Summer city breaks – are they getting too risky?

Summer in the city: one of the true joys of travel. Whether you are in Manchester, Milan or Montreal, July and August are special times. These are densely populated, hard-working business cities. But come summer, many of the locals leave town and create a vacuum that tourists can fill with ease.

Life for visitors, as well as residents who have stayed behind, spills out into the streets and squares, with picnics the common denominator. For all the passing travellers, the city feels spacious.

The very first 48 Hours in … city-guide article took shape because of a special deal that I picked up in July 1989. I was a budding freelance. A semi-student deal was on sale for £109, including flights from Gatwick on Caledonian Airways and two nights’ accommodation in Istanbul.

My first report in what would become a decades-long series was all about what you could do in 48 hours in Turkey’s biggest city; editors at The Independent speculated that prescribing what you should do in great cities might have some legs, and I started pounding the streets of many cities in search of hidden gems.

I returned to Istanbul for the umpteenth 48 Hours last year, this time with a film crew.

Capitals are arguably even better summer destinations than the average city, because the solemn business of government takes a break. Berlin and Brussels are particularly appealing.

From 31 July, when parliament rises, Westminster will be handed over to tourists, who will turn it into their urban playground as they sprawl happily from Trafalgar Square down Whitehall and into St James’s Park.

For outbound British travellers, summer is a marvellous opportunity to trespass gleefully in someone else’s city. I am a fan of British Airways’ summer city breaks, which typically provide return flights from London Heathrow plus accommodation for a lot less than the air fare alone.

Take a look to find urban escapes in August to a vast range of European cities for the opening price of £179 per person. The idea is to fill planes whose business travellers are currently sunning themselves beside the Med or the Atlantic. I look forward to easyJet Holidays emulating the idea.

Yet perhaps the summer city break has had its day. This year aviation chaos has been a regular weekend feature. Looking on Saturday evening at the flights cancelled to great cities, I see British Airways has…