A Brummie Home and Abroad’s Most Popular Blog Posts of 2025

Happy New Year to all followers of A Brummie Home and Abroad! It’s that time again when I look back on my most popular blog posts of 2025. These are the posts that made you think, made you laugh, inspired you to travel or see a show!

Beady-eyed readers may notice that there hasn’t been an end-of-year round-up for 2025 this year. Instead I’ve posted some highlight posts over on A Brummie Home and Abroad’s Facebook Page ☺️

5 most-read A Brummie Home And Abroad posts in 2025

No 5: Cascais: A Seaside Day Trip from Lisbon!

On the second of our two trips to Lisbon in 2024 we were meant to spend a day visiting the castles and palaces of Sintra. Except potential forest fires in the area meant a last minute change of plan. So instead we found ourselves on an easy daytrip to the seaside town of Cascais. Find out more about the beaches, the sweet treats and the Mouth of Hell here!

No 4: One Day in La Coruña: What to See and Do During Your Med Cruise Visit!

La Coruña was the first stop on our 2 week Mediterranean cruise from Southampton back in 2024. This port city, located in the Galician region in the northwest of Spain, is easy to explore in one day as it’s not a huge city with a mass of must-see attractions. But it does have rock carvings, a pretty Old Town, a stunning coastal path, the world’s oldest lighthouse and a sculpture park.

No 3: The Perfect Packing List for a Norwegian Fjords Cruise

Last year’s No 1 is still one of my most popular blog posts, coming in at No 3 in 2025 with just over 17,000 views. This was one of the things I constantly searched for before our cruise. Finding myself top of the Google search for a while, I assume many of you are asking the same question! The key points in this blog? Comfy shoes. Layers. And stretchy waistbands. And I’ll be revisiting my own advice before we return to the Norwegian fjords in June 2026.

No 2: A perfect 24 hours in Bari

Retaining its No 2 spot from 2025 is our 24 hours in Bari itinerary. Travel and transport woes aside we were captivated by this charming foodie city with its atmospheric Old Town and glorious promenade. Largo Albicocca was our favourite place, to buy a bottle of beer and a slice of pizza and socialise like the Bari locals do.

No 1: An Epic 7 Days in Puglia

From No 3 to No 1 in 2025! It looks like lots of people have been planning a trip to Puglia. This quickly became one of my favourite regions in Italy and I’d love to return to the area to relax and enjoy the Valle D’Itria and the beautiful coast a little more. Judging by 32,000 of you, the region is becoming less of a hidden gem and more of a must-visit destination.

5 most-read NEW Brummie Home And Abroad posts of 2025

These are 5 brand new posts from 2025 that have captured your attention!

No 5: A Ferry-Tale Journey, from Tallinn to Helsinki and No 4: How to Spend 12 hours in Helsinki on a Daytrip from Tallinn

When we started planning our trip to Latvia and Estonia, we decided that it was only fair to add a third new country to the trip. Even if it was just for one day. These two blog posts cover everything you need to know about this popular day-trip across the Gulf of Finland by ferry. Our daytrip to Helsinki gave us the opportunity to soak up a little bit of Finnish culture without the cost of a stay in expensive Helsinki.

No 3: Best things to Do & See in Marrakech in 2 Days (And What We Skipped!)

In March we spent a long weekend in Marrakech during Ramadan, and we took Ma and Pa Lee along for the ride. Our travel itinerary was a little hectic than usual, although we still managed to rack up the steps. This blogs covers some of the things that we got up to during our 48 hours in Marrakech – as well as some of the things we skipped. Our itinerary allowed for plenty of down time, which was much needed amid the chaos of Marrakech.

No 2: 9 Great Places to Eat and Drink in Gdańsk

We visited Gdańsk mainly for the Christmas markets, but naturally we wanted to explore more of the city and its food scene. So if you’re planning a visit, here are are my suggestions for 9 great places to eat and drink in Gdańsk. I’ve included pierogis, street food, craft beer and cocktail spots – we also did an excellent vodka tasting which you can read more about here.

No 1: Exploring Riga in Two Days

In October 2024 we spent two days in the Latvian capital of Riga. The city has a UNESCO‑listed Old Town, Art Nouveau district, leafy parks and canals, and museums which give a powerful insight into Latvia’s history. We took a free walking tour, a food tour of Riga Central Market, and spent plenty of time exploring cosy cafés, traditional eateries and bars. Riga is charming, affordable and beautiful in autumn!

5 most-read theatre reviews in 2025

I’ve been fortunate to review shows for the Birmingham Rep and the Alexandra once more throughout 2025. These were my most-read theatre reviews in 2025!

• No 5: Theatre Review: Starter for Ten, Birmingham Rep (2025 Production)
• No 4: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe at The Alexandra Birmingham (2025 Production)
• No 3: Lord of the Dance (2024 Production)
• No 2: West Side Story (The Alexandra Stage Experience 2025)
• No 1: Birdsong at the Birmingham Rep (2025 Production)

Blogging Stats 2025

The growing popularity of AI has once again hit the blogging world in 2025. Have you noticed that even when you search on Google, the first results are always AI generated? So we’re bombarded with AI options, whether we want to use them or not. These AI overviews use existing content to collate a summary, meaning some searchers no longer click on links to blog posts like mine.

Yet A Brummie Home and Abroad has once again had its best year in terms of both views and visitors. In fact, there have been over 270,000 blog views in 2025. That number never fails to amazes me considering this is a personal hobby blog with little sponsored content or social media presence.

Of the 190,000 visitors this year, over 95% found my blog posts through Google and other search engines. The most popular search terms?

• 5) Seville in November
• 4) Lisbon to Cascais
• 3) Puglia Itinerary
• 2) La Spezia to Cinque Terre
• 1) Things to do in Bari

September and October were my best months in terms of visitors, and apparently my blogs are most popular at 8pm on a Thursday evening. Is this when you’re all planning your travel?

Thanks to a few affiliate links sprinkled here and there I also get a little monthly payment from sites like Booking.com and Get Your Guide. This happens when you, my lovely readers, click on one of my links to make a booking. It’s not enough to retire on, but it’s a little bonus that goes into my pot for future travels ❤️

Social media is a little hit and miss when it comes to driving traffic to A Brummie Home and Abroad. If you’re not finding me through Google most are finding me through Facebook , Pinterest or Threads.

Thank you to everyone that has read, liked, commented or shared my blog posts in 2025! I hope you’ve found one of your favourites among my most popular blog posts of 2025! I look forward to sharing even more with you in 2026.

Emmalene xx