somewhere
🏛️ HOLIDAY TYPE

Culture and history holidays

Old towns, ancient ruins, temples and museums. Here's where to go for a holiday full of history and culture, and the best time to visit each.

Culture and history holidays: 59 guides

Boats moored on a canal at dusk, with lit-up buildings along the water
🇳🇱 NETHERLANDS

Amsterdam

Canal boats, bike rides and pancakes, with a direct train from London.

City break✈️ 1h3 to 4 nights£££

BEST TIMEAPR–AUG

Read the guidePut on standby
Looking down on a sandy cove below a steep green headland, with waves rolling in
🇮🇩 INDONESIA

Bali

Temples, rice terraces, monkeys and warm sea, at very good value.

Beach✈️ 17h10 to 14 nights£

BEST TIMEAPR–SEP

Read the guidePut on standby
Two people on a bench by a park lake at sunset, with the city skyline behind
🇹🇭 THAILAND

Bangkok

Golden temples, river boats and night markets, the classic start to a Thailand trip.

City break✈️ 13h3 to 4 nights£

BEST TIMENOV–FEB

Read the guidePut on standby
The city's rooftops stretching towards the Sagrada Família and hills beyond
🇪🇸 SPAIN

Barcelona

Gaudí's fairy-tale buildings, a city beach and tapas for dinner.

City break✈️ 2h3 to 5 nights££

BEST TIMEMAY–JUN, SEP

Read the guidePut on standby
A domed cathedral on a wide square at dusk, its lights coming on
🇩🇪 GERMANY

Berlin

Huge playgrounds, a zoo in the middle of town and history on every corner.

City break✈️ 2h3 to 5 nights££

BEST TIMEMAY–SEP

Read the guidePut on standby
The sun setting over the harbour, with the city skyline in silhouette
🇺🇸 UNITED STATES

Boston

Follow a red line through history, see whales off the coast and catch a ball game.

City break✈️ 8h4 to 5 nights£££

BEST TIMEMAY–JUN, SEP–OCT

Read the guidePut on standby
Red rooftops around the old town square, seen from above
🇷🇴 ROMANIA

Brașov

Medieval squares, a bear sanctuary and Dracula's castle in the Carpathian Mountains.

City break✈️ 4h4 to 5 nights£

BEST TIMEMAY–JUN, SEP

Read the guidePut on standby
Families paddling in a turquoise lagoon by a white sand beach with palm trees
🇲🇽 MEXICO

Cancún

Caribbean beaches, Maya pyramids and swimming in underground caves.

Beach✈️ 11h10 to 14 nights££

BEST TIMEDEC–APR

Read the guidePut on standby
Dozens of hot air balloons rising over rocky valleys at sunrise
🇹🇷 TURKEY

Cappadocia

Hundreds of hot-air balloons drift over fairy chimneys and cave houses at dawn.

Adventure✈️ 5h3 to 4 nights££

BEST TIMEMAY–JUN, SEP–OCT

Read the guidePut on standby
A small rowing boat on a calm, misty sea, with islands on the horizon
🇨🇴 COLOMBIA

Cartagena

Colourful colonial streets, old city walls and island boat trips on Colombia's Caribbean coast.

City break✈️ 11h5 to 7 nights££

BEST TIMEDEC–MAR

Read the guidePut on standby
Colourful old townhouses and wooden boats reflected in the Nyhavn canal
🇩🇰 DENMARK

Copenhagen

Old-fashioned fairground rides, harbour swims and the home of Lego next door.

City break✈️ 2h3 to 4 nights£££

BEST TIMEMAY–AUG

Read the guidePut on standby
Rocky hillside covered in dry shrubs above the sea at sunset
🇬🇷 GREECE

Crete

Pink sand beaches, a palace from the legend of the Minotaur and long sunny days.

Beach✈️ 4h7 to 14 nights££

BEST TIMEMAY–JUN, SEP–OCT

Read the guidePut on standby
Stone Inca ruins and grassy terraces below steep green mountains
🇵🇪 PERU

Cusco

Gateway to Machu Picchu, with llamas, Inca walls and the Sacred Valley.

Adventure✈️ 13h10 to 14 nights££

BEST TIMEMAY–SEP

Read the guidePut on standby
A castle on top of a cliff above a wooded river valley
🇫🇷 FRANCE

Dordogne

Castles on cliffs, canoes on a slow green river and prehistoric cave paintings.

Nature & hiking✈️ 2h7 to 10 nights££

BEST TIMEJUN–JUL, SEP

Read the guidePut on standby
The walled old town of Dubrovnik on the sea, with red roofs and a fortress
🇭🇷 CROATIA

Dubrovnik

Walk the old city walls, swim off the rocks and kayak to a sea cave.

Beach✈️ 3h4 to 7 nights£££

BEST TIMEMAY–JUN, SEP

Read the guidePut on standby
Tall gabled buildings and café terraces along the river on a sunny day
🇵🇱 POLAND

Gdańsk

Tall painted merchant houses, amber shops and Baltic beaches a short train ride away.

City break✈️ 3h3 to 4 nights£

BEST TIMEJUN–AUG

Read the guidePut on standby
Old brick houses with stepped gables along a canal
🇧🇪 BELGIUM

Ghent

Canals, a real moated castle and chips by the water, without the Bruges crowds.

City break✈️ 1h2 to 3 nights££

BEST TIMEMAY–JUN, SEP

Read the guidePut on standby
Hallstatt's church spire and wooden houses on the lake, below mountains in autumn
🇦🇹 AUSTRIA

Hallstatt

A painted lakeside village under the Alps, with salt-mine slides and ice caves.

Nature & hiking✈️ 2h3 to 5 nights££

BEST TIMEJUN, SEP

Read the guidePut on standby
Wooden boats on the river at sunset, with a rower in a conical hat
🇻🇳 VIETNAM

Hoi An

Lantern-lit streets, basket boats and a beach just down the road.

Beach✈️ 13h7 to 10 nights£

BEST TIMEFEB–APR

Read the guidePut on standby
Patterned rugs in front of the Treasury, carved into pink rock at Petra
🇯🇴 JORDAN

Jordan

Petra's rose-red city, a night under the stars in Wadi Rum and floating in the Dead Sea.

Adventure✈️ 6h7 to 8 nights££

BEST TIMEAPR–MAY, OCT–NOV

Read the guidePut on standby
A white Japanese castle tower behind cherry blossom
🇯🇵 JAPAN

Kanazawa

Samurai streets, gold-leaf ice cream and one of Japan's most beautiful gardens.

Culture & history✈️ 13h2 to 3 nights££

BEST TIMEAPR–MAY, OCT–NOV

Read the guidePut on standby
Houseboats on a backwater river lined with coconut palms
🇮🇳 INDIA

Kerala

Houseboats on palm-lined backwaters, tea hills and spice markets in southern India.

Culture & history✈️ 11h10 to 14 nights££

BEST TIMEDEC–FEB

Read the guidePut on standby
A church tower above a small stone town on the bay, below steep mountains
🇲🇪 MONTENEGRO

Kotor

A walled old town full of cats, a fjord-like bay and beaches nearby.

Beach✈️ 3h5 to 7 nights£

BEST TIMEMAY–JUN, SEP

Read the guidePut on standby

Showing 24 of 59 guides

When to go

Where's at its best in each month of the year.

Culture and history holidays: common questions

Where is best for history on holiday?

Rome, Kraków, Cusco, Jordan and Crete are packed with history, from ancient ruins to old towns you can wander for days.

Where is good for culture in winter?

Oman, Kerala, Sri Lanka, Oaxaca and Luang Prabang are all at their best between December and February, when it's dry and not too hot.

Are culture holidays good with children?

They can be. Pick places with plenty to do outdoors as well as indoors, keep museum visits short, and leave time for a swim or a playground.

Other kinds of holiday

City breaks47 GUIDESBeach holidays51 GUIDESNature & hiking68 GUIDESAdventure46 GUIDESFood & drink45 GUIDESRoad trips13 GUIDESRelax & spa16 GUIDES

Browse by country

Canada8 GUIDESCroatia4 GUIDESFrance5 GUIDESGreece4 GUIDESItaly5 GUIDESMexico4 GUIDESPortugal5 GUIDESSpain6 GUIDESUnited States16 GUIDES
🎟️ IDEAS ON STANDBY

Found somewhere you like?

Put it on standby with the rest of your family's ideas. Everyone spreads their points in secret, gets one veto, and the draw picks where you go.

Start planningAll destination guides