To ask for recommendations on city breaks and how to do this on a budget

[Springsummer222]

Have a wee bit of time off before next job
Can anyone recommend a city break for , say 4 or 5 days ,and how to keep things cheap?

Would you consider a 3 night trip? I often find 3 days can be enough for most cities, especially if they're compact.

Would recommend Prague, search for private apartments; loads of them and much better value.

Another vote here for Krakow the city is fabulous loads to see and do and very reasonably priced for hotels and food,
also Rome was fabulous and not overpriced for flights and hotel, and we found a restaurant near our hotel that did all you can eat buffet for around 15 euros each, just walking round Rome is amazingand a seven day metro ticket gets you all over for one price for the ticket.

paris though i loved the city wasnt cheap to get round or to eat out and i found the food disapointing

Have a look at Jet2 holidays, they have some great prices for city breaks

Go midweek, be prepared to fly at antisocial times.

Hostels - buy breakfast from a bakery.

Free walking tours.

Cheap destinations - Ljubljana, SE Europe in general.

Booking.com for good deals.

Self-catering and eat in hostel.

Plan carefully so that you can take lots in by walking/public transport.

Thanks Laura221 - good info and everyone for the ideas So I’m now thinking either Vienna or Krakow ; a hostel or cheap hotel and lots of walking

Or you could fly Ryanair to Pisa, take the bus to Florence and stay at Florence View, which is right next to the duomo. It's cheap as chips and lovely. I did three nights there in November for less than £200 each, flights and room.

Alsohuman- that’s a great price for that trip👍

For something different - go to a lesser known city - Turin in Italy is wonderful, as it Rotterdam rather than Amsterdam etc

For Vienna, look also at flying into Bratislava, can be much cheaper and a short train ride away.

If you have some flexibility on dates, the Skyscanner whole month search is quite useful.

Krakow, Prague, Budapest, Berlin,Barcelona,Bruges. All good. All cheap. Had a great in all.

I can't believe how many of us are suggesting Krakow ... or rather I can, but maybe we're doing the wrong thing

We don't want it to get too overcrowded / expensive if everyone finds out just how great it is

Budapest is gorgeous and cheap when you are there. Everything is very walkable if you stay centrally which is easy to do with very reasonably priced and nice hotels

My favourite Eurpean city is Lisbon. Easy to get around, loads to see, you can eat cheaply, and accommodation seems to be much cheaper than other countries. Seville is also a lovely city with great weather virtually all year round. Get a hotel a little bit out of the centre (they are really expensive near the Cathedral) and get buses in, they are frequent, quick and very cheap. Don’t miss the Plaza de Espana, absolutely stunning.

It’s with looking at the British Airways website for citybreaks. People think they are expensive but they often have flight and 3-4 night hotel packages for way less than even just the flights would cost (e.g. £165 all in) and the hotels are always decent.

£500 for two of you is loads

I think we were about £600 for the 6 of us for Krakow in half term (flights and accommodation)

Play around with flight times, book them in the sales - and book hotels etc using sites like topcashback to save etc money on top

Once you book also google 'cheap things to do in X' - and you will probably find stuff you wouldn't have expected - so for example with the Krakow trip mentioned about the Schlinder's musuem is free on a Monday, another one is free on a Tuesday

Also look at the 'free' walking tours - they ask for tips at the end, up to you how much you give - we loved the Harry Potter one in Edinburgh

I second Krakow - wasn’t as impressed with Prague
DD and I loved Malaga
DP and I had a fab 5 days in Delft
We are considering Florence or Milan next time

Eastern and Central Europe are cheap, but with loads to see. My favourite city break was Budapest. So much so I went back again.

Cheap flights with Wizz Air (£60) and the hotel was a beautiful four star and was £45 a night for a superior room, wgicg we got upgraded to a suite free of charge on arrival.

Drink, less than £2 (beer and sparkling wine) and we had a stunning three course meal at the number one restaurant on TripAdvisor at the time and it was £50 in total!!!

Plus there's so many amazing sights to see and the locals were lovely.

Also, Rome and Split are also brilliant cities, cheaper than I expected and both trips were via easyJet.

Less popular destinations that haven't yet been "discovered" are a better deal.

I recommend Ljubljana (direct flights from the UK). Really great food, very clean, very welcoming to tourists. Prices very reasonable. Amazing wine that you won't find anywhere outside of Slovenia. A really pretty city with some stunning scenery in the surrounding area. Lake Bled is easily reached by bus. You could hire a car to explore further - the whole country can be reached within a couple of hours of the capital.

What airport is nearby?
When are you talking about?
How many people?
It’s all relative to your post as we cannot recommend places where your local airport can’t fly to.
If you’re near Luton airport, try Wizzair.

Airbnb a cheap apartment, then you can save money by having picnic lunches at your base or having a bottle of wine before supper, instead of paying for drinks at a bar..

Hi Springsummer. We stayed at Rizzo's Estate, Natale 39 in Trastevere a residential district but not far from the sights. It was a 2 bed apartment and booked through Booking.com. I think the same people have a 1 bed place too. We loved the apartment and wanted to live there!

The trip I mentioned was Tuesday very early am to Friday evening in the school Easter holidays.

Another vote for Krakow. Book a studio through booking.com. Look out for the free walking tours.

Another vote for Kraków. Fabulous city with a dark history. Cheap, safe, interesting

We are going to Krakow next week, and I've booked our accommodation through Airbnb. 5 days in a "designer style" loft flat was £600. You can get something really nice for much cheaper, as this place sleeps 6.
Pm me for details.

Thanks whiteroseredrose !
Also looks as though there are plenty of votes for Krakow!

I'd base it around the best value flights. Friday are always the costliest except to popular business destinations. But avoid cheapo flights at unsociable hours or to airports that involve a long transfer. For a mini break you want to be arriving in the morning and departing late afternoon early evening to maximise your time. Careful on Sundays and Mondays where some attractions and restaurants may be closed.

Airbnb can be great if you check location and transport links. Its always cheaper to stay suburbs but it can be a pain if public transport is poor. Chose the right suburb- maybe a student area - and you will find local bars and eating places.

Avoid anywhere with tourist menus, bakery brekkie and picnic lunch. If there's a must do attraction (The Louvre, Sagrada Familiar, Sistine Chapel) try and get a prebooked slot to avoid the queues. Also some places do free entry on certain days of the month but again be prepared to queue.

I don't know where you have already been but there are some great second tier cities that are cheaper and less busy. Palma in Majorca is like a smaller Barcelona with better beaches and great tapas plus huge choice of flights. Porto is much friendlier than Lisbon and my favourite Italian city is Bologna. If you like Amsterdam try Utrecht which has a really funky laid back vibe and more canals.

Bon voyage