City break packing list
Sized for a weekend and a single cabin bag. The whole list is built around one decision: you will walk further than you think, so the shoes come first.
33 items
Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.
The items
- Walking shoes, already broken inNot the new ones. A blister on the first morning ruins two days.
- Cabin bag
- Check the airline's size in centimetres
- Liquids under 100ml, in one clear bag
- Nothing sharp — that includes the little scissors
- Clothes
- One outfit per day, plus one
- A layer for the eveningCities get cold once the sun drops behind the buildings.
- Something you would wear to a good restaurant
- Underwear and socks×3
- Pyjamas
- Rain jacket that packs smallNot an umbrella. Umbrellas die in city wind.
- Documents
- ID or passport
- Boarding passes, downloaded not just bookmarked
- Hotel address written down somewhere offline
- European health card, if it applies
- Electronics
- Phone charger
- Power bankA full day of maps and photos empties a phone by four o'clock.
- Travel adaptor
- Headphones
- Toiletries
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
- Deodorant
- Any medication you take daily
- Painkillers
- PlastersFor the blister you were going to avoid.
- Refillable water bottle
- Small day bag that closes properly
- A little cashFor the one bakery, market stall or toilet that refuses cards.
- Sunglasses
- Book or something downloaded for the journey
Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.
Questions people ask
- Will this fit in hand luggage?
- Yes, for two nights. The two things that usually break a cabin bag are shoes and liquids, so there is one spare pair here and everything liquid is under 100ml.
- What do people forget on a city break?
- A power bank and a refillable bottle. You are outdoors all day with a phone doing maps, photos and tickets, and nowhere obvious to charge it.