Europe can be cheap, and knowing where to go is important. Below are 7 cheap destinations you can visit in Europe.
1. Saint Petersburg, Russia
Image Credit: Photo by Maria Rodideal on Unsplash
The former Russian imperial capital founded at the beginning of the 18th century by Tsar Peter the Great, has the Hermitage one of the largest and best-equipped art museums in the world.
In the architectural landscape of the city that the Soviets renamed Leningrad in 1924 and that resumed its old name after the end of communism, there are also monuments such as the Winter Palace, the Fortress of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, the Church of Christ the Savior on Spilled Blood and the Smolny Convent.
In St. Petersburg, it is possible to find apartments for rent and well-located hotel rooms for between 25 and 30 Euros per day.
2. Sofia, Bulgaria
Photo by Natalya Letunova on Unsplash
Sofia was modernized during the last quarter of the 19th century with an architecture that mixes Neoclassical, Neo-Renaissance, and Rococo styles.
Among the most outstanding buildings of this period are the National Art Gallery and National Ethnographic Museum, the Ivan Vazov National Theatre, the National Assembly, and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
The much older religious buildings are dominated by the Church of Saint Sophia, the Church of Saint George, and the Saint Alexander Nevski Cathedral monument, the world’s leading exponent of Orthodox religious architecture.
Good hotels in Sofia, such as the Diana, the Galant, and the Bon Bon, have prices of around 30 Euros.
3. Belgrade, Serbia
Belgrade was one of the most punished cities during the war in the Balkan Peninsula and has been reborn from its ashes.
Belgrade has a charm that it shares only with two other European capitals, Vienna and Budapest. These are the only three capital cities in Europe on the banks of the legendary Danube.
The architecture of the capital of Serbia, in which the National Museum, the Church of Saint Mark, and the Temple of Saint Sava stand out, has recovered to such an extent that Belgrade is compared to Berlin.
A good hotel in Belgrade, like House 46, costs 26 Euros and there are cheaper ones
4. Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina
The Bosnian capital was also devastated by the Balkan War but was able to recover to continue being the “Jerusalem of Europe”, so-called because of the different religious beliefs it houses.
Architectural symbols of the above are the Catholic Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, the Orthodox Cathedral, the Ferhadija Mosque, and the Madrasa.
Other places of particular interest in Sarajevo are the War Tunnel, the Sebilj, the Veliki Park, the Saraci, and the old town.
In Sarajevo, you can settle in a hotel or a pension for rates that range between 25 and 40 Euros.
5. Riga, Latvia
For an apartment very close to the center of Riga you can pay 18 Euros, while hotel rooms are quoted between 24 and 30 Euros.
The Latvian capital and largest Baltic city live up to these distinctions with an array of attractions, including its majestic World Heritage-listed Old Town.
Remained almost anonymous during the Soviet era, in the last 25 years, Riga has been modernized and embellished, recovering its splendid Art Nouveau architecture.
Among the most important constructions of “The Paris of the North” are the old cathedral, the Church of San Pedro, the Orthodox cathedral, the Church of the Holy Trinity, and the Monument to Liberty.
6. Bucharest, Romania
If you are traveling alone to Romania, you may not dare to visit Dracula’s Castle in Transylvania, but the Romanian capital, Bucharest, is enough on its own to give you a magnificent vacation.
Bucharest is a reliquary of the various architectural styles that have passed through the country, such as Neoclassical, Bauhaus, and Art Deco, without discarding the heavy model of the communist era, symbolized by the Palace of Parliament, the second-largest building in the World after the Pentagon.
Bucharest’s buildings and monuments include the Romanian Athenaeum, the CEC Palace, the Arc de Triomphe, and the National Museum of Art.
In Bucharest, you can stay in luxury at the Parliament Hotel for 272 Euros per night, or at the comfortable Venezia Hotel for only 45 Euros. Between those extremes, there are all sorts of options.
7. Krakow, Poland
Krakow has been the cultural capital of Poland since it was also its political capital. Krakow’s Old Town was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978 and is home to beautiful buildings to wow architecture-loving tourists.
Some of these constructions are the Royal Castle, St. Mary’s Basilica, Wawel Castle and Cathedral, and the impressive Cloth Hall.
Tours depart from Krakow to see the infamous Auschwitz Concentration Camp from the Nazi occupation period and the Wieliczka salt mines.
In Krakow, you can stay in a hotel or an apartment paying between 30 and 40 Euros.
