sustainable city breaks
DO YOUR
civic duty Is it possible to have your city break aboard and still looks for be a responsible traveller? ways to go green on an urban holiday
Laura Gelder
G
one are the days when we can feel smug for hopping on a low cost carrier on a Friday night after work (mini bottle of warm Prosecco in hand), spending the weekend in another country’s capital – exploring, bar-crawling, eating exciting food – and popping back in time for work on Monday morning. These days we all know that a city break, in its typical form like this, is not a particularly sustainable choice for a holiday. It’s a truth universally acknowledged that if you’re trying to cut down on your carbon emissions, then flying off on one long holiday is preferable to lots of mini breaks. But if, for whatever reason, you are booking a short city stay, there are a few ways you can make it more eco-friendly and there are also some destinations which will inspire you to live a more sustainable lifestyle back home.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
If you’re trying to be a responsible ‘city breaker’ then it’s all in the planning, and that starts with your choice of destination. Ask yourself, will your visit have a positive impact or a negative one? This summer, the authorities in Barcelona have announced the introduction of a
series of restrictions to curb the disruption that over-tourism causes in this perennially popular city break destination. The Guardian newspaper reported how, after a covid-induced hiatus, the same problems of over-crowding and anti-social behaviour were rearing their ugly head in the Catalan city this summer. The newspaper sums up the negative impact of tourism when it quotes local resident Martí Cusó, who lives in the busy Gothic Quarter: “My barrio is so saturated with tourists it’s impossible to meet someone in the street or for children to play or even to get a good night’s sleep.” Do your research and find a city where, instead of contributing to a situation like this, your presence will be beneficial. An hour and a half away from Barcelona is Girona, another proud Catalan city – located on a river but half an hour from the Costa Brava – with a medieval old quarter, and pretty plazas with buzzing bars and restaurants. Yet it gets far less tourists than Barcelona. And if you do want to go to a popular city, consider choosing a less busy time to visit so you are helping to spread
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