Pack Your Bags

There’s more to packing for a weekend city break than remembering your passport, a handful of condoms and a miniature bottle of all-in-one shower gel, shampoo and face wash. After all, you’re not a character from The Inbetweeners. As such, assembling a tightly-edited selection of clothes that ensures you look excellent for the duration – with minimal effort – is both essential and well within reach.  
 
Firstly, it’s time to surrender the suitcase. In an age where it costs nearly as much to put baggage into the hold as it does for the plane ticket, it just makes good economic sense to keep things minimal and go down the hand-luggage route, so opt for a capacious but handsome backpack. Plus, this way, you don’t waste precious holiday minutes waiting at arrivals for your case to trundle onto the carousel. 
 
Once you’ve sourced a sack that’s up to the challenge, such as the one below, be rigorous about what you put in it. Whether it’s a luxury mini-break for two or a cheap and cheerful trip with the boys, chances are you’re not going to be schlepping it up a mountain or doing anything that requires specialist kit, so there’s no need to over-pack.
 
This leaves you with two main scenarios to tick off: mooching about town during the day, and sharpening up for a night out in the local pub/taverna/bierkeller (delete as appropriate). By day, you’ll need a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, some comfortable trainers and a jacket to fend of those surprise deluges. By night, it’s as simple as exchanging the tee for a smart Oxford shirt.
 
So go forth, intrepid travellers, and become the best-dressed Brit abroad.