European weekend breaks with Eurostar

From train seat to city streets in no time

Eurostar has a knack for making a European weekend feel delightfully straightforward. No airport queues, no decanting toiletries into tiny bottles, just step on, settle in and arrive right in the city centre relaxed. A very pleasing way to travel, especially for short breaks where time matters.

From culture-heavy capitals to creative port cities, these Eurostar destinations prove that a few days away can pack in plenty. We’ve rounded up where to stay in each city, from Belle Époque beauties to grand dames, with everything lined up for an easy hop from platform to check-in. Read on to find out more.

Brussels

Brussels, Belgium

Brussels is quietly enjoying a glow-up, swapping stiff stereotypes for contemporary art, design and a surprisingly playful mood. Wander around Place de la Bourse or plan your visit around Art Brussels for a proper dose of the international art world, then settle into the city’s serious food scene of chef-led counters and old-school cafés.

Members gravitate towards Corinthia Grand Hotel Astoria near the Grand-Place. This Belle Époque landmark by Henri van Dievoet offers polished rooms, serious dining and a Sisley Paris spa for post-gallery recovery, with evenings ending in the cocktail bar where the Mr Wilde soon becomes a familiar order.

Paris

Paris, France

A few days in Paris go a long way. Many of the big sights follow the curve of the Seine, making it easy to wander between museums, monuments and riverbanks at your own pace. Beyond that, neighbourhoods reward curiosity with galleries, bakeries and restaurants shaping the city’s current food conversation.

Bulgari Paris brings contemporary style to the Golden Triangle and a spa that proves particularly welcome after a day on foot, while at Shangri-La Paris a Little Emperors upgrade at the time of booking might just put the Eiffel Tower in view, with almost half the rooms facing the landmark.

Amsterdam

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam’s compact scale makes it easy to slip into its rhythm. Museums sit comfortably alongside neighbourhood cafés, bike paths and quiet streets lined with canals. Spend time in Jordaan for shopping and people-watching, stretch out in Vondelpark, then see the city from the water on a small open boat.

At Mandarin Oriental Conservatorium near Museumplein, a few laps in the pool come before dinner at Taiko, where the Asian-inspired cuisine makes a strong case for staying in. Rosewood Amsterdam sits along the Prinsengracht and hides a speakeasy-style distillery inside the bar producing its own house jenever, Provo, a guest favourite.

Antwerp

Antwerp, Belgium

Arriving at Antwerpen Centraal sets the tone straight away, all vaulted ceilings and grand details before the city opens up around you. Fashion, art and design are never far away here, from independent boutiques to galleries and museum spaces. Climb to the MAS museum rooftop for views over the Scheldt, then walk towards the port to see the striking Port House by the water.

Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp is a firm favourite with our members and, with five restaurants (holding three Michelin stars between them), it’s easy to see why. The two-Michelin-starred restaurant Hertog Jan, known for its stunning cuisine, beehives and herb garden, is usually where the evening ends up.

London

London, United Kingdom

London rewards repeat visits like few other cities. Beyond the headline sights, its neighbourhoods are where things get interesting, each offering their own restaurants, markets and galleries. Follow the Thames for culture and architecture, then strike out somewhere new.

Brown’s Hotel delivers classic Mayfair comfort, with afternoon tea in the Drawing Room the standout ritual, famously taken here by Queen Victoria, right down to scones still made to a long-guarded recipe. The Connaught, meanwhile, draws people to a bar regularly ranked among the world’s best, largely thanks to its martini trolley.

More Journals

Fashion as a Reflection of Broader Cultural and Economic Trends.

Fashion is often viewed as a form of artistic expression, but it is much more than just clothing and accessories. Throughout history, fashion has been a powerful reflection of society, capturing the mood, values, and changes in culture and economics. Each season, as designers showcase their collections, they not only offer a glimpse of the trends for the year ahead but also reveal the underlying shifts happening in the world. For investors, understanding these deeper connections between fashion and broader cultural and economic trends can be a valuable tool in identifying new opportunities within the luxury market.

Exhibitions to catch before they close

London’s summer exhibition season is on its final straight, worth trying to catch the below before they close.

Dulwich Picture Gallery, until 4 October

What to see: Portrait of a City: A Century of American Photography

A hundred years of American street life told through the camera, from Alfred Stieglitz and Berenice Abbott through to Garry Winogrand and William Eggleston. The show is organised around people rather than architecture, tracing everything from Depression-era breadlines to Helen Levitt’s photographs of children playing in Harlem. Critics have called it one of the strongest photography shows London has seen this year – a reminder that many of its photographers were themselves immigrants, looking at their adopted country with real sympathy.

Design Museum, until 4 October

What to see: NIGO: From Japan with Love

The first museum retrospective outside Japan for NIGO, the designer who built A Bathing Ape and now runs Kenzo. Over 700 objects trace thirty years of work, from a recreation of his teenage Harajuku bedroom to a custom glass tea house built with the team behind Not A Hotel. The through-line is his gift for turning niche obsessions – vintage Americana, Japanese ceramics, sneaker culture – into ideas the rest of the industry eventually copies.

Hayward Gallery, until 18 October

What to see: Anish Kapoor

Kapoor’s second show at the Hayward since 1998, and a genuinely surprising one. A vast red inflatable blocks the entrance; an inverted mountain hangs from the ceiling; a floor piece resembles a coral reef seen from above. It sits alongside the 1992 Vantablack void “Descent into Limbo,” so the show reads as a conversation between the artist at 30 and at 70. Reviewers have described it as anarchic and funny in a way his recent work hasn’t always managed.

Royal Academy, until 25 October

What to see: Richard Dadd: Beyond Bedlam

Dadd killed his father in 1843 and spent the rest of his life in psychiatric institutions – and kept painting throughout. This is the fullest account yet of that work, including “The Fairy-Feller’s Master Stroke,” a canvas so densely detailed that the RA hands out magnifying glasses. The case the show makes is that institutional life gave Dadd the calm to paint with extraordinary control, complicating the usual “mad genius” story told about him.

V&A

What to see: Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art

The first UK retrospective for Elsa Schiaparelli, with over 200 pieces spanning the 1920s to the present, including her collaborations with Salvador Dali and Jean Cocteau. The case the exhibition makes is that Schiaparelli got to surrealism in fashion three years before the movement’s own landmark London show in 1936 – her Mayfair store was arguably Britain’s first surrealist space. Daniel Roseberry, the house’s current creative director, has spoken about her as more cerebral than her reputation for shock value suggests.