cheap European city break?

[Bimgy85]

Simple as that really.

Was thinking Amsterdam but seems too expensive in terms of living , food and drink.

Any recommendations for a 4 night stay in a European city? With lots of stuff to see and do, cheaper standard of living?

Lisbon would be perfect in mid October I reckon.

I did Warsaw. Got flights for £60 return for 2 and a 4 star hotel for 3 nights for £120. Very cheap too

Amsterdam has all prices of eateries. The thing that really got on my nerves was the amount of bikes - specifically the cyclists who didn't abide by the rules. It's bad enough trying to remember that traffic come from the other side, but having to contend with thousands of bikes didn't do my nerves any good!

I've had a couple of friends who have recently been to Krakow and loved it - not only the city but things in the surrounding area, and all very cheap

Ljubljana
Belgrade
Riga
Bucharest

Loved them all, and all relatively cheap.

Lack of direct flights might make it impractical, but Skopje is amazing, and a very cheap place to stay, eat and drink.

For Amsterdam, do Airbnb? Cheaper and you can eat in for breakfast / lunch which helps too.

Lisbon. Malaga city.

Eastern Europe like Tallinn, Budapest and Prague/Krakow.

Beware the stag parties on the weekend though! I can go midweek so it is obv a slightly different experience for me.

@JennyHolzersGhost have tried looking but obviously because I'm kind of late most of the great deals are gone!

Have found a good deal of a lovely B and B in a woman's house for €300 for 4 nights but I'd be worried about me and dp having late nights.

Has anyone been to Warsaw? Flights are fairly cheap at the moment but most people seem to go to Krakow....any advice either way?

DO NOT go to Iceland....I know someone who got cheap flights and hotel but then almost needed to remortgage their house to buy anything there

(Disclaimer maybe they didn't have to remortgage their house but it was bloody expensive)

"Is Amsterdam expensive to go out and drink and eat!*

No. Not of you eat where the Dutch eat. It's literally as cheap as chips

I'd also say krakow, gorgeous place and cheap too.

I’ve been to Amsterdam a couple of times; there’s food and drink for all budgets, but hotel prices seem to have shot up. Personally, I don’t like Amsterdam; it’s very pretty in places, but there were so many shops selling really tacky tat, and the red light district was full of beered-up group of young men behaving like arses.

If it’s high on your wish-list, then you should go, but for me, there are much more enjoyable places to visit.

Amsterdam used to be cheap but it's become expensive in the past 2 years.
Would highly recommend Budapest or Bratislava.

If you are within striking distance of the Channel Tunnel, would stops there on the way be any good for you?

I would love to be able to do this journey, but alas, I am too far away to make it worthwhile.

@sweatybumcrack I went to Warsaw in 2011 and really liked it. It’s been almost completely rebuilt since WWII, so although the main square is gorgeous, it’s a reconstruction, but beautifully done.

We stayed at the InterContinental, which was very nice. We had some really good (and inexpensive) meals, and spent most of the weekend exploring on foot. We went to the Museum of the Warsaw Uprising, which was deeply moving; I had no idea how badly the city had suffered during WWII and after.

I can’t compare it with anywhere else in Poland, but I liked it and would happily go back.

Depending on where you are in the country P&O do cheap mini-cruises to Amsterdam from Hull. We went in winter and paid £40 for both (ridiculously cheap deal). Ours was only one day there but they do three night breaks as well. The ferry was quite dated and naff but was a cheap way of seeing the city.

We've just booked three nights in Florence in November. Flights £81 each, b+b £79 a night.

To whoever was asking about Warsaw, I love it. Great city. Seriously under appreciated.

OP - I’m picking up Airbnb places in Amsterdam for £75 and under a night for the last weekend in October and the first weekend in November. Lots of reviews and well rated too, not the random ones with no prior bookings. Could you extend your time horizon a little?

Just spent 2 days in Warsaw...absolutely loved it! Loads to see and very cheap food and drinks.

Last week DP and I booked Amsterdam for christmas. Flights and hotel for 23rd to 27th December for just under £400.

I'm actually looking for hotels in Budapest for a few days in October as I've found flights that are so cheap it would be a waste of money not to go!

DO NOT go to Iceland....I know someone who got cheap flights and hotel but then almost needed to remortgage their house to buy anything there

I agree, it was hugely expensive ( but I knew this before I went so had planned it). Car hire was £800,

Gdansk is nice and cheap.
Porto is lovely
Berlin isn't dirt cheap but really good fun
Warsaw is ok but I'm not rushing back
Brussels is nice but 4 days may be too much and you may need to move on after two days.
Nuremberg is lovely
Moldova is expensive to get there but cheap once in the city
Copenhagen is not particularly cheap but you can cut corners and is really nice and interesting
I love Malaga!
Seville is nice but I like going near Christmas when it is stil very warm in the day but Christmassy at night.
Munich and Stuttgart are good.
Oslo isn't cheap but it is fantastic and four days would be good. So much to do!

NickNacky

It was some time around October, I was playing with a few different dates. From London to Amsterdam.
But I also looked at flights and found equally cheap flights so much of a muchness really.

However, I think I'd prefer to go in spring when everything is in bloom.

Riga. Pretty old town, lots of museums, reasonable shopping. You can take the train out to Jurmala beach resort.

Several nice restaurants.
dominicanes.lv/
www.restaurant3.lv/
www.bigbadbagels.lv/big-bad-bagels/
www.inyourpocket.com/riga/alkimikis_135884v

If you're set on Amsterdam, I stayed here:

www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g188590-d1202168-Reviews-Vita_Nova-Amsterdam_North_Holland_Province.html

It's a boat right next to the Nemo science museum, walking distance from Central Station. IIRC it cost me about £40 a night- in August, for my own cabin. The drawbacks? The cabins are tiny, possibly not ideal if you're planning a (cough) romantic break with a loved one. For a solo traveller who loves boats and hates sharing dorms it was ideal.

I wouldn't recommend either Porto or Lisbon, having lived in both. Everyday essentials in the supermarket are more expensive overall than Spain, and their main supermarket (Pingo Doce) is atrocious. I've never been so delighted to leave a place.

Bilbao is amazing if you want to see Northern Spain, really nice museums and cultural sites, plus you're just over an hour away from San Sebastian if you wanted to do a day-trip (as it can be expensive accommodation wise)

Riga is an interesting choice, it has a very nice old town and is very budget friendly,

We do the feedback, you decide OP.

Any updates on what you might like so far?