– This post was written by Becky Wicks –
All loved up with nowhere to go this Valentine’s Day? Just pick up your smartphone and get swiping! No, we don’t mean Tinder, we mean book yourselves some love somewhere exciting with tickets to some amazing destinations. From hand-holding in museums to cruising canals, to smooching over skyscrapers in a helicopter, we’ve got some of the best places to go for Valentine’s Day 2024.
1. Gondolas and cocktails in Venice
Don’t let Cupid miss with his arrows. You can’t look for places to go for Valentine’s Day 2024 without imagining you and your lover on a little gondola ride! Experience the city how lovers have experienced it for centuries, by sitting back and letting someone row your special selves along the canals. For a real valentine special in one of the most romantic places in Europe, Venice is undoubtedly one of the top places to go for Valentine’s Day! Watch out for the floating ambulances though; they’re likely carrying the men who forgot to bring the roses.
After an afternoon exploring the 9th-century St. Mark’s Basilica on a guided tour, make your partner’s night with a Moulin Rouge-style Venice Dinner Show. This mix of traditional food, some mad acrobatics and musicians in a romantic Venetian theater is made extra impressive by the shimmering chandeliers and antique statues. If your date doesn’t notice, they’ll at least like the welcome cocktail and nibbles first in the foyer.
2. Cultural highs and mice in Paris
No couple should head to the city of love without some tickets to the Eiffel Tower on their smartphones. Take an insider’s tour of the towering Paris landmark with a guide, glimpse the great Gustave Eiffel’s apartment and treat your eyes to unparalleled views of Montmartre, the Louvre Museum and of course, your lover, looking all cute and windswept.
A list of places to go for Valentine’s Day in 2024 would not be complete without adding this Parisian landmark!
If you’re cold, warm up in the Louvre and see how your date’s smile compares to the Mona Lisa’s. If you’d rather embrace your inner children again on your Valentine’s getaway, head to Disneyland Paris and make eyes at each other over men in Mickey Mouse suits. While it could be one of the most romantic places to go for Valentine’s Day, be careful not to eat your lunch before the rollercoasters.
3. Get flirty with history in Florence
Back on ground level, there’s more to leave you both breathless at the Uffizi Gallery.
For something different, head to the Selfie Museum, where you can cement your love in a special space dedicated to the creative reinterpretation of art, with immersive installations created by over 400 artists from across the globe. Undoubtedly one of the best places to go for Valentine’s Day 2024.
4. Get hot and steamy in Budapest
It might be cold outside but things are always heating up in Budapest’s steamy spas. Budapest isn’t called the thermal bath capital city of Europe for nothing. There’s nothing steamier for Valentine’s Day weekend than cosying up in the Széchenyi Spa, with its pools of lusciously warm water. Carry on the fun together and get tipsy with a traditional Hungarian tipple afterwards at the Palinka Museum – two of the most fun places to go for Valentine’s Day in 2024, especially for couples.
Now that you’re relaxed, continue the VIP treatment with a cruise on the Danube. A wine cruise with live music will blow any remaining cobwebs away – there are 7 different wines to try! If you’re a couple who likes to keep things more low-key and cultural, why not be entertained by the music of Mozart, Bach and Vivaldi in a stately church? An Organ Concert in St. Stephen’s Basilica makes for a tuneful Valentine’s special, and what a way to wind down after such a romantic day!
5. Theatrical spectaculars in Rome
Get your matching walking shoes on for an itinerary in Rome that we’ve built in… OK, less than a day. Turn your all-access Vatican Pass for the St Peter Basilica, The Vatican and the Sistene Chapel into a challenge to see how many cute couple’s shots you can take while the Pope’s close by. Later, choose what priceless art piece you’d buy for each other if you were millionaires at the Borghese Gallery.
Elsewhere in Rome, treat your eyes to some remarkable views of the Tiber from the iconic mausoleum-turned-museum known as Castel Sant’Angelo. Being adorned with countless Renaissance murals, paintings, and statues, it’s one of the most romantic places to go for Valentine’s Day in 2024 if you’re looking to fill your photo reels with Renaissance vibes.
6. Czech out the culture in Prague
After a romantic breakfast and a Valentine’s Day 2024 stroll over the Charles Bridge, it’s time to inject some passion into your Prague vacation! Link arms under your umbrellas (February might be rainy) and get a unique insight into the lives, trials and traditions of the Jewish people in Prague on a tour through the Jewish Quarter.
Get in touch with your senses, and your partner’s senses too, at the fun Museum of Senses Prague. Let yourselves loose and play amongst 50 different illusions, all designed to stimulate your senses and draw attention to the ones you never knew you had. If that’s not a kind of foreplay for your further Valentine’s Day frolics, we don’t know what is.
Later, relax and lose yourselves in the world’s first Black Light Theater.
7. Beer, boats and bridges in Amsterdam
You and your partner can always cause some Amster-damage in the Red Light district, but if you’ve got a different Valentine’s Day in mind, start your morning more quietly with a romantic stroll around the Rijksmuseum. Mingle with the Golden Age masters, join in mutual envy over all the 16th-century furniture you could never fit into your humble home, then beat the crowds to the Van Gogh museum. This is home to over 200 paintings, drawings and letters from Vincent van Gogh.
After a cultural morning, snuggle up for a romantic canal cruise under Amsterdam’s pretty bridges. Get the lowdown on the city’s past together on a Historic Boat Tour, where you’ll experience Amsterdam from a 100-year-old boat with a local captain who knows all the best places to go for Valentine’s Day in 2024 in Amsterdam – why not get his tips for later?
8. Live the real American Dream in New York
Every good New York romance features the Empire State Building at some point, so this V Day, it’s your turn to see what all the fuss is about. Gaze at America’s favorite neon-lit landscapes from its most famous building, and don’t forget, those windy observation decks make the perfect places to propose… hint hint. We couldn’t have a places to go for Valentine’s Day 2024 post without a little slice of the Big Apple.
If you need a bit of retail therapy with some top-class entertainment to impress your other half, get yourselves to the American Dream in nearby New Jersey. From Nickelodeon Universe to DreamWorks Water Park, to North America’s first indoor year-round snow and ski park – Big Snow – there’s so much to do, you’ll need more than one Valentine’s Day to see it all!
Want to stay in the city? You’ll seem like a cultured catch at the Guggenheim, where you can impress your partner with your knowledge of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and modern art (or just look at the explanations quickly when they’re not looking).
9. A taste of the bizarre in Barcelona
You and your bae in Barcelona, what could be better than that? Well, the look on your lover’s face when you tell them the cost of your fast-track tickets to the magnificent Sagrada Familia is going towards finishing it! That’s right, your Valentine’s Day 2024 present could be a piece of history in the making. Gaudi would have kissed you himself, for that one. Elsewhere, snake an arm around your other half from the Serpent Bench at Park Güell, a colorful and bizarre testament to Gaudí’s warped imagination and without doubt one of Barcelona’s most romantic places to go for Valentine’s Day.
Then, dress to impress and get back to Barcelona basics with some traditional flamenco dancing and a romantic dinner at Tablao de Carmen. Mwah!
10. Get loved up in London
The big smoke can be one of England’s sexiest cities, and you’ll get the best views of it all from the viewing platforms at The View from The Shard. Treat a date to the Moët & Chandon Imperial Brut Champagne at the bar for bonus points. If you can’t wait to share some selfies of you and your new bae, snap yourselves mingling with Einstein, Shakespeare, Dickens, the Queen, Obama and more at Madame Tussauds.
Then get closer to the real Queen with a visit to Kensington Palace and discuss your own regal dreams as you walk like a courtier in the footsteps of Prince William and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge and their kids. How British! All that’s missing is a fine cup of tea and someone moaning about the weather. Which reminds us, always check the London weather before heading out!
What day is Valentine’s Day on in 2024?
Good question! This does change every year. Valentine’s Day 2024 lands on Wednesday February 14th. So if you’re booking a city break, you might want to get booking your flights or transport right now!
Where did Valentine’s Day originate from?
Perhaps surprisingly, the origins of Valentine’s Day are pretty dark, and start in ancient Rome. The Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia from February 13th to 15th, during which they’d make animal sacrifices and whip their women with the slain goat and dog hides. How lovely! Even more bizarrely, the women would line up to be beaten, convinced it would make them fertile. The ‘celebrations’ also meant men and women would be coupled up by way of a lottery system.
There’s also the possibility that our modern Valentine’s Day may have been inspired by the execution of two men by Emperor Claudius II in the third century — both named Valentine — on February 14th of different years. Their martyrdom was then honored by the Catholic Church, and thus we have our St. Valentine’s Day.
