The short break, as this site means it
A short break here means a trip of one, two or three nights taken by a guest travelling on his own, planned around a return ticket already bought.
The phrase is used narrowly on this site. A short break is a trip of one, two or at most three nights, taken alone, with the return already booked before the outbound leg is flown. Everything written here assumes that shape, because the shape is what makes the planning different.
Why the shape matters
A resident can move an evening to next week. A guest with a Sunday flight cannot. Every decision on a short break is therefore made under a deadline that does not move, which changes what counts as sensible: earlier messages, longer sessions, and a clear first choice of evening rather than a vague sense that it will sort itself out.
The three shapes
One night, where arrival and departure sit close enough together that the booking has to be placed against a train or a flight. Two nights, the Friday to Sunday case, which holds one evening that can carry a booking and rarely two. Three nights, where a public holiday Monday has stretched the weekend and the middle night becomes the obvious one to use. Each has a page of its own under the guides.
What it does not mean here
It does not mean a work trip with meetings in it, and it does not mean a stay of a week or more, both of which behave differently and are not what this site is written around. It also does not mean two people travelling together. This site is written for one guest arriving alone with a small bag and a fixed date to leave.