The Great British Weekender

At Village Hotels, we’re all about helping you to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, and making sure that our guests can enjoy every minute they spend with us. So we’ve crunched the numbers, checked the maps, and consulted the best-of lists – all to create the ultimate ranking for the best destinations for a weekend away in the UK.

We’ve ranked 45 UK cities to find the top weekend getaway destinations, comparing 10 factors which could help you have a great weekend break. We looked at data including the number of hiking trails, sports bars, stadiums, five-star restaurants, shopping opportunities, museums and art galleries.

So, which cities come out top as the best destinations for a weekend away in the UK? And which cities are best for specific kinds of weekends away? Keep reading to find out which cities come out top…

1. Newcastle upon Tyne
2. Leeds
3. Kingston upon Hull
4. Manchester
5. Nottingham

The best destination for a weekend break for sports fans is Newcastle Upon Tyne, with a massive 92 sports bars and 3 stadiums. From St. James’ Park to the Stadium of Light in Sunderland, there’s tons for footie fans to enjoy, and you can enjoy the lively atmosphere at sports bars like The Strawberry and the Centurion, or catch a boxing or UFC match at Aspers Casino.

1. Birmingham
2. Glasgow
3. Manchester
4. Bristol
5. Newcastle upon Tyne

For foodies, Birmingham is the place to be, with a serious reputation for good food. As we mentioned above, Birmingham has 246 five-star restaurants, and four of those boast a Michelin star. If you’re in the mood for fine dining, then Adam’s, Purnell’s, or Simpsons are just a couple of the Michelin-starred picks (assuming you can get a table).

But there’s plenty of brilliant food to be found across the city, from street food at Digbeth Dining Club to delicious Asian cuisine in the Chinese quarter.

1. Birmingham
2. Manchester
3. Leeds
4. Glasgow
5. Bristol

Birmingham also takes the crown as the best destination for a shopping weekend break in the UK with 11 shopping centres and 53 vintage stores. The famous Bullring and Grand Central boast over 200 stores, with all of your high-street favourites, but there’s also designer brands galore at the Mailbox. And we couldn’t go without mentioning Birmingham’s flourishing independent scene - the Great Western Arcade and Digbeth are full of unusual and brilliant indie retailers to help you find something truly unique.

Manchester is also hot on Birmingham’s tail, with 12 shopping centres and 50 vintage stores to its name. There are plenty of classic high-street shops in the enormous Arndale Centre, as well as a strong independent scene in the Northern Quarter with alternative icons like the famous Afflecks, and a combination of indie darlings and designer favourites in Spinningfields.

1. Sheffield
2. Glasgow
3. Leeds
4. Norwich
5. Swansea

For those who love the great outdoors but still want the excitement of all the city has to offer, then Sheffield is the place to be. A third of the city is actually part of the Peak District, so if you’re looking to explore the beauty of the Peaks, Sheffield is a great place to start.

There are around 185 hiking trails near Sheffield, so it’s easy to make the most of the cultural highlights of the city and still enjoy a nice long walk on your weekend. There are plenty of reservoir walks, great for all activity levels - but if you’re more of an adrenaline junkie, head out on one of the city’s mountain biking trails or try out the outdoor water assault course at Aqua Park.

1. Glasgow
2. Bristol
3. York
4. Bath
5. Manchester

According to our index, Glasgow comes out top as the most cultural city, thanks to the number of museums and art galleries on offer. There’s tons to explore, from stunning architecture by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, to viewing works by Dali, Van Gogh, Whistler and more, all on view at the huge Kelvingrove Art Gallery and other museums across the city.

Glasgow is also a great place to enjoy live music, and was named the UK’s first UNESCO city of music in 2008. There are tons of live venues where you can catch a show, from huge concerts at the OVO Hydro Arena to more intimate gigs at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut and the iconic Barrowland Ballroom.

Full methodology

This dataset ranks 45 locations, based on how good they are for a weekend getaway. To do this, 10 different factors were used, which were then normalised and summed to give each location a total score out of 10. The locations were then ranked from highest to lowest, based on their total scores.

The factors we used were:

• Hiking trails - The number of hiking trails in each location as found on AllTrails.
• Outdoor activities - The number of results under the Outdoor Activity section on TripAdvisor per 100,000 population.
• Sports bars - The number of sports bars in each location on Google Maps with the prompt "sports bars in X" per 100,000 population.
• Stadiums - The number of stadiums within each location. 
• 5-star restaurants - The number of restaurants in each location with a TripAdvisor rating of 5* per 100,000 population.
• Michelin Star restaurants - The number of restaurants in each location on TripAdvisor that have at least 1 Michelin Star.
• Shopping centres - The number of shopping centres in each location on TripAdvisor.
• Vintage Stores - The number of vintage stores in each location on Google Maps with the prompt 'vintage stores in X' per 100,000 population.
• Museums - The number of museums in each location on TripAdvisor per 100,000 population.
• Art galleries - The number of art galleries in each location on TripAdvisor per 100,000 population.

All data is correct as of 02/02/24. The ranking data shown is a compilation of multiple data sources and may not be representative of real life. All data is accurate with regards to the sources provided.