Romantic getaways for two

Choose by the time you will have together

Count the hours between dropping your bags and leaving for the journey home. If you have one full day, choose one neighbourhood to explore and an evening you can reach from your hotel on foot. For two full days, put the most weather-dependent part on the clearer day and keep one indoor visit in reserve.

For a weekend within Europe, compare the final arrival station or airport and the time you will reach the hotel. If your flight lands the morning after you leave home, give Paris or Lisbon a third night if you can. A flexible first afternoon gives you time to drop your luggage and settle in before a prepaid dinner or museum slot.

• Find a destination guide

Paris or Lisbon for a city break?

Pick Paris if a gallery and a long dinner sound like a good weekend. Start at the Tuileries for the Musée de l’Orangerie, then choose dinner on the same side of the Seine. Check the museum day before you book the trip. Its regular Tuesday closure can take the main reason for going out of a Monday-to-Wednesday stay.

Pick Lisbon if you want a day shaped around views and walking. In Alfama, the climb to Santa Luzia and Portas do Sol is part of the outing. If you would rather keep the first day gentle, split the visit between an old-town day with a single viewpoint and a separate waterfront visit to Parque das Nações. The Oceanário there works for a wet afternoon.

• Plan two days in Paris
• Plan two days in Lisbon

Sources: Musée de l’Orangerie opening days and tickets, Alfama, Oceanário de Lisboa visitor information

Spring for a trip built around walking

Choose April or May in Paris if you want the Left Bank garden after a museum visit. The Jardin du Luxembourg’s published schedule gives you until 8 pm in the first half of April and until 9 pm in the second half of May. Check the gates on your dates and plan dinner nearby so the later walk fits.

For an outdoor trip to Lisbon, consider May if summer heat would spoil the climbs. At the Gago Coutinho station, the mean daily high was 22.8 °C (73 °F) in May and 29.0 °C (84 °F) in August in the 1991-2020 climate normal. Use the numbers to choose a month, then split the walking and indoor visits using the forecast.

• Compare Lisbon’s months

Sources: Seasonal hours at the Jardin du Luxembourg, Lisbon Gago Coutinho climate normals, 1991-2020

Summer when you want evenings outdoors

Choose where you want to finish your day before you choose where to sleep. In Paris, a base near the quarter where you plan to eat lets you return to the room between an afternoon visit and dinner. In Lisbon, put the Alfama climb early if the forecast is hot. Give yourselves an indoor block around the warmest part of the day.

If you are paying extra for a terrace or a cool room, check the booked category for air conditioning, outdoor space and whether you would share it. If you will spend the afternoons exploring, a room closer to the evening plan may make better use of the same budget.

• Choose a Paris room for two
• Pick a Lisbon base

Sources: Alfama

Autumn changes the order of the day

For a walking trip in Lisbon, choose September if you have flexibility. The Gago Coutinho station averaged about 36 mm of precipitation in September and 103 mm in October over 1991-2020. For an October trip, keep an indoor afternoon free and choose the outdoor day once you have a forecast.

In Paris, a November afternoon ends earlier at the Jardin du Luxembourg. The garden’s published closing time is 5 pm in the first half of November. Put the walk before a museum or dinner, especially if you reach the city after lunch.

Sources: Lisbon Gago Coutinho climate normals, 1991-2020, Seasonal hours at the Jardin du Luxembourg

Winter for museums, snow or a milder city

For a winter trip within the US, start with the programme you would enjoy in February. The winter comparison puts Stowe’s snow-dependent outings next to museum days in New York and the desert around Palm Springs. For a trip from Britain, it also compares a rail weekend in Bath or Paris with a longer stay on Tenerife’s south coast.

• Compare winter getaways for two

Sources: Stowe Recreation Path, Plan your visit to The Met Fifth Avenue, Greater Palm Springs weather and safety, Trains from London to Bath, Trains from London to France, Tenerife Sur Airport climate normals, 1981-2010

Compare the total for two people

Price the same two nights for both destinations. Add one room for two, each person’s return fare, bags, the transfer at each end, food and the activities you would actually book. Use the same cancellation terms where you can. If you are comparing different currencies, convert each full total on the same day.

A more central room earns its price if it saves a late ride home or gives you back part of your only full day. If dinner is the one thing you want to spend on, build the daytime plan around a free stop such as the Jardin du Luxembourg and put the saved money towards the meal.

• Build the full travel budget

Sources: Jardin du Luxembourg

Spend extra on what you will actually use

Pick the part of the trip you want to improve. If you plan to spend mornings in the room, compare the exact view, seating and space. If you will be out until dinner, spend first on the location or the table you want. Check which extras the room rate includes and what you would still have to reserve separately.

• See the Paris hotel and room comparison

For an anniversary, choose one fixed occasion

Book the event that would be hardest to replace, whether that is a dinner, a gallery slot or a room with a particular view. Give it an evening after your arrival day when you have the choice. Check when a table is released for late arrivals and when a hotel stops allowing changes. Leave a second evening free so you can move the walk or the quieter meal if needed.

• Choose dinner for two in Paris