Best Halloween holidays: Jet2 names six haunting escapes for spooky getaways

With Halloween creeping closer, travellers are beginning to search for unique breaks offering spine-tingling sites to explore and macabre attractions to indulge their spooky side1.

In response to the growing demand1, Jet2CityBreaks has curated a list of its most atmospheric European escapes for autumn, featuring murky histories, haunting sightings, and creepy legends. Adventurous explorers will love discovering the darker side of these popular cities on trips handpicked for their lesser known, yet chilling highlights.

With convenient flight times and a vast choice of destinations, holidaymakers can choose from a long weekend or mid-week break depending on their budget and needs, putting a spooktacular autumn holiday this Halloween within everyone’s reach. Customers booking a city break can choose from a flight-only option with Jet2.com or an ATOL-protected package holiday with Jet2CityBreaks.

Package options with Jet2CityBreaks include a huge choice of accommodation, fantastic flight times, ATOL protection, free 10kg hand luggage and free 22kg hold baggage on all European city routes, all for a low £60 per person booking deposit.

For the ultimate haunting holiday this autumn, look no further than these spine-chilling breaks with Jet2CityBreaks.

H10 Raco Del Pi, Barcelona

Immerse yourself in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter at the most atmospheric time of the year with a stay at H10 Raco Del Pi. This 18th-century listed building is the perfect base to explore the darker side of Barcelona, with décor that fuses modern comfort with traditional gothic touches.

The hotel is located close to traditional tourist activities, as well as a few of the spookier kind. Thrill-seekers will love touring haunting attractions that expose Barcelona’s dark past, such as the city’s oldest house, Carrer de Salomó Ben Adret, which has been inhabited for almost a thousand years. There’s also the historic home of the city’s executioner, Casa del Botxí, and the array of Gothic-inspired architecture that gives the quarter its name.

Sample package:

Jet2CityBreaks – Spain, Barcelona, 3+ star H10 Raco Del Pi, 3 nights room-only departing from Manchester on 21st October.

Price: £529 per person based on 2 sharing, includes a 22kg baggage allowance.

The Inn at the Roman Forum, Rome

Unwind in the style of the ancient Romans – and maybe even meet their ghosts. The Inn at the Roman Forum is a luxury boutique hotel just steps away from the city’s most-visited ancient sites and home to its own Roman crypto portico – a set of ancient underground ruins dating from 50 BC to 14 AD.

In walking distance is the Piazza Navona, the site of a ghostly horse-drawn carriage. Via del Governo Vecchio is another nearby hotspot for paranormal activity. This picturesque street is often voted one of the prettiest in the city, but when night falls, phantom nuns, pesky poltergeists and fog figures emerge. If that’s not spooky enough, take a tour of the Roman Catacombs, former underground burial grounds that date from the second to the fifth century – many of which are open to daring visitors.

Sample package:

Jet2CityBreaks – Italy, Rome, 5 star The Inn At The Roman Forum, 3 nights bed & breakfast departing from Edinburgh on 25th October.

Price: £959 per person based on 2 sharing, includes a 22kg baggage allowance.

Century Old Town Prague MGallery, Prague

For history buffs in search of the spooky side of Prague, Century Old Town is an unmissable stay. This Neo-Baroque building boasts Franz Kafka’s former office and is the perfect base for a chilling city break.

The infamous Medieval Houska Castle is just a day trip away and one of the world’s best-known haunted locations. It is believed to be built over a gateway to hell – designed not to keep enemies out, but to keep evil in. Its chequered past is said to include ghosts, Nazis, and even Satan himself.

For something less historical but just as frightful, Halloween enthusiasts will love the Prague Fear House, an interactive horror experience that’s not for the faint-hearted.

Sample package:

Jet2CityBreaks – Czech Republic, Prague, 4 star Century Old Town Prague Mgallery, 3 nights bed & breakfast departing from Leeds Bradford on 17th October. Price: £549 per person based on 2 sharing, includes a 22kg baggage allowance.

Wawel Queen, Krakow

Krakow is built on many fantastical legends, and Wawel Queen is the perfect spot to discover them from. This boutique hotel embraces its history with cosy décor that’s perfect for relaxing on an autumn evening after exploring the city’s captivating and chilling history.

The hotel is located at the foot of Wawel Royal Castle, associated with various legends and paranormal happenings from dragons to ghostly court jesters, magical glowing stones to Prussian invaders.

If underground exploration is more your scene, the Wieliczka Salt Mine is a spooky site that wouldn’t look out of place in a horror thriller. A tour of the salt mine takes intrepid visitors through labyrinthine passageways, passing underground lakes, eerie chapels and sculptures carved directly from the salt.

Sample package:

Jet2CityBreaks – Poland, Krakow, 4 star Wawel Queen, 3 nights bed & breakfast departing from Newcastle International on 18th October.

Price: £439 per person based on 2 sharing, includes a 22kg baggage allowance.

Hotel Scandinavia, Venice

Venice is best known for romance, but it has some spine-tingling secrets too. A stay at the charming Hotel Scandinavia on the Campo Santa Maria Formosa promises easy access to an array of spooky sites and curiosities.

One of the most haunted is Poveglia, a mysterious island with a centuries-long haunted reputation thanks to its history as a military base, hospital and plague quarantine site. Visitors are strictly prohibited, but the island can be observed from the ferry on a day trip to Lido.

A little less off the beaten track, Palazzo Mastelli Square has three statues which legend says are fabric merchants turned to stone by a disgruntled customer. Just a short walk away is Casin degli Spiriti, “House of Souls” which is believed to be the cursed haunt of demons, and a real 1950s murder. While tourists cannot enter, the ghastly energy is palpable even in passing.

Sample package:

Jet2CityBreaks – Italy, Venice, 3 star Hotel Scandinavia, 3 nights bed & breakfast departing from Manchester on 14th October.

Price: £539 per person based on 2 sharing, includes a 22kg baggage allowance.

Hotel Museum, Budapest

Most tourists come to Budapest to experience the city’s unique array of spas, but this destination also has plenty of ghoulish history to offer thrill-seekers. After a long day of spooky sightseeing, travellers can take a well-earned rest and put their feet up with a cocktail at Hotel Museum, a historic spa hotel in the heart of the city, complete with sauna, hot tub, and Turkish bath facilities.

Buda Castle should be top of the list of hotspots for those interested in the macabre. The castle’s underground labyrinth once served as a shelter during times of war in the Middle Ages, a harem during Turkish occupation, and a hospital and bomb shelter during World War II. It’s also home to ‘Dracula’s Chamber’, the location where Vlad the Impaler is said to have been imprisoned and tortured for fourteen years.

Sample package:

Jet2CityBreaks – Hungary, Budapest, 4 star Hotel Museum Budapest, 3 nights room-only departing from Leeds Bradford on 18th October.

Price: £449 per person based on 2 sharing, includes a 22kg baggage allowance.

All prices correct at the time of issue.

For further information and to book visit www.jet2holidays.com/city-breaks.