The cheapest city breaks in Europe
Ranked by what a day actually costs on a budget: a hostel or cheap room, local transport, food and the main sights, before flights. Belgrade is the best value we cover at around 40 EUR a day; Zurich is the priciest at about 100 EUR. All figures are indicative, per person per day, and reviewed yearly.
| # | City | Budget / day | Mid / day | Best value months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belgrade Serbia Budget guide | 40 EUR | 80 EUR | May, Jun, Sep |
| 2 | Krakow Poland Budget guide | 45 EUR | 95 EUR | Apr, May, Jun |
| 3 | Bucharest Romania Budget guide | 45 EUR | 90 EUR | May, Jun, Sep |
| 4 | Gdansk Poland Budget guide | 45 EUR | 85 EUR | May, Jun, Sep |
| 5 | Sofia Bulgaria Budget guide | 45 EUR | 85 EUR | May, Jun, Sep |
| 6 | Riga Latvia Budget guide | 50 EUR | 100 EUR | May, Jun, Jul |
| 7 | Vilnius Lithuania Budget guide | 50 EUR | 100 EUR | May, Jun, Jul |
| 8 | Malaga Spain Budget guide | 50 EUR | 95 EUR | May, Jun, Sep |
| 9 | Bilbao Spain Budget guide | 50 EUR | 100 EUR | May, Jun, Sep |
| 10 | Prague Czech Republic Budget guide | 55 EUR | 110 EUR | Apr, May, Jun |
| 11 | Budapest Hungary Budget guide | 55 EUR | 105 EUR | Apr, May, Jun |
| 12 | Granada Spain Budget guide | 55 EUR | 100 EUR | Apr, May, Jun |
| 13 | Athens Greece Budget guide | 55 EUR | 110 EUR | Apr, May, Jun |
| 14 | Tallinn Estonia Budget guide | 55 EUR | 110 EUR | May, Jun, Jul |
| 15 | Bratislava Slovakia Budget guide | 55 EUR | 110 EUR | May, Jun, Jul |
| 16 | Warsaw Poland Budget guide | 55 EUR | 110 EUR | May, Jun, Jul |
| 17 | Valencia Spain Budget guide | 55 EUR | 100 EUR | May, Jun, Sep |
| 18 | Valletta Malta Budget guide | 55 EUR | 105 EUR | May, Jun, Sep |
| 19 | Bologna Italy Budget guide | 55 EUR | 105 EUR | May, Jun, Sep |
| 20 | Lyon France Budget guide | 55 EUR | 105 EUR | May, Jun, Sep |
| 21 | Zagreb Croatia Budget guide | 55 EUR | 110 EUR | May, Jun, Sep |
| 22 | Seville Spain Budget guide | 60 EUR | 120 EUR | Mar, Apr, May |
| 23 | Porto Portugal Budget guide | 60 EUR | 110 EUR | May, Jun, Sep |
| 24 | Naples Italy Budget guide | 60 EUR | 120 EUR | Apr, May, Jun |
| 25 | Split Croatia Budget guide | 60 EUR | 120 EUR | May, Jun, Sep |
| 26 | Ljubljana Slovenia Budget guide | 60 EUR | 120 EUR | May, Jun, Sep |
| 27 | Salzburg Austria Budget guide | 60 EUR | 110 EUR | May, Jun, Sep |
| 28 | Bruges Belgium Budget guide | 65 EUR | 130 EUR | Apr, May, Jun |
| 29 | Berlin Germany Budget guide | 65 EUR | 130 EUR | May, Jun, Jul |
| 30 | Madrid Spain Budget guide | 65 EUR | 135 EUR | Apr, May, Jun |
| 31 | Edinburgh Scotland Budget guide | 65 EUR | 130 EUR | May, Jun, Aug |
| 32 | Dubrovnik Croatia Budget guide | 65 EUR | 130 EUR | May, Jun, Sep |
| 33 | Brussels Belgium Budget guide | 65 EUR | 130 EUR | Apr, May, Jun |
| 34 | Antwerp Belgium Budget guide | 65 EUR | 130 EUR | Apr, May, Jun |
| 35 | Lisbon Portugal Budget guide | 70 EUR | 140 EUR | Apr, May, Jun |
| 36 | Vienna Austria Budget guide | 70 EUR | 140 EUR | Apr, May, Jun |
| 37 | Florence Italy Budget guide | 70 EUR | 140 EUR | Apr, May, Jun |
| 38 | Barcelona Spain Budget guide | 70 EUR | 150 EUR | Apr, May, Jun |
| 39 | Dublin Ireland Budget guide | 70 EUR | 140 EUR | May, Jun, Jul |
| 40 | Luxembourg City Luxembourg Budget guide | 70 EUR | 140 EUR | May, Jun, Jul |
| 41 | Milan Italy Budget guide | 70 EUR | 130 EUR | May, Jun, Sep |
| 42 | Hamburg Germany Budget guide | 70 EUR | 140 EUR | May, Jun, Jul |
| 43 | Rome Italy Budget guide | 75 EUR | 150 EUR | Apr, May, Jun |
| 44 | Nice France Budget guide | 75 EUR | 150 EUR | May, Jun, Sep |
| 45 | Munich Germany Budget guide | 75 EUR | 150 EUR | May, Jun, Jul |
| 46 | Amsterdam Netherlands Budget guide | 80 EUR | 160 EUR | Apr, May, Jun |
| 47 | Paris France Budget guide | 80 EUR | 170 EUR | Apr, May, Jun |
| 48 | Venice Italy Budget guide | 80 EUR | 160 EUR | Apr, May, Jun |
| 49 | Stockholm Sweden Budget guide | 80 EUR | 160 EUR | May, Jun, Jul |
| 50 | Helsinki Finland Budget guide | 80 EUR | 160 EUR | Jun, Jul, Aug |
| 51 | Bergen Norway Budget guide | 80 EUR | 150 EUR | Jun, Jul, Aug |
| 52 | Copenhagen Denmark Budget guide | 90 EUR | 180 EUR | May, Jun, Jul |
| 53 | Reykjavik Iceland Budget guide | 90 EUR | 180 EUR | Jun, Jul, Aug |
| 54 | Oslo Norway Budget guide | 90 EUR | 180 EUR | May, Jun, Jul |
| 55 | Zurich Switzerland Budget guide | 100 EUR | 200 EUR | May, Jun, Jul |
Budget is the on-a-budget daily figure: a hostel or cheap room, local transport, market and street food, and free or low-cost sights. Mid is a comfortable three-star trip. New cities join the ranking as they are published, and each city links to its full budget guide.
Quick questions, straight answers
QWhat is the cheapest city break in Europe?
Belgrade, Serbia. Around 40 EUR a day per person covers a hostel bed or a cheap room, local transport, street food and the main free sights, before flights. A raw, sociable capital where the Sava meets the Danube, with a mighty fortress, floating river clubs and famously cheap nights out.
QHow much does a cheap city break cost for a weekend?
On a budget, two days in the cheapest cities here runs from about 80 EUR per person, excluding flights. That is a dorm or budget room, buses and metros, market and street food, and the sights that are free or a few euros. Doubling the daily figure in the table below gives a rough two-day cost for any city.
QWhich are the cheapest cities to visit in Europe?
The five cheapest city breaks we cover, by daily budget, are Belgrade, Krakow, Bucharest, Gdansk, Sofia. Central and eastern European capitals and the Baltics undercut the western capitals and the Nordics, which sit at the expensive end.
QWhen is the cheapest time to take a city break?
The shoulder seasons, roughly April to early June and September to October, are the sweet spot: fares and rooms drop from the summer and Christmas peaks while the weather still holds. Avoid July and August in the south and the week around Christmas and New Year everywhere, when prices climb the most.