UKC

Hello, 

Before I start diving into an endless search on UKC and the internet, does anyone know of anywhere myself and the misses could go for a city break (ticks the box for her) but coincidently there is sport climbing near by (ticks the box for me)?

All I can think of off the top of my head would be somewhere like Alicante, Spain. 

Cheers in advance.

Llandudno.

Valencia is nice - and not far from Chulilla.  There’s a fair amount of sport climbing pretty close to Palermo

Saltzburg. Climbings nothing to shout about but the town is wonderful.

Barcelona, Nice, Marseille?

LOL.

A great Woman is better than any climb, so maintain focus, treat her with respect and forget the climbing.

 

The upvote is from my misses, the downvote is from me. She enjoys climbing too, but she'd prefer to leave the harness at home. 

40 years in, still laughing and smiling, A great woman is better than any climb. Having said that, if you insist, Paris, romance and culture, and a day at Font, because anyone who cannot appreciate the subtle art of bouldering ..............., and no ropes or harness needed.

It's a compromise that will result in an inferior crag and city day.

Climb hard wed or thurs, then go to Paris for the weekend. Don't use public transport, get a map and walk everywhere. You'll see masses and your legs will get a good workout. Similar with Rome. 

What time of year, what grades?

As above, Barcelona (Montserrat) and Valencia (Chulilla) are obvious ones.

Alicante has good climbing near by but isn't all that as a city.

Granada is a classic city break, Cahorros is practically in the suburbs and there are several other options nearby. 

Naples is a great city and you can add Pompeii and the Amalfi coast. The latter has climbing and sight-seeing. 

Palermo has some good climbing. 

Nuremberg for the Frankenjura.

Athens is anther great city of course, there is plenty of small scale local climbing. Not up to the famous Greek venues but this is city break with added climbing right?

Verona has Arco about an hour north, which is gorgeous in itself and has masses of climbing

Nice and of course Provence are lovely, and not lacking in local climbing.

Fontainebleau is easy to get to from Paris by public transport and you can hire bouldering mats from the local climbing shop and the local climbing wall (Karma). 

That's a couple of years worth to go at!

Forget about Salzburg if it is not multipitch. The multipitch on Untersberg is really good and easy to access. The town - worth an hour long walk. Lived there for thirty years - mentally it is a village.

I did a few days in El chorro last year and then a long weekend in Grenada and throughly enjoyed both. I think there's more climbing near Grenada if you don't want the 2 hour drive between the two.

Sheffield and Horseshoe fits the bill nicely 😍😂

You beat me to it. I was going to suggest Bristol and Wyndcliff Quarry!

Helsinki, Stockholm or Goteborg/Gothenburg - all have climbing in the city, you can walk to some crags and boulders others use subway, or tram or local buses to get to. I've done city climbing in Helsinki and Stockholm but not Gothenburg - but have heard to that is really good.

Seconded, been and worked there several times. I´d add: the weather is often shite. Absolute highlight was buying some amazingly delicious pumpkin seed oil at the market. But you can also get that in Graz, which at least has a few good student concert venues and way more pleasant and reliable weather.

I'd say Vancouver, but I didn't really go there for the city...

Rio?

Cape Town.

Bogota - great food, exciting nightlife. Get the bus out to Suesca for some bolts

I fairly recently did a city break that combined sightseeing with climbing. Admittedly it was bouldering rather than sport climbing, but it was in a pretty dramatic situation:  Central Park. Unfortunately, if you wanted to take a mat you might have to leave your partner behind to make room on the plane.

Luxembourg.  

How far do you consider "nearby".

Siurana is 1h30m from Barcelona and for me I'd say that's nearby.

E

I've got a loose plan to spend a few days around Granada in October with MrsD.   Do you know what climbing guides / topos are available ?

Barcelona has some decent cragging within 30 mins drive of the city centre (send me a message if you want recommendations), though it’s already too hot to be climbing in the sun and you will be hunting shade. Montserrat is about an hour away and has some shadier sport climbing on its northern side, and of course Siurana is only 90 mins away, which is doable in a day trip.

I did that one. It was great as all you need are a pair of shoes really. Ground below is generally forgiving. Went out early from the hotel on the basis I was going for a run/breakfast neither of which interests my partner. Could then return and do art and culture for the rest of the day. Food is great too.

Just finished six days climbing around Nice. Did a few routes at La Turbie and then back by late afternoon for a beer in the sun at the Old Port, followed by dinner later in the Old Town.

Life could be worse! 

Given the new Bristol Sport guide features all the new sport in Avon Gorge and the revised approach to bolting said gorge, I'd say you could book into one of those boutique hotels in the posh parts of Bristol and wander down to the river when ever you felt the need

Lisbon and either Sintra (mountain granite), or Guia (coastal)

Athens - very cool city and has its own sport climbing guidebook. Can't vouch for the local climbing though, have only ever spent days in town en route to or from Kaly & Leonidio. (Definitely don't try Leonidio as a day trip!)

A slightly left-field suggestion (as it's not a big city) would be Béziers, in the south of France. It's a gorgeous ancient city that's a lovely place to hang out for a couple of days. I was near there last summer and there's what sounds like a near perfect crag for you - Le Landeyran. It's an easy 20 min or so drive from the city, it's in a beautiful, location, it has a 30 second walk-in, it has a printed topo on a board at the foot of the crag, it has loads of routes grades 5, 6 and 7, and it was in the shade from when we got there in the morning until when we left mid-afternoon.

I can imagine you may run out of city things to do on an extended trip but for a quick hit city-break it could be ideal.

La Turbie Monaco

https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/la_turbie-3281/

Failing that Ratho Edinburgh 

My mate Nikos took me to Athens for a week.  We had a few days in the Meteora (loved it) and then we returned to Athens.  I thought the local crags were a bit scruffy, to be honest.

Tarragona is a great city, and about an hour to Siurana if you have a car.

Had a great couple of days in Tarragona with my wife last Autumn.  Lovely small city, attractive old town, interesting Roman sites, cathedral etc.  Can also get to the more easterly Prades crags in about 30 to 40 minutes (La Mussara, Mont-ral, La Riba).

You could fly to Trieste, and pop over to Osp in Slovenia to climb, which is about 20 mins drive. 

Sorry no, I havnt been, just read a little about the crags, there was a good thread on 'the other channel' (I.e. UK bouldering) recently if you can find it.

https://climb-europe.com/rockclimbingshop/granada-sport-climbing-guidebook-... 

Thanks.  Might be worth looking out.

Split, great historical city with Sustipan for DWS a short walk along the riva or sport climbing up the hill at Marjan

Luxembourg City for sightseeing, Berdorf for climbing (accessible by free public transport).

I’m surprised you’ve not promoted Aberdeen with its good transport links and sport climbing accessible on public transport.

For something a bit more memorable, Zaragoza and a day out in Riglos. 

Well now you bring it up the Granite City is an obvious choice. I've been trying to resist. As you say sport climbing near at hand, bonnie countryside, a fine city with much to commend it if you look - and avoid Abermoanians. I'm a fine of the Art Gallery, Maritime Museum, Botanic Gardens, our parks, beach (in the city and both north and south) and riverside walks. Deeside beckons for an away day. Fine cafes and eateries abound.

Another top pick, though a car would be needed, is Inverness. Lots of great things to see both in the Sneckie and nearby plus great sport at Moy, Strathnairn or, further afield, Loch Fleet or Gairloch).

Another vote for Granada. Did something similar a few years ago and climbed at Alfacar which is about 20 mins from Granada. Some details on this thread

https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/rock_talk/climbing_around_granada_spain-7...

Have recently been through Cuenca, east of Madrid. Beautiful city, great restaurants and bars, perched on cliffs with river gorges on either side. Loads of climbing in both gorges, and within walking distance of the city.