European City Breaks You Can Do On The Cheap

As me and Luke are in serious saving mode it means after our big holiday in March I won’t be going away anywhere near as much as I’ve in the past few years. For me, I genuinely think city breaks can be as cheap as you want them to be as there are always going to be good deals on flights if you are flexible enough and hostels can be a cheaper alternative to hotels when you’re away. I’ve been saving Avois points with my American Express card so we’re hoping to use those for a weekend away later in the year and here are a few places we’ve been debating. You can find all of these destinations very often among the most popular Europe trips.

Chap European City Breaks – Prague

I went to Prague in 2017 and had a really nice few days with my bestie but as we headed to Kutna Kora to the bone church we lost almost a whole day of exploring in the city so I’d love to go back and see more of it. I love doing guided tours and Withlocals tours are a great way to see more of the city and head further out. One I have my eye on is about a 1-hour drive from Prague where you can take in the UNESCO Geopark Bohemian Paradise as it looks absolutely stunning.

Cheap European City Breaks – Barcelona

As we won’t get away as much I love the idea of Barcelona as it’s almost two trips in one. You can spend some of the time being cultured and going around galleries and museums and the other part relaxing on the beach and catching some sun. I think I’d avoid Barcelona in the height of summer (June- August) as it’s not going to be cheap then, plus I can’t deal with that much heat, but September or October would be beautiful. Somehow I’ve never actually been to mainland Spain before – although I’ve been to a Spanish island before – so I’m sure after this trip it would spark a lot more places to add to the list like Madrid, Seville, Valencia and many more.

The Balearic Islands aren’t far from Barcelona, adding to the fun of a holiday to the city. Island hopping is very popular, and Smart Charter, a Mallorca boat hire company, makes it possible to rent a yacht for an unforgettable day out.

Cheap European City Breaks – Cologne

I was meant to go to Cologne last December but due to a variety of reasons I didn’t end up going and I am a little gutted but I would have been on my own and spending money I couldn’t really justify at the time. I really want to go back for the Christmas markets as I love the idea of going to a proper traditional German market at this time of the year and I’ve heard such good things about Cologne in general. The architecture around the area looks stunning and I think it would be pretty easy to do for 2 nights on the cheap which is a bonus. I’ve been to Germany twice before and the country is so beautiful with an incredible amount of interesting places so I think like Spain there would be a lot more to add to the list.

Cheap European City Breaks – Vienna and Bratislava

As the two closest capital cities in Europe (ignoring Rome/ Vatican City) it seemed wrong to not include these two together as you can easily do a long weekend and spend two days in each. My friend did this trip a few years ago and said it was such an easy train ride away and you can usually get good deals on flights so I’d choose the order based on flight prices. I’ve not been to either Austria or Slovakia so I’d be keen to explore a little bit and see what it’s like, plus from what I know they’re quite small cities so they’d be good for a short trip.

Cheap European City Breaks – Tirana

Tirana is the capital city of Albania and probably a slightly more odd/ out there choice for a bucket list but me and my bestie have a yearly weekend away tradition and this is where we said she’d like to go so who am I to turn it down?! The capital is known for its colourful Ottoman-, Fascist-, and Soviet-era architecture and it sounds like such an interesting place. Although I may think about going further out of the capital if I’m feeling brave (and fit) enough though the Mini Albanian Alps Experience from Untravelled Paths who I previously did a tour with and loved.

Where’s next on your European bucket list?

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