Although Christmas is fast approaching, this is a good time to spare a few minutes to think about your next “getaway”. We can all feel a bit down once the festive celebrations are done and perhaps a spring break to Portugal or Florence would be just the thing to perk up your January blues? Here’s a run-down of ideas for short breaks to Europe and the Med:

Marseille

In recent years Marseille has undergone a great revival. France’s greatest port has shaken off much of its old reputation for sleaze and danger to attract a wider range of visitors. What they discover is an earthy, vibrant city, where the attractions of a major metropolis meet those of the coast, its hitherto down-at-heel appearance scrubbed up for its stint as European Capital of Culture 2013.

You can fly direct to Marseille from Gatwick with Easyjet or from Heathrow with BA. The journey time is approximately two hours and ticket prices lie in the range £55-£125 depending on airline and flight time. Alternatively, you can travel via Eurostar from London or Ashford to Marseille with one change at Paris. The journey time is a little over eight hours, with ticket prices in the approximate range of £60-£85 each way, depending on day of week and departure time.

Average temp Jan-Mar: 7-11 deg. C

Marrakesh

“Morocco City”, as early foreign travellers called it – has always been something of a marketplace where tribesmen and Berber villagers bring their goods, spend their money and find entertainment. At its heart is the Jemaa el Fna, an open space in the centre of the city, where onlookers gather round to watch groups of acrobats, drummers, pipe musicians, dancers, storytellers, comedians and fairground acts.

Average temp Jan-Mar: 13-17 deg. C
Fly: Easyjet from Gatwick, from £70 return

Vienna

Most people visit Vienna with a vivid mental image of a romantic place, full of imperial nostalgia, opera houses and exquisite cakes. Even so, the city can overwhelm with its eclectic feast of architectural styles, from High Baroque through the monumental imperial projects of the late nineteenth century, to the decorative Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) style of the early twentieth, used to great effect on several of the city’s splendid U-Bahn stations.

Average temp Jan-Mar: 2-3 deg. C
Fly: Easyjet from Gatwick, from £70 return

Florence

Since the early nineteenth century Florence has been considered by many to be the most beautiful city in Italy. E.M. Forster’s Room with a View portrayed it as the great southern antidote to the sterility of Anglo-Saxon life. The pinnacle of Brunelleschi’s stupendous cathedral dome dominates the cityscape, and the close-up view is even more breathtaking, with the multicoloured Duomo rising beside the marble-clad Baptistry.

Average temp Jan-Mar: 13-14 deg. C
Fly: Easyjet from Gatwick, from £70 return

Malta

For a few chunks of rock in the southern Mediterranean, Malta punches above its weight as a hugely versatile destination, featuring Baroque palaces to beautiful beaches. It’s an intriguing blend of Italian, Arabic and British influences, a legacy of centuries of invasion and assimilation. The capital, Valletta, will be European City of Culture 2018.

Average temp Jan-Mar: 13-14 deg. C
Fly: Easyjet/BA/Air Malta from Gatwick or Heathrow, from £95 return

Algarve

With many of the country’s best beaches and a year-round balmy climate, unsurprisingly, the Algarve is Portugal’s most popular region for holiday-makers. Inevitably, this also means stretches of the coast – in particular from Faro west to Albufeira – are heavily developed, though even here the beaches are first-rate, as are the facilities. Elsewhere in the Algarve, especially around Sagres and Tavira, the surroundings are more attractive, with laidback resorts and low-key development.

Average temp Jan-Mar: 12-15 deg. C
Fly: Easyjet/BA from Gatwick to Faro, from about £60 return

Rome

The most fascinating city in Italy, Rome is arguably therefore, the most fascinating city in the world. Packed with the relics of over two thousand years of inhabitation, you could spend a month in Rome and still come home wanting more. Yet it’s so much more than an open-air museum: its culture, its food, its people make up a modern, vibrant city that would be worthy of a visit irrespective of its past.

Average temp Jan-Mar: 8-12 deg. C
Fly: Easyjet from Gatwick, from about £60 return

Seville

Byron wrote of Seville as “a pleasant city, famous for oranges and women.” Seville has three important monuments and an illustrious history, but what it’s essentially famous for is its own living self – the greatest city of the Spanish south, of Carmen, Don Juan and Figaro, and the archetype of Andalucian promise.

Average temp Jan-Mar: 11-15 deg. C
Fly: Easyjet/BA from Gatwick, from about £75 return

Paris

We’ve saved the best until last. Long considered the epitome of style, Paris is probably the most glamorous city in Europe. At once deeply traditional yet thoroughly cosmopolitan, its reputation as a hotbed of writers, artists and dissidents lives on, and it remains at the forefront of Western intellectual, artistic and literary life.

Average temp Jan-Mar: 5-9 deg. C
Fly: Loits of carriers but best deals from Easyjet or Vueling, from Gatwick or Southend, from about £50 return

Title Image Credit: PIVISO (Image Cropped)