When Valentine's Day comes around, we all enjoy the cards, flowers, champagne and chocolates that our loved one gives us, or that we give to that special person. Then you go for a romantic dinner only to find that the prices are over-inflated and the food mediocre. So why not try a romantic break instead?
Nestling in the South Downs countryside, Chichester boasts a combination of luxury accommodation and rustic charm. Country inns outside the city offer all kinds of international cuisine in peaceful and tranquil surroundings. Take a break in the countryside outside Goodwood or by the waterfront in West Wittering and Selsey. Enjoy the fresh seafood and walk along the seafront in the moonlight.
Cruises
You could take a short, romantic cruise to Dublin's fair city. You can even visit the relics of St. Valentine in Dublin's Carmelite Church. If you like the fresh air, take a bus or drive to Dublin Bay and walk around the harbour walls, from where you can see the Wicklow Mountains. Then drive back to the city for that romantic evening meal.
Train Trips
Paris is synonymous with romance. The city of lights offers every form of accommodation, from boutique hotels on the Left Bank of the Seine to luxury apartments in the city centre. Start the day by taking the Eurostar train to Paris's Gare du Nord station. Then take a taxi to the city centre and stroll hand in hand in the parks or along the river embankment near Notre Dame Cathedral.
Enjoy the feat of choice that Paris offers. There are small bistros and elegant restaurants everywhere. You could have an evening meal in the 16th or 17th arrondissment to escape the city centre traffic. Go for a river cruise along the Seine or a trip outside the city to the former royal palace at Versailles.
Czech Romance
Prague offers a different kind of romance. This city's main assets are its beautiful architecture, its chamber music and its bars. There are wine bars, beer bars and coffee bars of every conceivable variety and they are the centre of Czech social life. While away the afternoon in the chandelier-lit coffee houses that evoke a 19th-century imperial splendour.
Have a quick snack at lunch time and enjoy the exquisite Czech beer before you stroll around the meandering cobbled streets of the Old City's two parts: Stare Mesto and Mala Strana. If you're a music lover, go to a chamber concert in any one of Prague's numerous churches or old palaces, then have an intimate evening meal for two at a hidden-away wine bar in the back streets of Mala Strana. Stroll back to your hotel in the moonlight over the romantic Charles Bridge.
True Luxury
If you want to celebrate Valentine's Day in style, a champagne brunch with your loved one is the best way to start. Follow this by taking a plane, or the Orient Express, to Venice. If Paris is for lovers, Venice is for the love of your life. The minute you step into a water taxi to travel along the canals to your hotel – don't think about gondolas in February as the water is cold and splashes too much – you enter an enchanting world.
Venice never ceases to take your breath away. Enjoy the view out of a Canaletto painting from the Accademia Bridge over the Grand Canal, then find a small restaurant away from the tourist bustle on the northern bank of the Grand Canal or just a few blocks away from St. Mark's square and fall in love again.