City break packing list: carry-on, 2–4 days

For a long weekend in another city you need less than you think. Travelling with hand luggage only means no waiting at the baggage carousel, a faster trip from the airport into town and no suitcase to drag over cobbles. This packing list is made for exactly two to four days – with everything that goes in a small case or backpack, extras by season and an overview of where you need a plug adapter. The detailed list for longer trips is in our holiday packing list.

The basic rule: a capsule wardrobe

Don't pack a separate outfit for each day; pack pieces that combine: two or three tops in calm colours, one pair of trousers that works by day and in the evening, a warm layer and a jacket. Wear your heaviest shoes and thickest jacket on the journey – that leaves space in your bag.

How big and heavy your hand luggage may be is up to each airline, and often only a small bag under the seat is included in the basic fare. Check the baggage rules of your fare before you pack. By train this problem disappears – one reason why many short trips are more relaxed by rail. You can search train and bus connections on the continent^* on Omio, and find ideas in our article on weekend trips by train.

The checklist for 2 to 4 days

Documents and money

• Passport or national ID card
• Bank card and credit card, a little cash
• Health insurance card (EHIC or UK GHIC)
• Boarding pass, train and museum tickets offline on your phone
• Address of your accommodation written down, not just in an email

Tech

• Phone and charging cable
• Power bank (always in your hand luggage)
• Headphones
• Plug adapter if needed (see below)

Clothes for 3 days

• 3 sets of underwear and socks
• 2 to 3 tops that go with your one pair of trousers
• a warm layer: jumper or fleece
• light rain jacket or a small umbrella
• comfortable shoes, already worn in (15,000 steps a day come easily)
• nightwear

Toiletries

• Toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant
• Travel-size liquids in a clear bag
• Medication, plasters, painkillers
• Sunscreen and lip balm

For the day

• Small daypack or shoulder bag
• Refillable water bottle
• Scarf or shawl, also for churches where shoulders should be covered
• Bag for dirty laundry

About liquids: for years the rule everywhere was containers of up to 100 ml in a clear one-litre bag. Some airports with new CT scanners have relaxed this, but not everywhere, and not necessarily on your flight home. To be safe, pack to the 100 ml rule – then you are fine at every airport. Medicines you need during the trip and baby food are exempt from the volume limit.

What the weather asks for: 8 cities in October

What goes in the bag depends mainly on temperature. The table shows average values in October for eight popular cities – a good month for a city break, and one in which the difference between south and north is especially large.

Temperature and rain: average of the Octobers 2015–2024 from the ERA5 reanalysis (via Open-Meteo), rounded. The values describe a grid cell of about 25 km.

In Lisbon, a T-shirt by day and a light jacket for the evening are enough in October. Porto is similarly warm but much wetter, with 183 mm of rain in October – a rain jacket and shoes that can handle wet paving are a must. In Vienna, Prague and Kraków nights are already cool, so pack a jumper and a proper jacket. Copenhagen and Edinburgh stay below 13 °C, with wind and frequent rain: layers and a waterproof jacket.

Extras by season

Spring (March to May): the weather changes quickly. Layers – T-shirt, jumper and rain jacket – plus sunglasses. The south is already summery in May, with an average of 22.8 °C in Lisbon, while Edinburgh reaches only 13.8 °C.

Summer (June to August): light clothes, a sun hat, high-factor sunscreen and a water bottle. In July the average daytime high is 27.5 °C in Vienna and 27.7 °C in Lisbon – do long walks in the morning and evening. Take a shawl for churches.

Autumn (September to November): as in the table above – still warm in the south, jacket weather in the north. Always pack a rain jacket.

Winter (December to February): in Prague the average daytime high in January is 3.8 °C, and nights drop below freezing. A warm coat, hat, gloves, scarf and shoes with a good grip. If you go to the Christmas markets you stand outside for a long time in the evening – a thin thermal layer under your clothes saves space in the bag. Lisbon stays mild with 14.6 °C in January.

Do I need a plug adapter?

The UK, Ireland, Malta and Cyprus use type G sockets. Most of continental Europe uses types C, E and F, so travellers from the UK need an adapter for almost every city break on the continent – a small one with the flat two-pin Europlug side is enough for phone chargers. In the other direction, visitors from the continent need a type G adapter for Britain and Ireland.

• AUSA, Canada, Japan
• BUSA, Canada, Mexico
• CEuroplug, most of Europe
• EFrance, Belgium, Morocco
• FGermany, Spain, Greece
• GUK, Ireland, UAE
• IAustralia, China
• JSwitzerland
• LItaly

Almost all phone and laptop chargers handle 100 to 240 volts; all of Europe runs on 230 volts.

Mobile data for a short trip

Within the EU, EU phone contracts usually work without extra roaming charges. Many UK contracts charge for roaming in the EU, and Switzerland is outside the EU's roaming rules. A travel eSIM^*, for example from Airalo, can be installed at home and activated when you land. And if you fly with hand luggage only, compare flights with the baggage rules in mind, for example in the Kiwi.com flight search^*.

A packing list that thinks along

In YesTrip every trip has its own packing list. The app makes suggestions that fit the trip: a rain jacket if rain is forecast for your travel days, an adapter of the right type if the country uses different sockets. In the day plan you see the forecast for each travel day with high, low and chance of rain – so you pack for the weather that is actually coming, not for the average. In shared trips you see who is bringing what.

Which city suits you best is in our overview of the best European city breaks.

On departure day you rarely need to carry your bag around: most hotels keep their guests' luggage, and our guide to hotel luggage storage and lockers covers the alternatives.

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