Departures: City trips trend

PARIS and Amsterdam are still the most popular destinations for short breaks, despite having a 'lacklustre' year, says Travelscene. 'We detect a significant shift in demand for a different kind of city holiday - farther afield and often incorporating a fly/drive element. Such off-the-beaten- track destinations as Asturias in northern 'Green Spain', using lesser-known cities as bases, and a hire car to tour the nearby Picos de Europa mountains, appeal to more adventurous and independent spirits, as do such places as Istanbul and Athens.'

Travelscene's Top 20 cities for the first six months of the year are (last year's position in brackets): 1 Paris (1); 2 Amsterdam (2); 3 Bruges (3); 4 Rome (5); 5 Vienna (4); 6 Venice (7); 7 Florence (8); 8 Madrid (9); 9 Gibraltar (11); 10 Istanbul (12); 11 Brussels (6); 12 Lisbon (10); 13 Barcelona (13); 14 Asturias (-); 15 Reykjavik (15); 16 New York (19); 17 Athens (20); 18 Seville (17); 19 Copenhagen (-); 20 Berlin (14).