City breaks have a habit of catching you out. Too much luggage slows you down; too little and you’re hunting for a pharmacy on day one. This list is built for 2–5 days in any city — carry-on only, nothing you’ll regret.
🧳 The Bag
- A carry-on that fits overhead – The single best decision you can make before any city break. 40L is the sweet spot — enough for four or five days, small enough to skip baggage claim entirely.
- A packable day bag – Your main bag stays at the hotel; this goes with you. Something lightweight that folds down to nothing and holds a jacket, water bottle, and whatever you pick up along the way.
👕 Clothing
- Three to four tops, mix of casual and smart – Cities move between café mornings and dinner reservations fast. Pack for both without doubling up unnecessarily.
- Two bottoms that do real work – Trousers or jeans that look good at dinner but won’t ruin a long walk. Dark colours travel well and hide the miles.
- One outfit you could wear to anything – A city break usually throws up one unexpectedly nice evening. Have something for it.
- A packable layer – A lightweight down jacket or a good merino layer. Compresses to almost nothing and solves almost every weather problem.
- Comfortable walking shoes you’d wear to dinner – This is the holy grail. Find them before you go. Your feet will thank you by day three.
🧴 Toiletries & Health
- Decanted bottles under 100ml – Refill your own containers rather than buying travel-size. Better products, less waste, and everything fits in one clear bag.
- Lip balm and hand cream – Flying and air-conditioned hotels are brutal. These weigh nothing and save a lot of discomfort.
- A small first aid kit – Plasters, ibuprofen, antihistamines. Small enough to forget about until you really need it.
- Reusable water bottle – Fill it after security. Most cities have excellent tap water and you’ll save a small fortune over a few days.
📱 Tech & Documents
- Universal travel adapter – One adapter that covers everywhere is better than four specific ones. Keep it permanently in your bag.
- Power bank – A full day of maps, photos, and boarding passes drains a phone faster than you’d think. A 10,000mAh gets most people through two full days.
- Download everything offline – Maps, tickets, hotel confirmation, boarding passes. Assume you’ll need them all without signal at some point.
- Printed copies of key documents – Old school, but if your phone dies at the airport, you’ll be glad you did it.
💰 Money
- A fee-free travel card – Wise or Starling for most people. No foreign transaction fees, real exchange rates, and you’ll save meaningfully over a few days compared to your regular bank card.
- Small amount of local cash – Some markets, taxis, and smaller spots still prefer it. €50 or equivalent is usually enough.
💡 Things Nobody Tells You
- Wear your heaviest shoes on travel days – They take up the most bag space. Wear them to the airport and the problem disappears.
- Pack half what you think you need – Genuinely. You will not wear the backup outfit.
- Check your hotel’s bag storage policy – Most will hold luggage on your last day so you can keep exploring after checkout. Worth confirming in advance.
- One packing cube per category – Clothes, cables, toiletries. Makes repacking after a day out genuinely painless.
Anything we missed? Leave it in the comments.