About City Trip Lab
City Trip Lab is a practical travel project focused on one simple question: how much do you actually need for a short European city trip?
The site started after repeatedly noticing the same pattern on our own trips: we packed too many clothes, carried extra shoes we never used and brought things simply because there was room in the bag.
Why City Trip Lab exists
There is no shortage of packing lists online. What we found less useful was how often the same advice was repeated without showing whether it actually worked on a real trip.
City Trip Lab therefore combines practical travel advice with real trips, reconstructed packing experiences and increasingly structured tests.
What we test
Our future tests include bag size, packed weight, unused items, footwear, toiletries, packing cubes and personal-item-only travel.
When we test something, we aim to explain the setup, what happened and what we would change next time.
Real trips, not invented experience
Our destination and packing content is based on trips we have actually taken or clearly identified research. We do not invent travel experiences, product use or test results.
Previous trips include Paris, Prague, Copenhagen and Durbuy, with Edinburgh becoming our first trip designed around a more systematic packing experiment.
How we use AI
AI tools may be used to support research, structure, editing and language. They are not used to fabricate personal experiences, test results or trips that did not happen.
How City Trip Lab makes money
City Trip Lab may eventually use affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of those links, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you.
Affiliate relationships do not change whether a product is described as useful, unnecessary or disappointing.
The idea behind the name
“Lab” does not mean scientific research in a formal laboratory. It reflects the way we approach travel advice: test it, measure what we can, learn from the result and improve the next trip.
Pack less. Learn from real trips.