Europe’s Cheapest Weekend Destinations Ranked (One Country Dominates)
A brand-new study by virtual card provider Getsby ranked 100 European cities by what a two-person weekend costs: accommodation, food, and local transport.
Here’s every city worth knowing, from cheapest to most eye-watering. Spoiler: Poland swept the entire top five and claimed six of the top ten spots.
1. Wroclaw, Poland
The winner, and it isn’t close. Wroclaw, nicknamed the City of Bridges, costs just €163 for a full two-person weekend, or €41 per person per day.
Food runs about €18.75 a day. Local transport: €5.85. That’s the kind of number that makes even a cheap domestic U.S. trip look expensive.
The city was named a European Capital of Culture in 2016, so you won’t be sitting around staring at a wall.
The Rynek, one of Europe’s largest medieval market squares, is right in the center of town.
Wroclaw is also famous for its 300-plus tiny bronze gnome statues hidden across the city, a quirky tradition that started as protest art against communist authorities.
2. Poznan, Poland
Just €5.50 more than Wroclaw for a full weekend. Poznan costs around €168.50 for two people, with food averaging the same €18.75 a day and hotels around €34.
The Old Market Square is one of Poland’s most colorful, and the Poznan Town Hall has mechanical goats that appear every day at noon. It sounds ridiculous until you see the crowd that shows up for it.
3. Katowice, Poland
Katowice runs about €60 per person per day, with food around €32.75 and hotels averaging €37.50. Cost: €239 for two.
It’s an industrial city that has reinvented itself, and the Silesian Museum sits on a former coal mine site with an observation tower that gets you panoramic views of the whole region.
4. Gdansk, Poland
€275.25 for two. At €69 per person per day, Gdansk still costs less than a single night in a mid-range Zurich hotel. Food averages €35 a day, hotels around €54.
The Long Market and the waterfront around the historic Gdansk Crane are worth your time.
The city’s role in 20th-century European history makes it a surprisingly deep trip for the price.
5. Krakow, Poland
€295 for two. The priciest of the Polish five, at €73.75 per person per day, and still cheaper than almost everywhere else on the continent.
Hotels account for about €83 of the total, but local transport averages just €7 per person. Seven euros for the whole weekend.
Wawel Castle, the Jewish Quarter of Kazimierz, and St. Mary’s Basilica give Krakow one of the best sightseeing-to-cost ratios in Europe. A trumpet call rings out from the basilica tower every single hour.
6. Sofia, Bulgaria
Sofia slides in at sixth, and it’s still very affordable at around €77 per person per day.
Bulgaria’s capital has a strong food and nightlife scene, and the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is one of the most striking Orthodox churches you’ll find anywhere on the continent.
7. Zagreb, Croatia
Around €95 per person per day. Zagreb gets overlooked because travelers fly straight to the Dalmatian coast, but the Croatian capital is a charming city for a weekend.
Tiled rooftops, a walkable old town, and a coffee culture that takes itself seriously.
8. Malmo, Sweden
Around €105 per person per day. Sweden has a reputation for being expensive, but Malmo comes in at around €105 per person per day.
It’s connected to Copenhagen by a 10-minute train, so you’re getting Scandinavian quality of life at a fraction of what Stockholm costs.
9. Budapest, Hungary
Around €111 per person per day. Budapest is one of the great European cities and still affordable.
The thermal baths alone justify the trip. Ruin bars, river views, and a food scene that has improved dramatically over the past decade.
10. Warsaw, Poland
Around €112 per person per day. Poland closes out its own top ten. Warsaw is one of Europe’s underrated capitals.
It was completely rebuilt after the Second War, with a reconstructed old town that’s a UNESCO Heritage Site and a fast-moving contemporary city layered on top of it.
The Most Expensive
At the other end of the ranking, Zurich tops the list at €1,325 for two people for a weekend, or €331 per person per day.
Food alone runs about €112 a day, and hotels average €359 a night.
Bern and Basel come in second and third at around €1,240 and €1,189 for two people respectively.
Venice and Paris round out the five priciest cities, at roughly €1,180 and €1,133 for a two-person weekend. That’s nearly seven times what Wroclaw costs.
If you’re weighing a Paris weekend against a Polish city break, the math is hard to argue with.