Lonely Planet: A Love Surprise: Perfect Valentine's Day Getaways You Hadn't Thought Of (PHOTOS)

Why settle for a card and flowers for this Valentine's Day? Travel, dang it! If you're thinking of venturing out, here are six ideas you probably hadn't considered. Best of all, Valentine's Day is on a Tuesday this year, meaning you expect some extra savings on mid-week deals in most places.

Going medieval in Canterbury

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Valentine's Day roots took a turn as a special day for lovers when Geoffrey Chaucer wrote "Parlement of Foules," a dreamy 700-line poem with its narrator visiting Venus's temple and a "parliament" where birds choose their mates, on Valentine's Day. Cute.

Of course Chaucer's most famous destination, from Canterbury Tales, is Canterbury itself, a medieval hotspot in southeastern England, with one of the country's finest cathedrals, great pubs and theaters and a superb five-mile walk on North Downs Way to the 12th-century castle in the wee medieval village of Chilham.

Valentines should opt for top-tier "fabulous" rooms at the boutique hotel Abode Canterbury -- rates are 20% off mid-week -- and a meal at Deeson's (25-27 Sun St.), and a local ale at Parrot (1-9 Church St.), a wood-beamed pub founded in 1370.