Top 10 Most Budget Destinations in Europe

Whether it’s a coun­try or a sin­gle city, Europe is the most pop­u­lar con­ti­nent in the world. As wan­der­lust pass­es quick­ly from gen­er­a­tion to gen­er­a­tion, mil­len­ni­als are eager to explore the world around them, but there is only one prob­lem: mon­ey. Not every­one has the oppor­tu­ni­ty to find a decent amount to spend a month in Euro­pean cap­i­tals, but there is always the oppor­tu­ni­ty to find an alter­na­tive option. You can save some mon­ey and go to any of these bud­get des­ti­na­tions in Europe.

Poland

Poland is a cul­tur­al­ly diverse coun­try, offer­ing trav­el­ers count­less options for enter­tain­ment and attrac­tions at a very afford­able price. Stop in the cap­i­tal city of War­saw and explore the mag­nif­i­cent archi­tec­ture before head­ing into the near­by coun­try­side and moun­tains for panoram­ic views. All this will not cost you a dime. And if hik­ing isn’t your thing, head to Krakow or Gdan­sk, where there are plen­ty of inter­est­ing places to immerse your­self in Pol­ish his­to­ry. In the list of the cheap­est cities in Europe, War­saw occu­pies a lead­ing posi­tion for a rea­son.

Bulgaria

Then we stay in East­ern Europe, because Bul­gar­ia is next on the list of the best bud­get des­ti­na­tions. Sofia is the cap­i­tal of Bul­gar­ia and one of the most inter­est­ing and cheap cities in Europe. The rea­son for this is the per­fect com­bi­na­tion of the charm of the old city and mod­ern archi­tec­tur­al designs. If you hap­pen to be here in the win­ter, you can also ski in the sur­round­ing moun­tains, which is much cheap­er com­pared to the more pop­u­lar ski des­ti­na­tions in Europe.

Croatian coast

It is not the coun­try, or the city as such, but the sen­sa­tion­al 1,000 kilo­me­ters of pris­tine Mediter­ranean coast­line that make Croa­t­ia so attrac­tive. In gen­er­al, the coun­try is not expen­sive, and if you trav­el fre­quent­ly, you know that the clos­er you get to the coast­line, the more expen­sive every­day goods can be. For­tu­nate­ly, this is not the case in Croa­t­ia. From Dubrovnik in the south to Split and Rije­ka in the north and every­where in between, the Croa­t­ian coast has some­thing to suit all bud­gets, whether it’s stay­ing in a world-class sea­side hotel to eat sim­ply great Croa­t­ian cui­sine or dis­cov­er­ing hun­dreds of years of medieval his­to­ry.

Porto, Portugal

If you’re look­ing for a bud­get trav­el des­ti­na­tion along an impres­sive coast­line, you’ll want to put Por­to at the top of your list. After vis­it­ing many muse­ums and the Pon­ti de Don Luis I bridge, head to the beach and relax while tak­ing in the views of the Atlantic. If you are not a beach per­son, then do not wor­ry — here you can always go for a tast­ing of local wines in Por­tu­gal. Oh, and one lit­tle secret — admis­sion to muse­ums and oth­er attrac­tions is free on Sun­days, so plan your trip to Por­to for a day off.

Budapest, Hungary

A per­fect com­bi­na­tion of West­ern and East­ern Europe, Budapest is locat­ed on the banks of the Danube Riv­er and is the cap­i­tal of Hun­gary. Air trav­el is cheap both to and from Budapest, along with pub­lic trans­port and taxis. The city is also full of good and cheap hotels, so you will def­i­nite­ly stay with­in your small bud­get. Once in Budapest, you will dis­cov­er many orig­i­nal eater­ies that offer tra­di­tion­al Hun­gar­i­an cui­sine (includ­ing the famous goulash). There will be a wide range of options on the enter­tain­ment list, from ther­mal baths to night­clubs. You can also vis­it Buda Cas­tle where you will learn about the ori­gin of the name Budapest.

Leipzig, Germany

Berlin may be one of the few cap­i­tals in the world where the cost of liv­ing is below aver­age, but prices are slow­ly ris­ing. With that in mind, after vis­it­ing the Ger­man cap­i­tal, it was time to head south for a few hours to Leipzig. The city is best known for its cul­ture and art, which has been con­stant­ly chang­ing over the past few decades. There are many free gal­leries to vis­it, and a thriv­ing quirky nightlife. It real­ly is a city in its own lit­tle world and much cheap­er than most oth­er cities in Ger­many like Munich and Frank­furt.

Prague, Czech Republic

East­ern Europe is revealed in Prague in all its glo­ry. Prague is full of end­less sights and his­tor­i­cal sites. Even though most of Prague’s sights will set you back a few dol­lars, be sure to vis­it them to under­stand why this city is the gem of East­ern Europe. Don’t wor­ry, you’ll save mon­ey else­where, like tast­ing the famous Czech beer in restau­rants for around 1 euro. The city was found­ed around 870 AD and it is the preser­va­tion of his­to­ry that is the most unusu­al aspect of the Czech cap­i­tal. Prague offers very cheap accom­mo­da­tion, food and drink, rank­ing among the top bud­get des­ti­na­tions in Europe.

Florence

It may sound sur­pris­ing to many, but Flo­rence is the per­fect place for the bud­get trav­el­er. Accord­ing to author­i­ta­tive rat­ings, Flo­rence ranks sec­ond among the best tourist des­ti­na­tions in Italy and ninth among the cheap­est des­ti­na­tions in Europe, and a leader in the list of the most beau­ti­ful cities in Europe. The city has absorbed cen­turies of his­to­ry with Michelan­gelo’s David and Brunelleschi, who called Flo­rence their home. Here you will find excel­lent local cui­sine and wine, as well as the roman­tic charm of the city, along with some of the low­est prices in Europe. It’s easy to get lost in one of the nar­row cob­bled streets, or spend a few hours in the many cafes near the Duo­mo.

Montenegro

This Mar­itime coun­try is locat­ed direct­ly south of Croa­t­ia and is a must if you are in the region. Kotor and Bud­va are exten­sions of the Croa­t­ian coast but offer low­er prices. In Kotor, you will find your­self in the mid­dle of high, fright­en­ing moun­tains, exiled by the walls of the old city. If you have just arrived from Dubrovnik, you will find many sim­i­lar­i­ties. Stroll through the cas­tle of St. John, which is locat­ed on a moun­tain top over­look­ing the beau­ti­ful city and the Mediter­ranean coast, or immerse your­self in the local cul­ture at the night fes­ti­val in Bok, which takes place in August. Here you can get under $15 per per­son for food and oth­er enter­tain­ment, which is pret­ty bud­get-friend­ly. You can read about the sights of Mon­tene­gro in a sep­a­rate selec­tion.

Seville

If you’re wor­ried about hotel prices, head to Seville. Many decent hotels cost less than $100 per night per night. That being said, you will have plen­ty of enter­tain­ment options when it comes to immers­ing your­self in tra­di­tion­al Span­ish cul­ture. Seville is famous for fla­men­co danc­ing, the clas­sic bull­fight­ing sies­ta, which is still very com­mon in the city. This is Spain’s world-famous culi­nary scene, which, along with amaz­ing parks and gar­dens, will give you a great bud­get hol­i­day at an afford­able price.