Paris

Just a two-hour ride away on the Eurostar [4] from London or a short flight from airports around the UK, Paris is hard to beat when it comes to weekend getaways. You might not be able to take late-night strolls along the Seine [5] until the flooding subsides, but there are a million and one more romantic activities to enjoy in the City of Light. Spend your afternoons wandering the cobblestone streets of the Latin Quarter, soaking up some culture and a bit of elusive sunshine at Musée Rodin [6], or just indulging in an inordinate amount of freshly baked baguettes smothered in Camembert (best enjoyed with a glass — or several glasses — of Cabernet).

I'd recommend renting one of holiday rentals company Paris Perfect [7]'s charming apartments in the French capital if you want to blend the convenient, comfortable atmosphere of an apartment with the accommodations of a luxury hotel. The agency also offers a number of romantic package deals [8] — planning city tours, river cruises (when available), and even dinner reservations for you and your other half (so really, all you've got to worry about is buying your Eurostar tickets).

Most apartments start around £250 a night, but booking before Feb. 28 [9] will save you 25 percent!

Caithness

Most assume you've got to head to Iceland or Finland for a good look at aurora borealis, but did you know you can actually catch the Northern Lights a whole lot closer to home in Scotland? (I, for one, did not!) Counties like Caithness offer extraordinary glimpses of the lights, as well as several adorable spots to stay: The Clachan in Wick is one such example. Continuously rated one of the top bed and breakfasts in Scotland [10], it's incredibly cosy as well as incredibly affordable (rooms for two start at just £70 a night).

While the Northern Lights are visible [11] from now through late April, they're most easily spotted before the end of February. So if you'd like to catch these colourful lights dancing across the sky this year, be sure to book a trip as soon as you can!

Venice

Like Paris, Venice is also brimming with delicious wine (and pasta — so much pasta), enchanting cobblestone streets, and endless opportunities for romance. Best of all, because it's still this northern Italian city's off-season, flights to Venice [12] are remarkably cheap right now (like, £20 kind of cheap).

Saving so much on travel also allows you to splurge elsewhere — on gondola rides, decadent dinners, and luxury hotels, like the opulent and aptly named Aqua Palace [13] (double rooms start around £100).

Glasgow

First and foremost, let us all rejoice in the fact that Glasgow just opened The Gin Spa [14] — a day spa offering the brilliant combination of gin-inspired botanical treatments and cocktails (treatments [15] start at £20). If you and your partner are looking for a little relaxation and a bit of a buzz during your getaway, Glasgow's become hard to beat.

If the opportunity to have a gin-soaked spa day hasn't sold you, the accommodations at Gleneagles Hotel might do the trick. Described as "the Riviera in the Highlands [16]," this countryside escape an hour's train ride from Glasgow has top-notch golf courses, its own spa, and even a two-Michelin-star restaurant. Unsurprisingly, Gleneagles isn't the most budget-friendly place to stay (rooms start around £275 a night), but if you're looking to enjoy a bourgeois couple of days away, this is the spot.

Vienna

Known for its waltzes, stunning architecture, and legendary composers it's produced (Mozart and Beethoven both called the Austrian capital home), Vienna is a lovely — albeit chilly! — city to spend the weekend. Best of all, it's currently ball season in the City of Music [17], so you and your partner can don your finest gowns and tails and dance the night away, Cinderella-style.

Vienna's also home to loads of very inexpensive hotels and bed and breakfasts, including Hotel Resonaz [18] (where rooms start at just £35 a night), so you and your SO can feel like European royalty even if you don't exactly have a king's budget.

Porto

If you two are dying to escape the UK's dreary weather, hop on a plane and jet off to Porto, Portugal, one weekend this Spring. Flights from London to Porto [19] will only put you out by about £25, and I'd say the promise of sunshine, wine, and seaside air is worth a whole lot more.

Nestled along the ever-cool and artsy Rua do Rosário, you'll find the Rosa et Al Townhouse [20], which offers cooking classes, yoga sessions, and gorgeous suites to its guests (blending the feel of an all-inclusive resort with that of a cosy B&B). Suites (which include access to your very own day spa) start around £104 a night.

Dublin

Maybe you're hoping to get a taste of the city's St. Patrick's Day celebrations [21] this March (which, for the record, taste like a whole lot of Guinness), or perhaps you'd prefer to enjoy a quiet couple of days in the capital of the Emerald Isle. Either way, Dublin is the perfect town for a weekend getaway.

Both flights and lodging are delightfully reasonably priced (you can get there for just £30 from London [22]!), and what better way to break from routine than by knocking back a few pints along Temple Bar [23] and getting lost in the stacks of the Trinity College library [24] with your partner?

Book a stay at Cassidy's Hotel [25] — a self-proclaimed "little gem in the heart of Dublin" (think mod, boutique hotel meets old-school B&B) — where rooms start at just £45 a night.

Prague

Personally, I'd say Prague is one of the only cities that rivals Paris when it comes to romance and charm — and it's got chimney cakes (also known as trdelník, a doughy, rolled dessert that's reason enough to fly to the Czech Republic). Sugary treats aside, Prague has all of the breathtaking bridges, castles, and old-world allure that any couple could ask of a weekend retreat. Flights start at about £35 [26], and the city's also got its fair share of high-end, low-cost hotels, like the MGallery by Sofitel [27] (rooms run about £80 a night).

(PS: Keep an eye on Google's LastMinuteTravel feature [28] and you might be able to snag a room for as little as £4! Yes, really.)

London

Whether you are London-based and longing for a little staycation or live elsewhere in the UK and could use a visit to the Big Smoke, Artist Residence [29] is a fabulous spot to spend the weekend with your partner (and a favourite amongst some of the UK's chicest bloggers [30]). It's not the cheapest getaway (the smallest rooms start around £150 a night), but the hotel's oh-so-cool rooms, restaurants, and cocktail bars are a treat we all deserve (self-care is important, you know?). Not to mention the fact that London's currently playing host to a number of incredible exhibitions — from Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion [31] at the V&A to The EY Exhibition: Impressionists in London [32] at the Tate Britain. What better place for an inspiring, weekend retreat?

Note: Rooms can be tricky to snag here, so aim to book a few weeks in advance!