How to eat like a king, sleep like a baby and gorge on culture in Europe’s finest cities — for $200 a day,
Travelling to Europe’s most popular cities can be daunting. Nice hotels often cost $200 a night, and food and entertainment can be expensive in Paris, London, Berlin and Rome. But have no fear. The Star has asked some of our writers with years of Europe stories under their belts to share their ideas on how to survive in those cities on $200 a day.
You’ll be surprised at how easy it is with a little planning, and at what you can get for nothing, so read on for some great tips. Oh, and next Saturday we’ll give you a different take and show you some cities in Europe where you can live like royalty on that same $200 a day.
If you think you need pockets as deep as the ocean you’ll cross to visit Europe, think again.
Shell out for a single cup of coffee, and you’re welcome to linger for hours, people-watching at a Parisian café.
You can explore acres of antiquities at many museums for free, and only your feet will pay a price when you stroll Europe’s grand boulevards and public gardens.
Read on for practical ways to pinch pounds and Euros without feeling the squeeze.
PARIS
HOTEL Hotel La Manufacture, 8 rue Philippe de Champagne. hotel-la-manufacture.com. This three-star hotel near the lively Latin Quarter offers 56 rooms with flat-screen TV, free WiFi, A/C and continental breakfast. From $61.
FOOD At Derriere, the décor is as “cheeky” as the name (French for “behind”), with fez lampshades and a ping-pong table and a secret room behind a wardrobe, which looks like a cross between a frat house and your crazy aunt’s attic, outfitted with a foosball table, knackered leather sofas and fleabitten taxidermy. Sunday brunch, noon to 4 p.m. features a buffet, plus a starter, main, juice and hot drink. $46. 69 rue des Gravilliers. derriere-resto.com. Riad Nejma is kitted out like a Moroccan fever dream, with a menu to match. Mains from $22. 141 rue St. Martin. riadnejma.com.
DRINK At Taverne Henri IV, across from the king’s statue on the Pont Neuf, you can choose from more than two dozen wines by the glass, starting from about $4.25. The ambience is refreshingly rustic and unassuming, with a simple wood bar, daily specials written on a chalk board, and generous charcuterie and cheese platters starting at about $20. 13 Place du Pont Neuf.
ATTRACTION Enjoy a performance at the Opera-Bastille for 5 euro ($6.50) — but you’ll need comfortable shoes. Standing tickets can be purchased from a machine at the opera house two hours before the curtain rises. 120 rue de Lyon. operadeparis.fr.
FREEBIE You’ll smile as smugly as the Mona Lisa knowing you get free entry to any of Paris’s 14 national museums, including the Louvre (louvre.fr/en), on the first Sunday of the month. MORE INFO parisinfo. com
LONDON
HOTEL Book a B&B in four-star homes in fashionable neighbourhoods like Knightsbridge, Chelsea and Notting Hill through At Home in London. Doubles from $119. athomeinlondon.co.uk. Decent hotels can be found in Bayswater, close to the Tube and many attractions, for $100 or less.
FOOD At Books for Cooks, which sells cookbooks from around the world, chefs pamper palettes with a two-course lunch for $8 or three courses for $11), Tuesday to Saturday. Arrive by 11:45 a.m., as demand can outpace availability. 4 Blenheim Cres. booksforcooks.com. Most days of the week (except Sundays), you’ll also find a variety of food stalls lining nearby Portobello Road, where you buy chow to take away for less than $8. portobellomarket.org. For dinner, fill up at the buffet in the atmospheric Café in the Crypt, the barrel-vaulted chamber beneath St. Martin-in-theFields church. Fish and chips served Fridays for $13.50. Jazz nights on Wednesdays. Trafalgar Square. smitf.org.
DRINK Sip a cuppa while listening to ’40s jazz and swing at Soho’s Secret Tea Room, above the Coach & Horses pub. Full afternoon tea, including scones, cake, and sandwiches, $28. 29 Greek Street. sohossecrettearoom.co.uk.
ATTRACTION Hoof it with guided London Walks. Themes range from Jack the Ripper to the Olympics. walks.com.
FREEBIE London offers dozens of free museums, including the British Museum, where you’ll find the Rosetta Stone, Parthenon sculptures and Egyptian mummies (Great Russell Street,britishmuseum.org), and the Victoria & Albert Museum, focusing on art and design (Cromwell Road, vam.ac.uk).
MORE INFO visitlondon. com
BERLIN
HOTEL Arte Luise Kunsthotel, Lui- senstr. luise-berlin.com. Located in buzzing Berlin-Mitte, each of the 50 rooms in this hotel — housed within an 1825 palace and a 2003 addition (where there is air conditioning) — is decorated by a different artist. Doubles with shower from 99 euro ($129). Breakfast, 11 euro ($14.30) per person.
FOOD Mustafas Gemüse-Kebap is one of the most beloved places in Berlin for a doner kebab (typically containing meat roasted on a spit, served on flatbread). Folks often wait in queues alongside this street stall for 30 mouthwatering minutes or more. Doner and drink from $6. Mehringdamm 32, mustafas.de. Sophieneck serves up hearty German meals in a cosy atmosphere, where the walls are bedecked with old advertisements and vintage pin-ups like Marilyn Monroe. Wash down Berliner meatballs ($8.35) or schnitzel ($16) with a Berliner Pilsner ($3.25). Grosse Hamburger Strasse 37. sophieneck-berlin.de.
DRINK At Tausend, behind an unmarked door under a bridge, the kick of cocktails like the Hot Mexican Mule ($13) will burn a hole in your belly. Schiffbauerdamm 11. tausendberlin.com.
ATTRACTION Meander past landmarks like Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandenburg Gate, and the Berlin Wall with the Original Insider Tours’ four-hour “Famous Insider Walk: Hidden Berlin & All Main Sites.” $16. insidertour.com.
FREEBIE There are several places where you can get a gander at the remnants of the Berlin Wall, most notably at the East Side Gallery, a 1.2-kilometre section adorned with artful graffiti. Mühlenstrasse. eastsidegallery-berlin.de.
MORE INFO visitberlin. de
ROME
HOTEL Fraterna Domus is a con- vent with the best location in town, one minute from Piazza Navona and in the middle of the historic centre. Rooms have recently been renovated and include private bathroom and breakfast made by the nuns. Doubles from $62. Via di Monte Brianzo 62. fraternadomus@alice.it. FOOD An espresso and croissant at a 100-year-old bar with the locals is just $2.30 at Caffé dal1899. Via della Scrofa, 104. Try a lunch of sea bass with olives, tomatoes and capers ($14), wine ($6.50) and their famous chocolate soufflé ($9) at Il Desiderio Preso Per la Coda (Desire Caught by the Tail). Vicolo della Palomba, 23. ildesideriopresoperlacoda.it.
Two-scoop gelato (ricotta/fig/almond and white chocolate/basil) in a charming gelateria hidden in a back alley: $3. Gelateria del Teatro. Via di San Simone, 70. Have a dinner of Roman artichokes ($6.50), spaghetti alla Carbonara ($12), half a litre of wine ($6.50) and tiramisu ($6.50) in the liveliest restaurant in Rome. Da Francesco. Piazza del Fico, 29.
DRINK At sunset, go for a cocktail or wine, including complimentary aperitivo (tapas), $13. Gusto. Piazza Augusto Imperatore. gusto.it. For a nightcap, head to the most elegant bar in town for a wine, $16, or martini, $25. Stravinskij Bar — Hotel de Russie. Via del Babuino, 9. lejardinderussierestaurant.it.
ATTRACTION See Caravaggio, Guercino, Titian, Raphael, Lorenzo Lotto and the most opulent private gallery in Rome for $14. Galleria Doria Pamphilj. Via del Corso, 305. doriapamphilj.it.
FREEBIE The Pantheon — arguably the most stunning monument in Rome with its famous dome and oculus. Piazza della Rotonda. MORE INFO www. turismoroma.it Check out next Saturday’s Travel section for the flip side of this story. That’s right, instead of eking out an existence and minding your pennies on $200 a day, we’ll tell you what cities you can explore in Europe where you can live like royalty for that same amount of money.