Where to go in April

Either side of the Easter break, you’ll find crowd-free destinations and 'shoulder-season' prices. Here's our pick of the best April destinations.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Temperature 12ºC

Although tulip season generally lasts from late March to May, you’ll find the flowers at their best in the middle of April and their vibrant colours are reason enough to visit Holland at this time of year.

If you don’t want to venture out of the city, do some canal-side wandering until you reach the floating Bloemenmarkt, or flower market, which has been here since 1862. 

It’s still housed on barges, which makes sense as, in the past, flowers used to arrive from the countryside by boat. If you don’t want to buy bunches you could always get bulbs to plant at home. 

Read more: Best city breaks in Europe

Amsterdam, Netherlands scores and ratings

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New York, USA

Temperature 16ºC

If you avoid Easter, April is one of the cheaper months to fly to the Big Apple. We found hand baggage-only fares that still gave you change from £300.

If the weather cooperates, you could catch an early-season game of baseball at the New York Mets in Queens, or the New York Yankees in the Bronx. Don’t worry that you might not understand what’s going on. It doesn’t matter. Just grab a beer and a hot dog and soak up the quintessentially American atmosphere.

And with winter over, outdoor food markets reappear this month; try Brooklyn’s Smorgasburg Market on Saturdays in Williamsburg and Sundays in Prospect Park.

Read more: best long-haul city breaks

New York, USA scores and ratings

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Valencia, Spain

Temperature 20ºC

Our top-scoring European city-break destination is a wonderful place to visit at any time of year, but in April Valencia starts to warm up.

The weather is pleasant without being stifling, making it the perfect time to explore, without the crowds or high-season prices.

Its lively Old Town is the star attraction. Climb the cathedral’s Gothic tower, gawp at the naughty gargoyles of La Lonja (the 15th-century silk exchange), or hunt out the miniature house for cats in Barrio del Carmen – a refuge for the city’s strays (look down or you’ll miss it).

Valencia, Spain scores and ratings

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Kyoto, Japan

Temperature 17ºC

Sakura is the Japanese word for cherry blossom. April (particularly the first two weeks) sees excited crowds descend on parks and public spaces to meet friends and picnic when these trees are at their finest pink: to call it something of a national obsession would be an understatement.

In Kyoto, Maruyama-koen Park sees many hanami (cherry blossom viewing) parties, especially on weekend evenings. 

At the north end of Imperial Palace Park the highlight is the weeping cherry trees. Along the Kamo-gawa River is another popular spot where you’ll find crowds gathering to stroll and take blossom-backed photos.

Kyoto, Japan scores and ratings

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Wells, UK

Temperature 12ºC

Year after year, Which? readers rate Wells in Somerset their favourite city break destination in the whole of the UK. Quite a feat, given its small size.

The attraction lies in its crowd-free, first-rate sights. Visit in April to see the spring sunshine fall on Wells Cathedral, an epic endeavour of ecclesiastical architecture acknowledged as the earliest English Cathedral to be built in the Gothic style.

Alongside runs Vicar’s Close, one of the only intact residential medieval streets left in Britain, with the moated Bishop’s Palace close by.

And it’s all so easily walkable. England’s smallest city has a historic core that’s hardly a mile wide.

Read more: Best city breaks in the UK

Wells, UK scores and ratings

City score combines overall satisfaction and likelihood to recommend.