Bath
The Georgian Bath immortalised in Jane Austen is still very visible in this fantastic city. Honey-coloured houses and cobbled streets in an otherwise very modern city set the scene excellently. The house at No. 1 Royal Crescent has been restored to something like its original Georgian grandeur (www.bath-preservation-trust.org.uk) and you can also dive into the touristy Jane Austen Centre (www.janeausten.co.uk). Perhaps the best reason for visiting Bath though predates Austen by hundreds of years. Originally developed by the Romans as a spa town, you can still see the ruins of the Roman Baths (www.romanbaths.co.uk) and round the corner from these an utterly luxurious multi-million pound modern complex offers naturally heated waters and a fantastic roof-top pool (www.thermaebathspa.com).

Cambridge
Shaped by the colleges of its famous university, Cambridge is a beautiful city and great place to go for a short break, or even just a day out in the summer. The colleges are, of course, majestic collections of wings and quads and most are happy to let people wander around the grounds and enjoy their imposing presence. Our real love for this city though is founded upon the river Cam that flows through it. During the summer months, Cambridge students earning holiday cash are on hand to punt you down its lazy lengths. Of course, it’s much more fun if you take a punt out yourself – it’s a heck of a lot harder than it looks, but a brilliant way to lark about on the river all the same.

Edinburgh
With a castle, steep cobbled streets, plenty of cultural things to see and do and the Scottish accent, Edinburgh really does have it all. If you’ve never been north of the border, Scotland’s capital is the perfect place to start. It’s a very long drive from London so we’d recommend you take the train where the journey will take you only just over four hours from King’s Cross. Of course, though, the best time to visit the city is during the Fringe Festival. Running playfully alongside the more formal Edinburgh International Festival (www.eif.co.uk), the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (www.edfringe.com) is a non-stop mix of theatre, comedy, exhibitions and shows that range across everything from traditional art to avant-garde plays. Running at the end of August every year, the websites can provide you with specific dates and performance schedules. Trust us though, if you’ve never been, this is worth every minute of the train journey!

Dublin
What is there that you can say about Dublin that isn’t already known? Brilliant nightlife, the home of Guinness, location of the intimidating Croke Park and capital of Irish culture. Dublin is a hugely vibrant city and one of the very best places to visit in the UK and Ireland for an extended weekend. Getting there is simple enough, flights from London to Dublin take a little over an hour. If you’re prepared to put in the drive, you can also take a ferry (www.irishferries.com) from Holyhead right into Dublin itself. This has the added advantage of taking you across Wales, which we’re aware doesn’t have a representative city in our Top Five. We thought long and hard about Cardiff, which has a fantastic bay and brilliant rugby supporters, but in the end it just missed out.

Brighton
Brighton is famous for two things – its pier and its liberal attitude that has earned it the nickname, Gay Capital of the UK. Put these two facts together, and you end with up with a surprisingly lively city, given its relatively small size. The surviving pier – the West Pier was destroyed by fire – is home to an old fashioned arcade as well as funfair rides (including a surprisingly good rollercoaster) that look out over the sea (www.brightonpier.co.uk). Elsewhere, Brighton’s reputation for counter-culture has attracted a huge range of eclectic shops and boutiques offering some of the best shopping to be found outside of London. And for those sunny days, the promenade and beach have plenty of places to sit and soak up the rays with an ice cream or cool beer. After dark the city doesn’t disappoint either. The established gay scene combines with a burgeoning music circuit to provide top-quality clubbing for everyone. It’s even possible to catch the train down in the morning, relax during the day, party during the night and then roll back to the station when day breaks to head back to London for a well-earned sleep.