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If you’re short on time then a day trip can be an excellent way to see the most iconic sights of a city. This sunny destination under two hours from the UK has been named the best for a 24-hour break thanks to its compact centre

Is 24 hours really enough to experience a new city?

For people short on time or those who want to see only the highlights of a city, a 24-hour day trip can be a great way to get a taste of a new destination, if not a full-blown portion of a place.

Transport provider Mozio recently put together a list of the best European cities for a 24-hour holiday, and at the top is Barcelona: an iconic city with a flight time of under two hours from London.

Keen for a city to explore, and without much time to spare away from my busy family life back home, I hopped on a plane to the Catalonian capital to see how much of Barcelona I could take in in a single day.

Lke most visitors to Barcelona, I started off at the Sagrada Família. In fact, it wasn’t that long after I landed before I stood at the foot of Gaudí’s masterpiece, in awe of the way the ornate spires seemed to stretch endlessly towards the sky. Rosa, an endlessly cheerful and knowledgeable tour guide, was on hand to help me navigate this architectural behemoth.

The small group tour meant there was no aimless wandering. Not only did we skip the lines outside, but we also learned so much about the building, its little details, and the fascinating life of Gaudí, whose passion and money were poured endlessly into the project.

A short walk away is the architect’s Casa Batlló, another attraction that is worth getting skip-the-line tickets for if you’re short of time. On the crowded pavement outside, crowds gather to take photos of the intricate facade, which features colorful mosaics resembling mermaid fins, skeletal columns, and balconies resembling masks with empty eyeholes.

Inside, Rosa led us through each beautifully designed room, explaining the features from the smooth, sleek, curved wood to the ombré tiles on the wall that get progressively darker as you climb the stairs. Every inch of the house has Gaudí’s architectural touches, down to the doorknobs.

A day isn’t a long time to try all the culinary delights that Spain has to offer, but one way to enjoy as much authentic cuisine as possible is to head to Mercat de la Boqueria. It was crowned the world’s best market by the New York Times, and it truly is a foodie heaven. The smell of jamón hangs in the air as you wander round stalls selling cones of cured meat, manchego cheese, olives, and other treats. Grab a bar stool and try some pintxos, a Spanish snack made up of small pieces of bread topped with seafood, meat, or cheese, best enjoyed alongside a cold beer or glass of wine.

For something more substantial, book a table at Can Culleretes, Barcelona’s oldest restaurant that sits off a winding side street near La Rambla. And I’m serious when I say book a table. The queues spill out into the street. Inside this charmingly rustic restaurant that dates back to the 18th century, we were served an incredible array of tapas, including anchovies, huge prawns doused in garlic, and plates of croquettes, washed down with Spanish wine. By the time the crema catalana came round for pudding, most of us were too full to make a proper go of it.

If you’re still standing after all that tapas, and many, many steps, then you may feel like heading somewhere a little more serene. Barcelona’s metro system connects to Funicular de Montjuïc, a short two-minute ride that costs around €3, (£2.60), yet gives you incredible hillside views across the city. From Montjuïc you can watch the sun go down and the lights of Barcelona twinkling below from the bustling city centre to the sandy beach.

Not bad for a day.

Book it

The Sagrada Família small guided tour including tower access starts at £70 per adult (11+), £51 per child (5-10), under 5s go free. A Casa Batilo private tour with skip the line entry for six people starts from £70 per person with early access. Both tours can be booked via TUI Musement.

TUI offers three-night city break packages to Barcelona, staying at the 4* H10 H10 Madison Hotel on a bed and breakfast basis, from £666 per person based on two adults sharing a classic double room, traveling on Ryanair from London Stansted Airport on September 15, 2026. Price includes 10kg of hand luggage.

Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com

Before flying hundreds of people across the world, one pilot has a particular practice he does every single time before he flies – and it’s not what you might expect

Operating an aircraft isn’t your typical 9-5 job, with varied hours and flight schedules at all hours of the day. Yet for one pilot, no matter what time it is, there’s one ritual he always does before every flight.

Waiting at the airport and clocking a member of cabin crew or a pilot confidently walking through the terminal in their pristine uniform and perfectly packed travel bag can sometimes leave the average passenger feeling a little awestruck. It is like you’re spotting a celebrity for the first time or seeing someone you shouldn’t.

It can leave us filled with curiosity about the people who take to the skies for a living, and call a plane their office while cruising at 41,000 feet. Offering an insight into the life of a pilot, Tom Copestake revealed what he gets up to before every flight, whether he’s departing at the early hours of the morning or at night.

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Tom has been a Wizz Air pilot for four years and, during that time, has flown thousands of passengers on more than 750 flights, visiting more than 50 countries. Speaking exclusively to the Mirror about life as a pilot, he disclosed: “Sometimes my alarm goes off at 3am or sometimes I’m not starting work until 6pm in the evening.

“But no matter what, whenever I get to the airport, the first thing I always do is get a vanilla latte and an almond croissant. It somehow resets my mind to say, ‘ok, this is the start of my work day.’ It’s the first thing I do, and I think an airport ritual isn’t a bad idea. “

And the airport isn’t the only place, Tom, who is based at London Luton Airport, can enjoy the tasty treat. “We have some early starts, but having a cup of coffee and a croissant, going over the Alps, with this fabulous view in front of me, nothing beats it.”

While taking in the incredible vistas, Tom added: “There are parts of the earth that we look down on that no one has ever walked on – it’s really cool.

“The way it makes you feel really small, but insignificant somehow. Looking down at this expanse of snow and mountains or sand and desert, but it’s the most exhilarating feeling, I love it.”

Sharing a closer insight into his job as a pilot, Tom acknowledged: “This is a customer service job that happens to be in the aviation industry, and I love the fact that each of the thousands of passengers I’ve flown has a story and a reason to travel.

“It might be for fun, to see family, or we have people who might be working in different countries. It’s really cool, and I love that so much.” He humbly added: “This job is a privilege”.

For more information on Wizz Air flights, or to book your next getaway, visit its website.

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

Make it 17 and counting.

That is how many boys’ tennis titles Palisades has won in a row after its 18.5 to 11 victory over Taft in the City Section Open Division championship match Wednesday afternoon at Balboa Sports Center in Encino.

Freshman Kensho Ford, who reached the CIF singles semifinals at the Ojai tournament four days earlier, swept his four sets at No. 1 as expected — dropping a total of three games in the process — but what co-coaches Robert Silvers and Bud Kling did not anticipate was Zach Cohen sweeping at No. 4 to give the top-seeded Dolphins a split of the 16 possible singles points.

Cohen played No. 1 doubles with Zach Stuffman all season but was itching to play singles for the playoffs and wound up winning all six of his sets including two before being subbed out for the last two rotations in Monday’s semifinal rout of fourth-seeded Marshall.

“I’ve been asking for two years now and when Coach Rob told me Saturday I’d be in singles I was so excited,” said Cohen, who was also the Division I individual champion while pacing the Dolphins to their fifth straight cross-country team title in November at Elysian Park.

Five is nice, but 17 straight is a dynasty unparalleled in City Section history. No team in any sport from a City school has ever produced a longer streak and no coach has more City crowns than Kling’s 55 (33 boys, 22 girls). Palisades has also appeared in 21 straight finals. The last time two other schools met for the City’s upper division title was 2004 when El Camino Real defeated West Valley League rival Granada Hills.

Palisades got another surprise when the sophomore tandem of Josh Glaser and Bennett Murphy, who were bumped up to varsity a month earlier, won all three of ithebsets at No. 3 doubles, beating the Toreadors’ top two duos in tiebreakers.

Taft’s Dannes Djalilov won two sets at No. 1 singles during Wednesday’s City Section Open Division tennis final.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Danees Djalilov took two of his four sets at No. 1 singles and Brandon Celestine did the same at No. 4 for the second-seeded Toreadors, who were the last team to defeat Palisades in the finals — doing so in 2007 and 2008 led by two-time City individual singles winner Josh Tchan.

Moments after Ford finished off his 6-0 victory over Alec Volodarskiy to move his team within half a point of the championship, Stuffman and new partner Jack Plotkowski put the Dolphins over the 15-point threshold by completing a sweep at No. 1 doubles with a 6-2 ousting of Taft’s No. 2 team.

Taft was seeking its eighth City title and first since winning Division II in 2019.