5 Perfect European City Breaks for Mother’s Day

Mums deserve the best, and by “best,” my logic obviously extends to travel.  I’ve been taking weekend breaks with my mum for the past decade and have assembled five of our favourite destinations (yes, I asked her opinion…per usual, she was only too happy to provide it!) based on some – pretty loose – themes.   

Whether your Mum is an art aficionado, a history buff, a foodie, a music lover, all of the above or happy with whatever you plan, these trips all scored solid maternal brownie points!

(I'm aware that the British and Irish Mother's Day falls six weeks before the US equivalent so I'll write a separate US-specific post later this year!)

1. Madrid – For the Artistic Mum 🎨

If your mum is liable get misty-eyed over a perfectly executed brushstroke, Madrid is the go-to destination with three of Europe’s premier art museums within a very short walking distance.  The Art Pass gets you entrance to all three over a 30-day period for the frankly bargain price of €32.80.

The Prado Museum needs little introduction other than to say it’s one of the best art museums in the world.  Housing works by Goya, Velázquez, and Titian abounding, over a cavernous layout, it definitely falls into the ‘wear comfortable shoes’ school of recommendation.

For something modern, the Reina Sofia Museum is home to Picasso’s iconic Guernica, which she’ll doubtless spend a solid half-hour analysing while you nod appreciatively pretendng you follow the logic.   Best of all in my (distinctly amateur) opinion is the Thyssen-Bornemisza museum, which is effectively a crash course in the history of art where Holbeins brush up against Warhols and a millennium of global artistic history is distilled into an hour-long walkaround.

Adjacent to all three museums, stroll through Retiro Park, where you can sit by the lake with a glass of vermouth and bask in Madrid’s effortless cool.  Alternatively treat Mum to a rowing boat trip on the lake, she’ll navigate obviously.  It’ll be like those driving lessons all those years ago where you threatened to throttle each other.  

Once you’ve made up, go out for a tapas crawl in the Chamberi neighbourhood (three metro stops from the city centre).   I’ve covered my recommendations on where to go in a separate blog post.  Trust me, you’ll be glad you’ve read it when you sample all that Calle Ponzano has to offer. 

Don't overindulge too much as you'll want to experience El Rastro Sunday market. Look out for the poets with typewriters offering their services on demand (Mum was a fan!)

2. Florence – For the History-Loving Mum ⛪

Picking one city for the history is a tall order – trust me we debated it – but Florence takes the crown as a city that wears its backstory like a showstopper Renaissance gown.

Every corner here has witnessed some Medici family drama – if Mum has been watching The Borgias on Netflix you’ll get the narrative tour all the way round.  Every guidebook describes Florence as the cradle of the Renaissance so start at the Uffizi Gallery (invest in skip the line tickets) to admire Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and the newly re-opened Vasari corridor, which allowed the Medici to float above the general population between their palaces.

The Duomo is a reliable jaw-dropper, clad in white marble and shimmering like a rather too ostentatious wedding cake.  Climb to the top of Brunelleschi’s Dome for a breathtaking city view of the city and river though be warned, it’s 463 steps so you'll need to stop for vino or gelato immediately after. A hardship I know.  

The Campanile (bell tower) offers similar views (unsurprising given it's less than 200m away) but has the infinite advantage of a lift – again book in advance to avoid those pesky queues.

Cap off the day with a sunset walk across up to Piazza Michaelangelo, because even the most historically inclined mums will appreciate the view. 

If you’re flying into Pisa (one hour easy train ride to Florence, book on the Trenitalia app), don’t skip it.  The Leaning Tower gets all the attention but take Mum on a quick whizz round the other sites, including the Monumental Campesanto and its utterly bizarre frescos.  If the Uffizi dragged a bit, show Mum Lucifer shitting out sinners (no, really) and Wizard of Oz style winged monkeys carrying off children.  Preferably do this before dinner.

3. Siracusa, Sicily – For the Foodie Mum 🍝

Again, no shortage of contenders for this category.  Food tours are a staple of trips with Mum and we debated our favourite at length (Madrid, Malta and literally everywhere in Italy also scored highly). What made Siracusa on Sicily stand out was that every dish felt like a well-crafted love letter to Italian cuisine.

Starting in Ortigia, the city’s old town, where the morning market is a sensory overload of fresh seafood, local cheeses and oils, and lemons so fragrant they could be bottled.  Come to think of it, they do bottle the sundried tomatoes and they’re one of the best souvenirs I’ve ever picked up!   We sampled most things through a food tour which began with original Sicilian arancini (risotto balls with ragu) and finished with the ubiquitous pistachio gelato.

A panino the size of a small child was the highlight at Caseificio Borderi (in the market). A regular feature on food blogs celebrating ‘the best sandwich in the world’ the trick is simple" Just go with whatever they recommend as fillings (if you get asked a question, just say si!). 

The food tour we booked was one of the best I’ve ever done (with mum too full to argue) – you can book it here to save the trouble of finding everywhere independently.

We book-ended our day with granita (shaved flavoured ice) and brioche for breakfast and a nightcap of Sicilian wine at a harborside bar, with the sun dipped into the Ionian Sea. She must have enjoyed it as I didn’t get reminded once to eat more vegetables!

Siracusa is an hour by train from Catania (as above, book via Trenitalia).  Taormina, an hour in the opposite direction is also well worth a stop with its gorgeous mountaintop amphitheatre.  Good lemons there too.

4. Prague – For the Musical Mum 🎶

If Mum has an ear for classical music and whose idea of is a symphony orchestra in a Baroque concert hall, Prague is the dream destination.    The same is true if she enjoys all forms of music but prefers it in short bursts (a three hour rendition of Tchaikovsky can be…with British understatement, 'a bit much'…)

The city is dripping in music history, Mozart himself premiered Don Giovanni at the Estates Theatre here and you can still watch it performed in all its operatic glory on a frequent basis.  

A full-to-bursting concert schedule takes place all year round, with options ranging from full evenings with the Czech Philarmonic at the Rudolfinum to more intimate (and mercifully shorter!) concerts in backstreet churches and courtyards.   If it’s the first time here, you should obviously make time to take Mum to Prague Castle, a place that’s as dramatic as any Mahler symphony .  

Prague also hosts – by my thoroughly unscientific observations – the highest proportion of street musicians of any European capital. In summer, you won't be able to move for them.

It’s a decidedly eclectic soundtrack strolling across the Charles Bridge in summer but is all the more memorable for it.  Pulling up at a pavement café and listening to a solo harpist for the price of a beer and donation was a highlight that remains with us years later.

5. Malta – For the Mum Who Enjoys Everything ☀️

If your Mum is happy with whatever you propose, you technically have the freedom of the continent. This is obviously not especially helpful when narrowing things down so in considering a 'little bit of everything' we reviewed places where you could cover multiple themes over a short time and distance.

Any of the above destinations would work but for us, Malta was the ultimate all-rounder.

This tiny island has history (the ancient temples of Hagar Qim predate the pyramids and Knights Templar history looms all over Valetta), art (Caravaggio’s masterpiece in St. John’s Co-Cathedral is worth the trip alone), food (fresh seafood and pastizzi pastries in the harbour at Marsaxlokk before strolling the Sunday market).   

Spend an afternoon on a boat trip to the Blue Grotto (not far off the Capri one but without the rush hour similarities), explore the honey-hued streets of the old capital Mdina.  Take a spare powerbank as her phone battery will inevitably drain with the volume of pictures being taken.

All of the above attractions are easily accessible on a day trip from Valletta, Malta’s capital.  Valletta is a perfect-sized walkable city with memorable views from the water on either the ferry to Silema or the slightly ricketier motorboats to the Three Cities across the harbour (bring cash for the latter). 

Another very good food tour on offer too, showcasing the island’s Mediterranean meets Levantine cuisine (with some excellent seafood for good measure).

So, this Mother’s Day, be a little bolder and ditch the overpriced bouquet and unmemorable pub lunch and take your mum on a European adventure she’ll remember for a long time to come.  As an added bonus, you get to go too.  Hopefully she’ll see it like that too come the flight home!