Idyllic Weekend Trips from London

Just an hour flight from London, Amsterdam in the summer has endless patios to enjoy a cocktail on, an impressive summer festival lineup, and a lively array of great beaches. Stay along the Herengacht canal at The Hoxton, Amsterdam, which will put you in the heart of De Negen, or the Nine Streets packed full of some of the best restaurants and hangouts in the city. Spend your Saturday morning waking up slowly in one of The Hoxton, Amsterdam’s three concept rooms (make a request for the Fruity or Floral room) before brunching at Bakers & Roasters or aboard Gs brunch boat—where you can have breakfast while sailing the canals.

Just an hour outside London, you can retreat Heckfield Place in the Hampshire countryside. A restored Georgian home that’s been standing for 250 years, the property is nestled within 400 acres of rolling English hills. While in Hampshire, you might see a show at Mayflower Theatre, tour Winchester Cathedral, or just spend your afternoon in Heckfield Place’s alluring wine cellar.

For a bespoke micro-trip, Original Travel plans unforgettable three-day itineraries perfect for a long weekend. Travel with them to Florence where you’ll stroll through the botanic paradise of the Boboli Gardens, see celebrated artistic masterpieces at The Uffizi, and explore the famed Florence Cathedral. Original Travel will take care of your luxury hotel booking and all the logistics—all you have to do is board the plane after work on Friday, and it’s just a two-hour flight to Italia.

A top priority during your visit to the Highlands is, of course, planning a few distillery visits; Ardnamurchan Distillery is a good place to start if you’d like to do a full tour, followed by the Dalmore Distillery and Ben Nevis Distillery. For a five-star hotel in a full-on Victorian mansion, you won’t do better than Glencoe House, where you can book a Bell Tower Suite with a hot tub in your own, private walled-off garden.

Because of the aristocratic fascination with the Loire Valley, this stretch of French countryside has benefitted from quite a bit of money going into gorgeous chateaus and other architectural feats in the area. The Loire Valley exudes an air of romance that you can really only experience in France. Go wine tasting at Château de Brissac, stay at Château de Verrières, and spend your evenings strolling along the Loire—France’s longest river.

An hour outside London, a Canterbury weekend provides the perfect opportunity to see the White Cliffs of Dover. These bluffs lining the English Channel are breathtaking—and they’re about half an hour from Canterbury. Exploring the town of Canterbury itself is essential, too. Be sure to tour Canterbury Cathedral, the oldest church in England (of those still in use)—it was built when St. Augustine came to Canterbury 1,4000 years ago.

Escape the bustle of London to the 350 acres surrounding Ashford Castle where you can spend the weekend horseback riding, kayaking, or golfing on property. Ashford Castle is celebrating 80 years as a historic luxury hotel this year, having opened in July 1939. The former home of the Guinness family, the estate in County Mayo has separate hideaway cottages for a romantic stint away, in addition to the suites within the castle itself.