Night out in Paris and a day on the piste

Short breaks are getting shorter as busy Brits attempt to cram as much into their leisure time as possible.

To cater for this niche, travel website lastminute.com is launching a series of super-short breaks including twelve-hour 'extreme' breaks.

One-day ski trips to the Alps and over-night trips to Paris are among the breaks on offer to those who want to get away but have little time to do so.

Lastminute.com's John Bevan said: "Over the past few years we've seen a huge increase in city breaks or short breaks to the traditional package holiday resorts. The days of just taking a two-week summer holiday are long gone. Now people would rather have a shorter one-week summer trip and multiple mini-breaks throughout the year."

For people seeking a wild night out in Paris, lastminute.com has introduced a special Eurostar fare of just £35 for passengers leaving London on a Saturday afternoon anytime after 16:00 and returning at 10:00 on a Sunday morning.

And from January, it is introducing one-day trips to the Alps on Eurostar.

Ski fanatics will be able to jump on a Eurostar train from London Waterloo on a Friday night, arriving early on Saturday in Moutiers, Aime la Plagne or Bourg St Maurice, serving the ski resorts of Courchevel, Meribel, Val d'Isere, Tignes and Les Arcs.

Following a full day's skiing, it is back on the train for an overnight journey to London, arriving on Sunday morning.

Mr Bevan added: "Our customers are willing to go further afield for shorter amounts of time with interest in long-haul short breaks really picking up - but it seems getting away for just 12 hours or so looks to be one of the coolest things to do this winter."

He added: "The over-night trips to Paris look set to be popular with people looking for an unusual Christmas office party too - the departures in December are booking up fast."