If you’re looking for a budget-friendly city break this summer, a study has shown some of the cheapest options across Europe, and one country dominates the top ten with a huge selection of inexpensive cities
Summer is a great time to enjoy a city break. While some people prefer to head to the beach, the sunny weather can be a nice time to see a new city, as you can explore outside and enjoy a more relaxed vibe.
But city breaks can be expensive. If you’re looking for budget options, there’s one country in particular that should be top of your list. It has six out of the ten cheapest city breaks in Europe, and makes up the entirety of the top five named in the study.
The research, carried out by virtual card provider Getsby, looked at data from travel cost site Budget Your Trip and worked out the average cost for two people for a mid-range city break in 100 different European cities. It crunched the numbers on the daily cost for two people for two days, including mid-priced meals, a hotel stay, and using local transport.
Coming in with a daily average cost of £35 per person was Wroclaw in Poland, making it the cheapest option out of all the cities studied. Wroclaw, set in the southwest of the country, was built on 12 islands across the Odra River and its neighbourhoods are connected by over 100 bridges. It’s sometimes called the Venice of Poland thanks to its sprawling network of canals that offer you the chance to go sightseeing by boat.
Ostrów Tumski, or Cathedral Island, is the oldest part of the city, made up of cobblestone streets that are illuminated by 102 gas lamps, each one lit by hand every evening by a man in a cape. Just across the water is Rynek, one of the largest medieval squares in Europe, where you’ll find a towering Gothic old town hall and traditional tenement houses painted in soft pastel tones.
Centennial Hall is another of the city’s architectural masterpieces. Built in the 1910s, this vast concrete building was used as a filming location for Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, its distinctive high dome making it perfect for the Capitol Arena.
Eating out is inexpensive in Wroclaw, and you can find plenty of hearty, cheap eats. Fill up on kluski sląskie, soft potato dumplings, or zurek, a tangy soup often served in a bread bowl. The city is also a popular place to visit during the winter months, where the icy weather gives it serious cosy vibes.
Rynek becomes the site of the city’s Christmas market from late-November until early-January, and opens late in to the night. You can try traditional Polish food and enjoy hot mulled wine served in ceramic, boot-shaped mugs that have become a collector’s item.
But Wroclaw isn’t Poland’s only inexpensive destination. The top five cheapest breaks are all in the country: Poznań, Katowice, Gdańsk, and Kraków, making up the list. Warsaw, the country’s capital, also comes in at number ten.
Outside of Poland, four other cities complete the top ten. These are Sofia in Bulgaria, Zagreb in Croatia, Malmö in Sweden, and Budapest in Hungary, putting the majority of cheap destinations in Eastern Europe.
The 10 cheapest European cities for a weekend getaway
- Wroclaw, Poland
- Poznań, Poland
- Katowice, Poland
- Gdańsk, Poland
- Krakow, Poland
- Sofia, Bulgaria
- Zagreb, Croatia
- Malmö, Sweden
- Budapest, Hungary
- Warsaw, Poland
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