Continuing tonight is the series that sees Julia
Bradbury and Toby Amies offer opinionated,

authoritative and inspirational consumer travel
advice. In this instalment, the intrepid duo find out
where to go when time is at a premium. Julia
learns to belly dance and has a Turkish massage
in Istanbul, while Toby enjoys a few days in New
York, cycling over Brooklyn Bridge and eating
oysters at Grand Central Station.
In recent years, falling air fares and the rise of travel
websites offering bargains online mean that the
options for a short-break holiday have become
greater than ever before. It is now perfectly possible
to spend a long weekend in a far-flung destination
without breaking the bank, and the public have
taken the concept of the short break – once the
preserve of jet-setting playboys – to heart.
To celebrate this travel trend, Julia and Toby
explore some of the best short-break deals
available in two of the world’s richest and most
exciting cities.
Julia travels to the ancient city of Istanbul, the
historic bridge between Europe and Asia, which
straddles the Bosphorus Strait. Noisy, bustling
Istanbul bristles with monumental sites such as
the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia museum and
Topkapi Palace, once home to the sultan and his
harem. It is also a shopping mecca, with the
labyrinthine Grand Bazaar selling everything from
pottery and spices to carpets and handbags.
However, Julia is keen to scratch the surface of
the city’s cultural pursuits, so she signs up for an
exotic belly-dancing class. After all that exertion,
she then decides to relax at one of Istanbul’s many
Turkish baths, indulging in a traditional massage.
For his short break this week, Toby hops across
to the other side of the pond to enjoy a couple of
days in the Big Apple. There are perhaps more
distractions in New York City than any other place
in the world, but Toby decides to spend his time
on an invigorating bicycle ride over the Brooklyn
Bridge, treating himself to some spectacular
views of Manhattan. He then heads to New York’s
world-famous Grand Central Station to guzzle
oysters and watch the world go by.