The 13 Best-value cities in Europe for budget travelers in 2023
This site – PriceofTravel.com – is perhaps known for our annual publication of our Global Backpacker Index, which compares over 130 destinations around the world and ranks them from cheapest to most expensive. The most popular part of that is our Europe Backpacker Index, which ranks 54 destinations from cheapest to most expensive with much greater detail than our Global list.
If you look at the Europe Backpacker Index linked above you’ll see a long list of cities (from cheapest to most expensive) and obviously the majority of them don’t make this list. Having lived in Europe and visited nearly every corner of the continent a few times, I can tell you that many places are not really worth your time, even if they are shockingly cheap. The list below only contains the absolute highlights and fortunately many of them are still amazingly inexpensive.
Updated for 2023
We did a 2022 version of this list as COVID restrictions were easing and almost everywhere seemed like a bargain, but our 2023 update unfortunately has prices way up in literally every city on the list. We rank them using our Backpacker Index as described above and most of these places are still WAY cheaper than cities in the US, Canada, or Australia, but inflation has hit Europe like most of the rest of the world and things are now reflecting that.
13 Best-value destinations in Europe for 2023 (listed cheapest to most expensive)
1 – Budapest, Hungary (cheapest)
Traditionally, Krakow (see below) is the cheapest entry on this list, but Budapest is even a bit cheaper in 2023 thanks in part to a weak Hungarian currency. When you visit you’d never expect this place to be a cheapskate’s paradise because it’s gorgeous and filled with large and super impressive classical buildings, in addition to the amazing and famous parliament building that you see in most photos.
The Castle Hill sights are worth a good chunk of time, as are the highlights in downtown Pest, across the river. You’ve also got the many spas based around hot-water springs that tend to be very affordable and unique. Some may not like the paprika-heavy local cuisine, but for those who do it tends to be filling and cheap. The trick to getting good value here is to stay and eat most of your meals away from the river, which is mostly lined with high-priced touristy places. And the nightlife in the ‘ruin pubs’ will be as unforgettable as it is affordable.
- Daily Backpacker Index: US$38.21/day
>>>Check hotel deals for Budapest
>>>Budapest prices and travel tips
2 – Krakow, Poland
While Kraków may not be the easiest city to reach on a standard Europe tour, it offers great rewards for budget travelers who make the trip. With a compact and richly historic city center, this is a destination that offers the best of classic Europe (castles, towers, palaces, town squares, cathedrals) without the massive crowds you get in Prague and elsewhere, all at prices that are still shockingly low.
Kraków also has a great tourist infrastructure with an abundance of affordable quality hostels and budget hotels, along with cheap bars, cafes, and restaurants. Those looking for a place to relax for a while on a hectic tour of the region will find this to be a fun and budget-friendly stop. Beers for under US$2.50 per pint are hard to find in most of Europe’s top cities, but pretty easy to find here. Don’t forget a half-day visit to nearby Auschwitz while you are here.
- Daily Backpacker Index: US$41.03/day
>>>Check hotel deals for Krakow
>>>Krakow prices and travel tips
3 – Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Speaking of hard to reach, Sarajevo is also unfortunately remote, but again, the fact that so few package tourists have found the place means that it’s incredibly cheap and still wonderful. The setting between two mountain ranges means that the city is photogenic from pretty much every angle, and the interesting local architecture only adds to the appeal.
The unusual attraction in Sarajevo is the pedestrian-only historic Old Town and its large Muslim quarter. It’s one of the friendliest and most interesting mixes of people and customs you’ll find anywhere in the world, which helps make it popular with Arabians and other Muslims that are less visible in Europe. The low prices on food and hotels are just a bonus, and alcohol is also cheap and free-flowing, just steps from the central mosque. There is train service to Sarajevo, but the trains are pretty slow. It’s often easier, cheaper, and just as fast to take the long-distance buses from major cities nearby instead.
- Daily Backpacker Index: US$47.95/day
>>>Sarajevo prices and weather
4 – Český Krumlov, Czech Republic
If you’ve never heard of Český Krumlov then you aren’t alone. It’s a small town in southern Czech Republic of about 14,000 residents, and it was mostly in ruins after decades of Communist neglect, but it’s been scrubbed and rediscovered by tourists looking for something different. The setting in between a lazy, serpentine river and beneath a 13th Century castle is simply stunning, and everything is within modest walking distance.
As lovely as it is, it’s the low prices and good quality that you might remember most. This is a town where you can enjoy a filling meal of local favorites for around US$4, while seated at one of the restaurants directly on the main square. A local beer will be around US$2.00 per half liter almost anywhere in town, so bargain hunters don’t have to scour the back alleys for happy hours. Hotels in the town center start at well under US$50 per night for something that would cost double or triple that in major European cities. As of 2023 there are still no hostels open in Český Krumlov, and that makes the city look more expensive on the Backpacker Index than it really is. In other words, this place is about as cheap as Krakow or Budapest as long as you can find a decent hotel deal.
- Daily Backpacker Index: US$48.24/day
>>>Český Krumlov prices and weather
5 – Vilnius, Lithuania
Vilnius makes the Best Value list here as a placeholder for Riga and Tallinn as well, as all three of the Baltic capitals offer high quality at suspiciously low prices. Tallinn and Riga are both cruise ports so they can feel a bit touristy in places, but Vilnius is landlocked so it feels more authentic and also even a bit cheaper.
The challenge for all three of these cities is that they are hard to reach unless you are on a tour of the area already. If you can find a cheap flight and are looking for a lovely and cheap place to spend a long weekend or even a week, then Vilnuis is worth a look. Great meals for under US$5 and quality local lager for well under US$2 per half pint are pretty much everywhere you look, since there is almost no exploitation of “rich” tourists here, yet.
- Daily Backpacker Index: US$55.77/day
6 – Istanbul, Turkey
Absolutely one of the world’s great and historically significant cities, Istanbul had been getting more expensive in recent years, but the Turkish Lira has been in a freefall for years now and it’s back to being cheap. Overflowing with exotic-feeling temples, markets, cathedrals, and other sights, this is a huge metropolis that is changing rapidly and yet it’s still quite unlike the rest of Europe, partly due to the fact that it famously straddles Asia as well.
After a few years of minor turmoil, Turkey seems stable again and they’ve just had an election that was deemed to be fair. Not everyone loves what has been happening, but at least you should be able to visit without worrying about large protests and crackdowns, although it is always wise to keep an eye on the news. The rest of the country is also quite nice and cheaper as well. Antalya is a worthwhile Mediterranean city that it usually out of the spotlight with protests and so forth.
- Daily Backpacker Index: US$56.35/day
>>>Check hotel deals for Istanbul
>>>Istanbul prices and travel tips
7 – Athens, Greece
Athens isn’t as cheap as it was in the 1990s, but in its favor it has dramatically cleaned up its act since the Olympics, and it still surrounds a few of the world’s most impressive tourist attractions on the Acropolis. The country had struggled with a financial crisis about 10 years ago, and fortunately that appears to be behind them so tourists are welcome and having a good time.
Also in Athens’ favor is that it’s not difficult to see the main sights in only a few days or even less, and then take the metro down to the port of Piraeus to hop on a ferry to one of its holiday islands. Santorini is the most famous of the nearby Greek islands and the most crowded as well. It’s probably better choosing Rhodes or one of the other islands that doesn’t get overrun with cruiseship crowds. This is a cheap and easy way to inject a bit of culture into a trip that will otherwise be about downing pints on a sunny beach.
- Daily Backpacker Index: US$59.30/day
>>>Check hotel deals for Athens
>>>Athens prices and weather
8 – Prague, Czech Republic
It’s definitely true that Prague isn’t nearly as cheap as it used to be, and that it’s also amazingly crowded if you follow the main tourist routes between the top sights, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t continue to be a relative bargain. Hotels in particular seem expensive here, though an abundance of affordable hostels helps a lot, including reasonable private rooms for those who aren’t partial to dorm beds. Choose from our recommended hotels in Prague list for great prices at the highest rated hotels in the city.
The beer, as you’ve certainly heard, is excellent, and it’s consumed by the locals in frightening quantities. Usually at under US$2.50 per pint to this day, the fact that it was US$0.50 per pint 12 years ago doesn’t mean that it’s still not a bargain now. Try to steer away from the tourist restaurants with big English signs out front and you’ll be able to get hearty local meals for very little as well. The public transportation system here is quite good so you can save a good chunk of money by staying away from the tourist center and still be able to cheaply go back and forth in a short time.
- Daily Backpacker Index: US$62.94/day
>>>Check hotel deals for Prague
>>>Prague prices and travel tips
9 – Lisbon, Portugal
Upon arriving in Lisbon people are often shocked at how different it is from the large cities in Spain, and also that it’s even a bit cheaper than Madrid and Barcelona as well. This historic port city is stunningly situated on 7 hills (like so many other cities) overlooking the port area, so it’s similar to San Francisco in that there’s interesting contrasts no matter which direction you are looking.
Another interesting thing about Lisbon is that it’s loaded with fiercely competitive hostels which somehow all rank very high on the various Best Hostels in the World lists. The fact that Lisbon is hard to combine with other cities on a European tour is the main reason why it’s not far more popular. Hotels and food here are also excellent bargains by European standards, and you’ll be impressed at how lovely and organized things are in that price range. The train service from Spain consists of an overnight train from Madrid, so it’s better for most people to fly, or perhaps look into the long distance buses if you are coming from western Spain.
- Daily Backpacker Index: US$71.59/day
>>>Check hotel deals for Lisbon
>>>Lisbon prices and travel tips
10 – Berlin, Germany
It’s more than a little surprising that this many years after German reunification, Berlin continues to be more affordable than Munich or Hamburg. The key seems to be the fact that almost half the city used to be East Berlin, and the tens of thousands of communist-era buildings still offer cheaper rents and more flexibility compared to West Berlin. This means that cheap hostels are dotted between weird bars and trendy galleries, with prices that are still influenced by their former incarnations.
Except perhaps for the Brandenberg Gate monument, Berlin lacks famous checklist attractions similar to the Eiffel Tower or Roman Colosseum, but first-time visitors generally love the place anyway. Berlin has an edge and a spirit that you won’t find anywhere else in the world. It’s also very English-language-friendly, more so than the rest of Germany, so you can just speak in English to locals (as long as they are under 60 or so) without having to ask if they speak English or not. It’s similar to Amsterdam and the Scandinavian capitals in that way and it makes visiting and getting around much easier.
- Daily Backpacker Index: US$75.49/day
>>>Check hotel deals for Berlin
>>>Berlin prices and travel tips
11 – Bruges, Belgium
Even though it’s firmly in a traditionally expensive corner of the continent, Bruges can actually be quite affordable, and there’s no shortage of old-world charm to go along with that. Thanks to a large number of hostels, this compact Medieval city has room for thousands of backpackers and budget travelers, and as long as you avoid the busiest months of summer you’ll actually have little trouble keeping costs down.
This is another town where all the main sights could be taken in on a 2-day stay, but due to its relative affordability, the relaxed atmosphere, and the large tourist infrastructure, this is a good choice for a chill-out stop on a longer European tour. Bruges looks a lot like Amsterdam because it was also a major trading city during the 17th Century when all of those gorgeous canalside buildings were constructed. Fortunately, Bruges is much cheaper than Amsterdam and much less crowded as well.
- Daily Backpacker Index: US$86.99/day
>>>Check hotel deals for Bruges
>>>Bruges prices and weather
12 – Edinburgh, Scotland
Edinburgh is new to this “best value” list mainly because the British Pound feel in the wake of the Brexit vote and it continues to be fairly low in 2023. You’ll probably want to start in London (see below), which is also unusually cheap these days, and Edinburgh is the best second stop in Britain for most people.
The center of Edinburgh is compact enough to be able to see most of the sights on food, especially if you are staying near the Royal Mile or nearby in the New Town (which is still very old). This was always a fabulous city, but now that it’s cheaper than it has been in many, many years, it’s also a fabulous bargain within Europe.
- Daily Backpacker Index: US$94.93/day
>>>Check hotel deals for Edinburgh
>>>Edinburgh prices and travel tips
13 – London, England
London needs no introduction and we don’t really need to tell you why you should want to come here. The reason it’s now on the “best value in Europe” list is that the currency has dropped since Brexit and in 2023 it’s still quite low by recent historical standards. They have had some inflation as well in recent years (like almost every other country), but at least the place won’t feel insanely expensive like it did in 2015 or so.
Visiting London on a tight budget can be challenging if it’s your first time, but it’s definitely possible if you do a bit of research. Staying in neighborhoods that aren’t packed with other tourists helps because most locals are not rich and the restaurants and pubs have to charge reasonable prices in order to stay open. You can ride the Tube for about £6 per day with an Oyster card as it has a maximum daily charge and the rest of your rides are all free, which helps a lot if you are staying a bit away from the main sights.
- Daily Backpacker Index: US$122.18/day
>>>Check hotel deals for London
>>>London prices and travel tips
Hi,
My husband and I are planning a trip to Europe in June 2015 for around 20 days. This is our first time in Europe and are looking forward to an amazing trip 🙂 We are both in our 20s and love good food and wine. We would love to explore a mix of touristy as well as off beat places. However, art and history does not really interest us (we do not mind visiting a couple of museums during the trip). What we are looking forward to is getting the taste of Europe and having fun!
We will be travelling from India. We plan to fly into Brussels (as this flight is cheaper than that of Amsterdam).
Here is our rough plan:
Brussels – 1 night
Bruges (trip to Antwerp) – 2 nights
Amsterdam (Kuekenhof Garden) – 3 nights
Paris (day trip to Burgundy) – 4 nights
Nice/Villefranche/any other suggestions? – 3 nights
Lucerne – 4 nights
Another Swiss base (not interlaken) – 4 nights
We plan to travel internally by trains. Does this plan look fine? Thanks in advance.
Nice article!
Sarajevo is a wonderful place, but also Belgrade is amazing, and really cheap.
In this article we suggest how to travel in former Yugoslavia with just 160 euro!
http://daytripandmap.com/visit-former-yugoslavia/
We look for your comments!
I understand that the article should highlight popular destination to travel on budget. Saying that it doesn’t really reflect “the cheapest cities” as I would say all cities in Eastern Europe (in Bulgaria, Slovakia, Romania, Croatia, Ukraine) are much cheaper than London or Reykjavik. Let’s say if you said tat Krakow is the cheapest I assume it’s true for other 90% of Polish cities rather than others in Western Europe.
Hi Roger.. Thanks… That is very helpful.
I know it might get cramped up but the itinerary is not set in terms of places I MUST go to.. These are just places that even if I do spend the minimum time in each I can cover, in case I do not like one / two specific places and want to move ahead.. If I do end up loving one particular place I am going to carry on in that region itself and whichever place I do not like I will just leave earlier than I would have planned and spend more time in places I like more..hence, not making prior bookings… Also, as I move, I can get recommendations from other travelers / locals and move accordingly..
Just wanted to know in case there is any specific city / place that you think I should let go of and not bother with..
Thanks
Hi,
I am a 26 year old guy from Delhi. Planning a solo backpacking trip across Eastern Europe during Mid of June 2014 for approx. 30 days and could use all the help / information for this.
My date of travel starts from 14th June and the rough itinerary is below:
Start – London – 14th June – 4 Nights
Czech Republic (Prague) – 3 Nights
Slovakia (Bratislava) – 2 Nights
Hungary (Budapest) – 3 Nights
Slovenia (cities to be decided) +
Croatia (Zadar, Drubovnik, Split) +
Montenegro (cities / beaches to be decided) +
Albania (Ksamil, Dhermi) – The above four countries I plan to cover in 12-13 Nights (still uncertain how much time to allocate to which country / city..plz suggest)
Romania (Bucharest, Mamaria) – 2/3 Nights
Ukraine (Kiev, Lviv) – 3 Nights
Back to London from Ukraine
The above is a rough plan.
Plz suggest if that is being too ambitious. I am more interested in seeing a place, walking around and exploring the cities, history, meeting locals / fellow backpackers, beaches, relaxing, a little partying.
I have a few questions and would be happy if anyone can answer them:
Are the number of days enough or more or less for the countries? I have researched and found that these days should be enough, but if you have any other suggestions, I shall be happy to know / replan.
Since all countries are close to each other and Euro Rail pass is very expensive, would it be better to travel by bus between countries? And do you suggest booking them beforehand or are they easily available?
Any other must see cities in these countries? Also, i want to see more beaches. Any suggestions?
Any hostel recommendations?
I wanted to keep my travelling very flexible and wanted to know can I walk into a hostel and get a dorm / room / place to sleep immediately, so that I am not bound by timelines to make it to my hostel / room bookings, except for entering from Prague and leaving from Ukraine. How much in advance do you suggest should I book a hostel to ensure a place to sleep? Same with the travelling between cities as well and the bus / train tickets reservations, i.e. If I can get on the spot reservations?
I know the above is a lot of information / details / requests, but I wanted to be as planned as possible, while try to keep my travel as flexible as possible, without any surprises.
Also, if anyone would like to join me, please feel free, wouldn’t mind any good like minded company.
Look forward to your expert advises.
Jai
Jai,
You’ve got quite a few questions here, and I’ll try to answer as many as I can.
As for transportation, you’ll want to fly from London to Prague, and once you are in eastern Europe a rail pass doesn’t provide good value. The trains tend to be quite cheap on their own, and there are buses that are usually cheaper, and sometimes just as fast. In other words, the trains in that area tend to be slow, and they don’t reach everywhere (like Dubrovnik). You’ll want to research each journey, as some of them might have cheap train tickets if you buy them well in advance, and sometimes buses are cheap if bought early as well.
I’d also recommend visiting Vienna instead of Bratislava. They are essentially suburbs of each other. Vienna is more expensive, but it’s also far more interesting.
Really, aside from Prague, Budapest, Split, and Dubrovnik, you seem to be planning mostly secondary tourist cities. The places you have on your list are almost all quite cheap (except Split and Dubrovnik and London), but that alone isn’t a great reason to visit any of them. I’m curious why you’ve chosen the ones you have? It would help to know more about your motivations in order to help you plan the best trip.
Ukraine has gotten even cheaper lately with its currency dropping like it has, but have you been watching the news? I’ve yet to visit Ukraine, and there’s no way I’d go under the current political climate. I don’t necessarily mean that it’s dangerous, just that it’s volatile right now, and many people expect the borders to change again soon.
Most of the places on your list are also countries where English isn’t widely used or understood. In other words, in a city like Amsterdam or Berlin, you can literally go up to anybody and speak English to them, and they’ll happily respond in English. But in most of those non-touristy areas you have in mind, you might have to ask 10 people before you find one who speaks fluent English. The people at the hostels and bars will know enough English to help you, but a random bus driver or shopkeeper might not speak English at all.
As for booking hostels, this is how it tends to work: Let’s say a city has 8 hostels. The best 2 or 3 will sell out in advance, but maybe only a few days in advance. The middle 2 or 3 hostels (quality and location-wise) will fill up on arrival day (at least in high season), but that might be the morning or it might be late in the evening. The worst 2 or 3 hostels will rarely sell out at all, but they tend to be in lousy locations and have poor service. Often they charge high prices as well, because they can get more from people who didn’t plan ahead.
My recommendation for booking hostels is to book at least your first night, as soon as you’ve decided on your arrival day. Like, it’s Saturday and I’ve decided to go to Budapest next Tuesday, I’ll go ahead and book the hostel right now. You get the best hostels with the best locations that way, often at the best prices as well. From a social standpoint, that makes a huge difference. The “party hostels” with good locations tend to be social centers with their own bars and restaurants and such. The low-rated hostels tend to be outside of the center, so the guests rarely hang out in the common areas. I have hostel recommendations on most of the city pages on this site, and those are a good place to start looking, at least for the cities that are covered here.
Rather than countries, I’d think more about individual destinations and stops. In other words, you are spending 3 nights in Prague, not really 3 nights in the Czech Republic. Whether your destinations are in the same country or in different countries isn’t as important. Many of those countries used to all be part of Yugoslavia only 25 years ago. Even today, there aren’t great differences between most of them. I’d plan for at least 2 nights in every destination, and 3 nights is better unless you are really in a hurry. You can see the main highlights of almost any city in 3 nights, so there’s no need to go much slower than that, unless you are in the mood to just chill out for a while, which is natural on a longer trip like this.
So let me know why you’ve picked the sorts of places you’ve picked, and I’ll try to help you make the list the best it can be. -Roger
Hi Roger… Thanks.. that was really helpful.. Sorry for not replying earlier but was caught up with some thing else…
so for now I have revisited the itinerary and the broad travel plan…
I have now decided on the countries broadly to travel during the time…
INDIA – HUNGARY (BUDAPEST) – SLOVAKIA (BRATISLAVA) – CZECH (PRAGUE) – SLOVENIA (LAKE BLED + LJUBLIANA + ONE MORE TO BE DECIDED) – CROATIA (ZADAR + SPLIT + DUBROVNIK) – MONTENEGRO (NEED TO DECIDE CITIES) – ALBANIA (NEED TO DECIDE CITIES) – SERBIA (BELGRADE – JUST MAYBE A NIGHT STOP OVER ON WAY BACK TO BUDAPEST) – BUDAPEST – INDIA
All the countries have common borders, so I am guessing traveling should be fairly easier and cheaper
the total number of days is 30 days…maybe I am being a little ambitious but it all depends on the trip while I am on it and what recomendations I receive from other travelers / locals…
will definitely work on booking hostels before entering a particular city
Also, my main aim for the trip is exploring, cultura, history (museums not so much maybe), meeting people, locals, partying, relaxing, and just other interesting stuff to do around cities…
How does the plan above sound? doable? anything I should note / alter?
Thanks
Jai,
For a trip of 30 days in Europe, I think about 12 stops is probably the most you’d want to do before all the moving around would start making the trip worse instead of better. It looks like you’ve got around 15 on your list, so it’s not totally crazy, but I do think you’d be happier if you slow down at least a bit.
On your list, Budapest, Prague, Split, and Dubrovnik are all very worthwhile stops. Belgrade is interesting for a day or two as well. I’d think about adding Sarajevo if you are going to be in the area because that is a particularly interesting one. But Montenegro, Albania, and the rest of Serbia aren’t really in the same league as far as tourism goes. And I say that as someone who lived in Nis, Serbia for about 5 months, less than two years ago. My Serbian friends would go to Montenegro for a beach holiday in the summer if they could afford it, but it was also because they couldn’t afford to go anywhere else.
I know I mentioned this before in the previous comment, but I want to make sure you understand that your plan is a bit unusual. Except for the coastal resorts in Croatia, the former Yugoslavia area is still quite new at the tourism game, and there aren’t all that many checklist attractions in any of those places either. My best guess is that if you spend time in that area, that most other people in the hostels will be visitors from neighboring countries, and hard-core backpackers who have been to the main highlights in Europe already.
As long as you go in knowing this, I think you’ll be fine and you’ll probably enjoy it all quite a bit. One nice thing about that region is that since there are very few tourists, it means that you shouldn’t have to plan too far in advance. Once you get to Split (and maybe even before then), buses will be the best way to get around. In that part of the world they still tend to have the same prices no matter when you buy, so you can just go to the bus station, buy a ticket, and climb on board in most cases. With trains that can be expensive because advanced tickets are much cheaper than walk-up tickets.
The point is, I think you should keep a general route in mind, but don’t get too locked-in on it. If you get to Ljublana and decide that you want to go more on the main tourist trail than the less-traveled trail, you can do it. Since you can get cheap bus tickets and hostel beds with little notice, I think you can keep a lot of flexibility. And as mentioned up top, I think you’ll probably want to stay with 10 to 12 total stops once you notice that you can’t do much sightseeing on travel days. Enjoy, and feel free to follow up if you have other questions I might help with. -Roger
Lol albania i hope you didnt get robbed or abducted?
Try researching Bitola, Macedonia. It is a beautiful city with a lot of history and also modern at the same time. There are many low price hostels and hotels right in the city. The cuisine is exceptional and very well priced even at a nice place. The locals are very friendly and very welcoming. No matter what your interests, you will find something to do from museums, shops, cafes, night clubs, historical sites, hiking or just sight seeing, I promise you won’t regret it. I have traveled a lot in North America, the Caribbean and Europe and it is by far the best city I’ve ever visited. A person could eat, play and sleep for around $20 USD per day.
How about Dubrovnik in Croatia, Brasov in Romania or Riga in Latvia?
What about Graz, Austria as an alternative to Venice? It’s much smaller, generally not a tourist destination which means you get local Austrian culture, EXCELLENT and I mean excellent restaurants, some dirt cheap but all with VERY good food, zero crime, and incredibly friendly people. Hotels near downtown are all within walking distance or a short trolley ride to Schlossberg Castle, numerous cafes and bars, restaurants, sports arenas, theaters, etc. Proximity to Italy, Hungary and Slovenia means you can base out of Graz and day-trip to these other near-by countries.
“Upon arriving in Lisbon people are often shocked at how different it is from the large cities in Spain,”
Really??? Maybe it’s because Lisbon is in Portugal, not in Spain…
“Lisbon is a bit more formal than Spanish cities as well,”
Again? you should study some geography before writing anything about cities.
Antonio, thanks for the comments. I’ve traveled extensively in this region and the point was that Lisbon and Portugal, in spite of being completely surrounded by Spain, don’t share as many traits with Spain as most people would expect. In most parts of the world there is a continuum, but Lisbon is an exception for many of us. I’m sorry if you somehow thought I was implying that Lisbon is in Spain, because it never says that. The word “Portugal” is right in the header. -Roger
Who wrote this? Someone at a desk somewhere who has never traveled. It’s not “HAYPENNY” – it’s “ha’penny”, for ‘HALF’ penny. Obviously someone who is NOT european.
(Fred, thanks for pointing out such an unforgivable error. Our house-bound non-European writer has been given a final warning. It’ll be fixed. -Roger)