It feels increasingly difficult to find a really cheap city to travel to. At a time when exchange rates were more favorable and parts of Europe were much less explored, a holiday abroad could be quite affordable. Coffee was cheap; food was cheap. Tapas and a pitcher of sangria were a treat, not because of the inevitable financial hit, but because of the food patatas Bravas in the sun felt eminently luxurious.
While moderately priced accommodations and restaurants oblivious to their ability to charge tourists extra may feel like a disappearing thing, they haven’t disappeared entirely. Telegraph Travel has researched average holidaymaker prices such as taxi fares, meal costs, cappuccinos and beer to find five of the most affordable holiday destinations – which are also exceptional cities to visit.
Bucharest, Romania
Bucharest, the capital of Romania, has all the elements needed for a good city trip: think vast tree-lined avenues, lively bars and characterful museums. The Belle ēpoque architecture leans against communist-era housing, which according to travel expert Monica Suma, “is best seen on Calea Victoriei, the main thoroughfare, which comes alive on summer weekends during the pedestrian-only Open Streets event ”.
All of this, crucially, is very affordable. According to cost of living aggregator Numbeo, a three-course meal for two at a mid-range restaurant costs on average around £43; a bottle of wine costs just over £5. A cappuccino costs an average of €2.46. Try Caru’ cu bere, a traditional restaurant with beautiful stained glass windows and dark wood paneling – a hearty beef stew costs around £5.
Getting around is also easy. Bucharest is eminently walkable, even if transportation is so cheap that it feels perverse not to use it. A typical one-way journey on the tram and metro network costs just over 50 cents. Numbeo charges a kilometer price for a taxi ride of 52 cents, which by comparison is an average of £1.95 in London.
However, if you decide to explore the city on foot, a walking tour – usually free – is a great way to explore the city’s history. Nicolae Ceausescu’s bloody rule and subsequent revolution should all be covered, as well as Bucharest’s transformation into a place decidedly far away from its vampiric neighbors.
The secrets of Bucharest’s budget are becoming less and less secret. The city has become a real hit on TikTok. Follow the influencer’s route and tourists will end up at the Van Gogh café – a pretty flashy place – and the Therme Spa, a rather nice modern hammam complex that costs £17.50 for full day entry. In this case, the social media stars have found a real gem, but expect prices to rise as a result.
How to do that
Return flights to Bucharest start at £50 from London Stansted with Ryanair. Stay at Hotel Cismigiu, located in the heart of the old town – rooms start from £120 per night. Read our review here.
Gdańsk, Poland
Gdańsk isn’t the only Polish city that could make this list: Warsaw and Krakow are also reasonably priced. However, Gdansk is still relatively unknown, with its terracotta-covered terraces and wide boulevards.
Many combine a visit to the city with a trip to the nearby seaside resort of Sopot, and continue along the coast to Gdynia. A train ticket costs an average of €4.50, so it is certainly a feasible way to turn a city trip into a longer seaside holiday.
But there is also plenty to do in the city itself. Danzig, as it was known to the Germans during World War II, was largely destroyed in 1945, so Dutch Renaissance architecture is effectively a modern copy – though no less impressive. To explore the city’s many museums, invest in a £11 tourist card, which gets you free entry; On Mondays, most cultural attractions are free anyway.
Most unmissable is the European Solidarity Center: a colossal, rust-colored monolith with a permanent exhibition on the Solidarność movement, the Polish trade union founded in 1980 that was at the time the only free-mass social organization in the communist bloc. After you’ve had your fill, follow the line of communist history to milk bars like Bar Turystyczny – a canteen-style meal costs around £2.50.
How to do that
Ryanair flies from Bristol, Manchester and London to Gdańsk, from £30. Overnight stays at the stylish PURO Gdańsk Stare Miasto start from £69.
Porto, Portugal
In data that is only shared with The Telegraph, Porto ranks 13th in the biannual cost of living survey. That low price doesn’t indicate a trade-off, though: think elegant restaurants and varied attractions that rival the continent’s best. And the weather is spectacular too. With an average of 2,667 hours of sunlight per year, it is an ideal destination for a vitamin D fix.
Porto is also undeniably charming: the visitor, leaning towards the Douro River, bounces between stylish sardine shops and dodging flaggy trams, until the narrow streets open onto the clear waterfront. In most cities this would be an outrageous, albeit very scenic, place to stop for a drink. That’s not the case in Porto: a glass of wine in the beautifully decorated Esplanada do Teleférico bar costs just £3.43. In the city, a meal for two generally costs £34; a pint of beer around £2.14.
As for things to do? Walking across the Dom Luís I Bridge is free. Like staring at the ornate tiles in São Bento train station. It’s even possible to escape the city with an affordable, extended train journey to Pinhão in the Douro Valley, where vineyard tours start at around £20.
How to do that
EasyJet flights from London to Porto start from around £30. Read our guide to the best hotels in Porto, such as the trendy M.Ou.Co (nights from £66).
Kaunas, Lithuania
As Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, celebrated its 700th anniversary last year, the rest of the country basked in its rays. One of the vibrant twin cities was Kaunas, a cool, vibrant place with great cafes and remarkably low prices.
The town was built from the 14th-century castle complex, but for something a little stranger, head to the Devils Museum (entrance fee £3.40), an exhibition with images of the Devil, of course. The plinths, formed from a private collection, display images of folk art and ancient stone deities from all over the world – it is certainly a memorable place to visit.
If you prefer to have some control over your city trip, Kristina Stalnionyte, a Lithuania-based travel writer, recommends Urmo Bazė, an open-air market where locals hunt for antiques. By combining shops and stalls, you will probably find a nice souvenir without spending a lot of money.
While prices in Vilnius remain cheap, Kaunas is even cheaper: a lunch usually costs between €5 and €7, or £4.30 to £6. Kristina warns that the penny-pinching visitor may hesitate to take the to enter more expensive restaurants, but says the outside doesn’t necessarily indicate high prices.
“The best restaurants, coffee shops and bars are usually very cozy and beautiful, because Lithuanians do not like to go to places that do not look attractive. I think this is a national trait.” A three-course meal for two costs around £34, according to Numbeo. As the country expands its tourism offering, now is the time to take advantage.
How to do that
Ryanair return flights from London Luton to Kaunas start at £31. Viešbutis KAUNAS, a grand hotel in the city center, is equipped with a swimming pool and gym. Nights from €56.
Valencia, Spain
“You can keep your expenses low in Valencia without even trying,” says Telegraph Travel destination expert Annie Bennett. This year the Spanish city is the Green Capital of Europe, although the city has long been praised for its extensive network of parks.
“Get into the mood by walking or cycling through the Turia Park that stretches around the city before heading to the mile-long beach,” she says. Then grab a coffee – Numbeo has an average price for a cappuccino of £1.57 – or, later in the day, a bottle of wine, which should cost around £4.30.
Apart from the green space, Valencia is bursting with cultural attractions. Go to the Museo de Bellas Artes for Velázquez, Goya and El Greco; admission is free, so escape the heat in the airy galleries. For more culture, the cathedral is a remarkable place to stop: once a Roman temple, then a mosque, and now a glorious set of centuries-long expansions and reworkings. It is indicative of the vibrant city as a whole and obviously a very affordable place to spend an afternoon.
Staying a night shouldn’t cost a lot of money either. Scattered across Valencia are a wide range of reasonably priced hotels, from the beachfront boutique Hotel Balandret (£81 per night) to the more traditional Ayre Hotel Astoria (£51 per night), in the heart of the old town.
How to do that
Return flights from London to Valencia start at £37 with Ryanair, or £45 with Vueling. Discover places to stay by reading our guide to the best hotels in Valencia.
Cost of living data provided by Numbeo