The ‘golden era’ of 1p flights (plus tax) when low-cost airlines began in the 1990s is long gone and, sadly, a good proportion of Europe’s 800 cities are now painfully pricey.
But there are still dozens of destinations prime for exploring on a very tight budget.
We’ve picked the best bargain breaks (with flights and hotels for less than £100pp for two nights this autumn) and included a guide to the cities’ affordable attractions, as well as the best restaurants and bars serving 88p pints of beer and £3.50 bottles of wine.
From Transylvania to Tirana, Sofia to Geneva, here are ten of Europe’s best budget hotspots that won’t break the bank.
NANTES, FRANCE
Take a ride on Nantes’ biggest attraction, a mechanical elephant at Les Machines de L’Ile theme park
Best Western Hotel Graslin has rooms, below, from £63 per person – ideal to explore France’s sixth largest city which includes 100 parks and labyrinthine streets
On the River Loire, 30 miles inland from the Atlantic, Nantes is France‘s sixth largest city – perfect for a fun, good-value weekend away. Nantes is known as the city of 100 parks, all of which are free to visit including the grounds of the splendid Chateau des Ducs de Bretagne, with its elegant ramparts and gardens.
Explore the labyrinthine, medieval streets of the city centre and admire the grand gothic exterior of the 15th-century cathedral (the insides are sadly temporarily closed for renovations due to a 2020 fire). Entrance to nearby Musee d’Arts de Nantes, teeming with wonderful works by Renoir, Monet and Picasso, is from £7.
Take a mile-long stroll along the Loire and visit the Jules Verne Museum, dedicated to the Around The World In 80 Days author who was from Nantes (entry £3).
A great way to get a (free) city overview is to take a self-guided tour following a green line marked on pavements in a circular route leading to works of contemporary art and places of architectural interest (levoyageanantes.fr). Meanwhile, don’t forget to book a ride on Nantes’ biggest attraction of all: a highly unusual ‘mechanical elephant’ at a theme park called Les Machines de L’Ile (£8, lesmachines-nantes.fr).
Where to stay: Two nights at comfortable, central Best Western Hotel Graslin from £126 – or £63 per person (bestwestern.fr).
Getting there: Return flights from Stansted £30 return (ryanair.com).
TOTAL FOR TWO NIGHTS: £93 per person.
CLUJ-NAPOCA, TRANSYLVANIA, ROMANIA
St Michael’s Church, dating from the 14th and 15th centuries, is the second largest gothic church in Romania
Base yourself at the friendly Hotel Delaf from £59 per person for B&B
The city of Cluj-Napoca may not be the first place to spring to mind for a weekend getaway, but the unofficial capital of the Transylvania region of Romania has plenty of appeal (and rock-bottom prices if you book ahead).
At the centre of its medieval old town stands St Michael’s Church, dating from the 14th and 15th centuries, the second largest gothic church in Romania. There are museums and galleries galore including the National History Museum of Transylvania (entry £3.45, mnit.ro), with prehistoric, Roman and Egyptian collections, plus the National Art Museum (entry £2.75, macluj.ro), home to medieval religious icons and abstract 20th-century art.
There’s a nature-packed botanical garden, Gradina Botanica Alexandru Borza, with more than 10,000 plant species (entry £2.60, gradinabotanica.ubbcluj.ro) and the charming riverside Central Park Simion Barnutiu.
Cluj-Napoca is a university city with lively bars, clubs and restaurants. Eating and drinking out is excellent value with a pint of beer costing about £1 and a three-course meal with wine for two from £18.
Where to stay: Two nights at the friendly Hotel Delaf from £118 B&B – or £59 per person (booking.com).
Getting there: Return flights from Stansted from £40 (ryanair.com).
TOTAL FOR TWO NIGHTS: £99 per person.
WARSAW, POLAND
The majestic Royal Castle stands at the entrance to the reconstructed Old Town
The Ibis budget Warszawa Centrum hotel is situated centrally with rooms from £43 per person
The Polish capital makes for an action-packed couple of days away. Start in the superb old town, recreated after dreadful destruction during the Second World War, with its little cobbled side streets dotted with cosy restaurants serving traditional stews, pierogi (stuffed dumplings), sauerkraut and sausages.
Adjacent to the reconstructed old town, stop by at the Royal Castle (entry £12, zamek-krolewski.pl), see the eternal flame of the tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Pilsudski Square, and visit POLIN, the important Museum of the History of Polish Jewish, with harrowing and moving stories from the Second World War (entry £9, polin.pl).
Make sure you squeeze in a visit to the Palace of Culture and Science, the Soviet-era influenced rocket-shaped high-rise (entry £5 for the viewing platform, pkin.pl), as well as the intriguing Neon Musuem (entry £3.60, neonmuzeum.org) and, perhaps at the end of the day, take a tour of the Polish Vodka Museum (tour and tasting £12, muzeumpolskiejwodki.pl).
Lovely walks are to be had along the River Vistula and in Lazienki Park with its striking statue of the local composer/hero Frederic Chopin.
Where to stay: Two nights at the simple and central Ibis budget Warszawa Centrum from £86 – £43 per person (all.accor.com).
Getting there: Return flights from Luton from £35 (wizz.com).
TOTAL FOR TWO NIGHTS: £78 per person.
TIRANA, ALBANIA
Albania’s capital Tirana is brimming with brightly coloured high-rise buildings and enclosed by mountains
The Classic Hotel has spacious, plush rooms, below, providing excellent value for money
The communist-era architecture of much of the centre of Albania’s capital maybe a little jarring, but this is an intriguing city, with temptingly cheap Wizz Air flights and excellent value hotels.
Attractions include the National Gallery of Arts with its vast collection of eye-catching and eye-opening socialist-realist art (entry £1.70, intoalbania.com/attraction/national-gallery-of-art), and the National Historical Museum (entry £4.28, albania.al/national-historical-museum), the country’s most important museum featuring displays in the ‘Pavilion of Communist Terror’ covering the years of the one-party communist state from 1946 to 1991 – much of it under the ruthless control of Enver Hoxha.
Afterwards, make a beeline for Bunk’Art, a fantastic contemporary art exhibition in a former secret bunker built for Hoxha and the Albanian elite in the event of war. Tours from £9 (albaniatourguide.com/bunk-art). There’s also Bunk’Art2 comprising tunnels and bunkers below the former Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The cost of eating and drinking is cheap: a pint of beer is from £1, a decent bottle of wine £8.50 and a three-course meal for two at a mid-range restaurant is from £40.
Where to stay: Two nights at the plush Classic Hotel from £130 B&B – or £65 per person (classichotel.al).
Getting there: Return flights from Luton from £32 (wizzair.com).
TOTAL FOR TWO NIGHTS: £97 per person.
DUBLIN, IRELAND
The lush green landscape of Phoenix Park is well worth a visit – particularly for those looking to keep costs down as you can roam around for free
The Premier Inn Dublin City Centre (North Docklands) Hotel provides a comfortable base, below, to explore the Irish capital with its plethora of attractions
The National Museum of Ireland is one of the top free attractions in Dublin, with four sites covering decorative arts/history, ‘country living’, natural history, and archaeology – the latter with fascinating displays on the ‘Golden Age’ of Irish art in the 7th century and the impact of the Vikings (museum.ie).
For those really keeping costs down, other free things to do include visiting Phoenix Park with its roaming deer, the National Botanic Gardens, and St Stephen’s Green – one of the many city centre spots mentioned in James Joyce’s groundbreaking novel Ulysses. The literary-minded can follow more of these connections – see ‘Explore James Joyce’s Dublin’ at visitdublin.com.
Meanwhile, music fans can visit locations connected with Dublin’s rich musical heritage at ‘Dublin Music Trails’, also at visitdublin.com, including the Windmill Studios where U2 recorded many hits and O’Donoghue’s Bar, where the famous Irish ballad group The Dubliners often played.
There’s no admission charge for the wonderful National Gallery of Ireland featuring works by the country’s top artists and the likes of Goya, Caravaggio and Van Gogh, too (nationalgallery.ie).
Where to stay: Two nights at the basic but comfortable Premier Inn Dublin City Centre (North Docklands) Hotel from £128 – or £64 per person (premierinn.com).
Getting there: Return flights from Birmingham from £30 (ryanair.com).
TOTAL FOR TWO NIGHTS: £94 per person.
ZARAGOZA, SPAIN
A highlight of a visit to Zaragoza is the Basilica del Pilar, a fabulous cathedral built in the 17th and 18th centuries
The stylish Hotel Hispania is located centrally with simple yet comfortable accommodation, below, to explore must-see attractions, including the Palace of Aljaferia and Museo Goya
Deep in the northern Spanish region of Aragon, roughly halfway between Barcelona and Madrid, Zaragoza tends to be overlooked by weekend breakers. Yet it’s a wonderful city and doesn’t suffer from the ‘overtourism’ of other parts of Spain… plus flights are dirt cheap.
The highlight is the Basilica del Pilar, the fabulous cathedral built in the 17th and 18th centuries, where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared as an apparition before the apostle St James the Greater, according to legend (entrance free).
Another must-see is the Palace of Aljaferia, with its Moorish turrets, towers and high defensive walls, all dating from the 11th century (entry £4.20). There’s also Museo Goya, just off the huge central square facing the Basilica, with brilliant works by the 19th-century Spanish artist Francisco de Goya (entry £5.10, museogoya.fundacionibercaja.es).
Cheap tapas aplenty is to be had in Zaragoza’s El Tubo neighbourhood: a glass of wine or small beer and accompanying tapas is about £3.50 in most places.
Where to stay: Two nights at the stylish, central Hotel Hispania is from £94 – or £47 per person (hotelhispania.com).
Getting there: Return flights from Stansted from £36 (ryanair.com).
TOTAL FOR TWO NIGHTS: £83 per person.
SOFIA, BULGARIA
Tulips at the National Palace of Culture Park, which is a major venue for concerts in the city
Relax at the stylish Hotel Central Club Sofia where rooms, below, cost from £38 per person
One of the best ways to get to know Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital, is on a free two-hour tour, led by enthusiastic local guides which start outside the Sofia City Court (freesofiatour.com). You’re taken on a guided walk via Roman remains from when Sofia was known as Serdica, mosques, churches, squares and shopping precincts to the vast St Alexander Nevski Cathedral, with its splendid tumbling domes and huge glittering interior. At the end of the tour, if you have enjoyed it, you simply tip the guide what you consider a suitable amount, normally around £5.
Active visitors can catch a public bus up Vitosha mountain, which overlooks the city, to go on a hike along one of the many well-marked trails. Or simply go for a wander around the National Palace of Culture Park, stopping to pay respects at the little Temple of Bulgarian Martyrs chapel.
Learn all about Bulgaria’s rocky past at the National Museum of History (entry £8, en.historymuseum.org), and afterwards enjoy a night on the town with many lively bars, clubs and restaurants to explore. A pint of beer is from 88p, a bottle of wine from £3.50 and a three-course meal for two at a mid-range restaurant is from £26.
Where to stay: Two nights at the stylish Hotel Central Club Sofia from £76 – or £38 per person (booking.com).
Getting there: Return flights from Luton from £50 (wizzair.com).
TOTAL FOR TWO NIGHTS: £88 per person.
GDANSK, POLAND
The cobbled old town in Gdansk is centred around Dlugi Targ square, with its gothic townhouses, old amber stalls and atmospheric, reasonably priced restaurants and bars
Exposed brick walls and comfy bedding are the perfect setting to help you wind down at the Liberum Residence Old Town hotel, with rooms from £48 per person
This port city is famous for being where the Solidarity movement began in Poland, leading to the end of communism and authoritarianism – as well as the introduction of democracy in 1990. Learn all about the ins and outs of Poland’s resistance to Soviet influence during the 1980s, led by the charismatic leader Lech Walesa, at the European Solidarity Centre after catching a cheap Ryanair flight (entry £7, ecs.gda.pl).
The former dockyards, where protests began, is now also home to the fascinating, must-visit Museum of WWII, housed in a vast, angular modern building with displays in huge basement halls with information on the conflict as well as a section themed on The Road to War (entry £5.80, muzeum1939.pl).
Gdansk is a suitable place for the museum as it was, in fact, where the first shots of the Second World War were fired: at Westerplatte, a peninsula on the Baltic Sea at the end of the city’s harbour channel. Buses and boat tours are possible from the city centre.
The cobbled old town is centred around Dlugi Targ, with gothic townhouses, old amber stalls, and atmospheric, reasonably-priced restaurants and bars: a meal at a ‘milk bar’ (canteen-style) restaurant is from about £12 and a pint of beer from £3.
Where to stay: Two nights at Liberum Residence Old Town from £96 – or £48 per person (booking.com).
Getting there: Return flights from Manchester from £52 (ryanair.com).
TOTAL FOR TWO NIGHTS: £100 per person.
BERLIN, GERMANY
The 18th century Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans, was inspired by the monumental gateway at the entrance to the Acropolis in Athens
Have an out-of-this-world experience at the Space Night Capsule Hostel where guests stay in inventive pods, below, from £55 per person
It can be tricky finding the absolute rock-bottom low-cost fares from regional airports – but digging around brought up enticing return flight prices for Edinburgh to Berlin: from £45 in September.
One of the top attractions that’s free to visit is the glass dome of the Reichstag, home of the Bundestag (parliament), but you need to book in advance (bundestag.de). Another free sight is a remaining section of the Berlin Wall that’s been turned into an open-air art gallery in the buzzy Friedrichshain district, while more street art is available at the Urban Nation Museum for Urban Contemporary Art in the Schoneberg district (no admission charge, urban-nation.com).
There’s a good flea market at weekends on the western edge of Tiergarten, a large central park, and it’s a pleasant 90-minute walk along the River Spree to Schloss Charlottenburg, an ornate rococo palace built by Frederick I for his wife Sophia Charlotte, where entry to the beautiful gardens is free.
Where to stay: Two nights at the Space Night Capsule Hostel from £110 – or £55 per person (booking.com).
Getting there: Return flights from Edinburgh from £45 (ryanair.com).
TOTAL FOR TWO NIGHTS: £100 per person.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Geneva’s top attractions include the charming, hilly old town with its winding lanes and St Peter’s Cathedral, where you can climb up to the top of its tower for a great view of the city, including its best-known landmark, the 140-metre Jet d’Eau water fountain
A simple room, below, at the Premiere Classe Geneve hotel costs from £50 per person – a gem in a city which has a shortage of budget accommodation
The problem with Geneva for a bargain basement getaway is finding a cut-price hotel – Switzerland’s capital has a shortage of budget accommodation.
It is possible to find a very low rate for the night, but you’ll be out near the airport, so it’s perhaps better to fork out more for something central. For example, doubles at the Meininger Hotel look a good bet, from about £82 a night, though this will push your two-night stay up to £119 (meininger-hotels.com).
Geneva’s hilly old town with its winding lanes is charming. The highlight is St Peter’s Cathedral, dating from the 12th century, which became a place of Protestant worship from the Reformation in 1535. A ticket to climb the 157 steps to the top of its towers, for great city views, is £4.50.
Wander down to the waterfront to see the 140-metre tall Jet d’Eau water fountain, the city’s best-known landmark. It’s also worth taking a stroll to Parc des Bastions to see the giant statues of the key figures of the Reformation, which was centred on Geneva: Jean Calvin, Guillaume Farel, Théodore de Bèze and John Knox.
A visit to CERN: The European Organisation for Nuclear Research is recommended for the scientifically minded (free entry, visit.cern). For nights out, head to the lively Bains neighbourhood (geneve.com). Watch out though – a pint of beer is from £7 at a bar and a meal for two at a mid-range restaurant with drink is from £109.
Where to stay: Two nights from £100 at Premiere Classe Geneve – or £50 per person (geneve-prevessin.premiereclasse.com).
Getting there: Return flights from Bristol from £36 (easyjet.com).
TOTAL FOR TWO NIGHTS: £86 for two nights.
* Sources: Google Flights, Skyscanner.net, Numbeo.com.
Tip: Cheapest fares are usually available well in advance, and flights are typically available around 11 months ahead of time, though this varies by airline. See: moneysavingexpert.com/travel/flight-ticket-release-dates/
Tom Chesshyre is author of How Low Can You Go? Round Europe For 1p Each Way (Plus Tax) published by Hodder & Stoughton.