islands
Three islands in the Saronic Gulf, seen together on an 11-hour cruise or singly by ferry from Piraeus, 1 h 10 to 1 h 55 away.
Worth a full dayNafplio
A harbour town in the Argolid with a Venetian fortress on the hill above it, 2 h 10 from Athens by direct KTEL bus.
From Edinburgh
All day trips from Edinburgh
Worth a full dayGlasgow
Scotland's largest city, 42 miles west of Edinburgh, with free museums and a different mood from the capital, 44 minutes away by the fastest train.
Worth a full daySt Andrews
A small university town on the Fife coast with the Old Course, a ruined cathedral and a castle, about 53 minutes by train plus a 15-minute bus.
Only with a tourLoch Lomond
The largest loch in Britain by surface area, north-west of Glasgow, reached by train to Balloch in about 1 hour 42 minutes with one change.