European City on a Budget of 1200USD in 4 Days

Paris, if you have to choose only one go to Paris, you won't regret it.

If the price excludes airfare but includes hotels and other expenses, then you can do any of the three cities if you budget carefully. If the price includes airfare, you can't do any of the three cities on this budget.

But for castles, I think Munich is a much better choice. There are many actual castles within a short trip, and you can do everything by public transit ... and you can also go to either Switzerland for a day-trip or Salzburg for an overnight.

In Paris, you can see Versailles, but that's not really a castle. Prague has a wonderful castle, and there are a couple of other places you can get to easily, but nothing like Neuschwanstein.

the budget excludes airfare I had an impression that it's hard to go around Munich especially after I read that hostels there are expensive.

I think you could do any of these cities for $1,200 (depending on where you're traveling from) so go where you want to go. If your primary interest is castles then you would need to travel outside cities. I would vote to fly into Munich for the famous German castles.

All of these cities are easy to navigate - you only need a map.

How do you know Fussen is expensive? Could it be more expensive than Paris?

<< the budget excludes airfare >>

If the budget excludes airfare why are you worried about expenses????

That's $300 per day! I think you're loony. I keep reading your post to make sure I read it correctly - let me know if I made a mistake. I sure wish I had $300 per day to spend.

Last year I went to Poland for 2 weeks and spent $1,500 for everything (including airport taxes for FF ticket). Poland is more expensive than France and Germany but not more expensive than the Czech Rep.

I meant Munich is expensive compared to Paris right? kinda had that impression while reading Rick Steve's book. A bit apprehensive too because of the schedule- Oktoberfest. It might be hard to find rooms.

You can't believe everything Rick Steve says. I can't compare Munich and Paris but I think Frankfurt is cheaper than Paris so I can't imagine that Munich would be more expensive.

The truth is I actually looked up tours and found this one:
http://www.europeancastlestours.com/tours/bavaria.htm
and when I saw the prices as well as that description from Rick Steve's book about being expensive -that's when I got the impression that you need more.

Oh well- so much for Rick Steve. Now gonna do some research again on hostels in Munich as well as some other guided tours. Thanks for the enlightenment...
BTW, any of you guys have suggestions which site or blog that can give me an idea which hostel to stay and itinerary suggestions?

When you said $1,200 for 4 days you never mentioned going on a tour. Look at hostel world or hosteling international.

You need to go to the library and get some guide books and start there. The Let's Go series is for budget travelers and will give lots of info on hostels.

You can also join the thorn tree forum where there is more of a hostel crowd.

thanks for the help- really appreciate it

Hi Nad,

You have about 225E pd to spend. That is not budget.

For someone your age, my suggestions would be, Prague, Paris and Barcelona, in that order.

Fussen is not a city - it's a small town. And IMHO anyone would be bored with a vacation consistsing of just Mad Ludwig's castles - which are incidentally modern - not old. NOT the vacation for a young person.

If you have not been to paris ever I would do that - since it has by far the most to see/do. And you could see the Louvre and Versailles - both palaces, not castles, but much older than Neuschwanstein - easily.

If you want a youthful city with a fantastic music scence than go for Prague - which has a wonderful (real and ancient - not fake like Neuscwanstein) Castle/Cathedral and percincts in the center of the city - as well as a couple of other castles i the immediate vicinity.

the chateau de Vincennes, at the end of a métro line, is a castle.

$300 dollars a day is a huge budget (well generous anyway). You certainly don't have to stay in hostels (unless you want to for some reason). That's enough for 2/3-star hotels in central location with plenty left for food, admissions, activities, local transportation.

I'd go to *Paris*... absolutely no contest!

Of those, my husband and I have been to Munich and Prague.

In Munich, with the 2 of us, we spend about 80 euro/night on lodging and about 100 euro/day on food, drink, and transportation. This equals about $230/day for 2 people staying in 3* hotels, and while we don't eat expensive meals, we do drink a lot of beer and eat pretty well. Your budget is not at all a limiting factor.

In Prague, we spent less than that. Our hotel, which was pretty nice and in the very center of the city was the equivalent of $100/night including breakfast in high summer. Our food and drink were cheaper than in Munich, I don't remember what we spent, but on transportation, food, drink, and incidentals, I think it was more like $50-75/day. A .5l of beer can be had for 29 crowns, or about $1.70, close to half the cost of beer in central Munich.

If you want the most for your money, go to Berlin. Lowest price food and hostels, and loads of sightseeing options. Plus, lots of fun. Going to Munich during Octoberfest WILL cost you twice as much as it usually would.

Once you get to your city of choice, just go on some bike tours or walking tours. Cheap, informative and lots of fun.

There is a Fodor GTG in Paris Sept 29-Oct 6. If you end up in Paris you are welcome to join us. We will probably get together for drinks Sept 30 and/or Oct 1 and plan to have lunch or dinner as a group Oct 2. All are welcome to sightsee with us during the week. https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/306397252710969/
Ann Marie

I'm going to Munich in about three weeks. Hope it warms up
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Anyway after talking to some people that went last year= they told me to stay at Hotel Monaco. It is a family owned hotel within a few blocks from train station and walking distance to the old city center. They were really impressed with the hotel since it was inexpensive and the people were helpful in getting them advise on wheere and what to go/see.
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I got my reservation there in a few weeks and will know more about it then. But these people that stayed there are sort of picky people so I think it will be fine. Room is around 80 euros.

I have seen questions like this before and I think it is like someone saying "I wanted to go to Vegas but it was too expensive so I am opting for Birmingham or Toledo (no offense) because it is cheaper." The real question is "where do you really want to go?".

Now, how much does it cost to go there? The costs are airfare, hotels, transportation, food and fun (entry expenses for the sights). The big three are London, Paris and Rome because they have the most to offer. The next tier will include Munich, Prague, etc. if you have not been there before IMHO I would recommend Paris for the first visit even though I love Munich and have been back over and over.

If you are considering hostels for your accommodation check out the Lonely Planet guide books. It is not a castle but if you go to Paris the palace at Varsielles to get something like a castle fix. Another way to help decide is to look at the cities you are considering under "destination" above and see what sounds interesting. Have fun with the dreaming and planning part, then have a good time on your trip.

$300 a day is a very generous budget. (Rick Steves can be a putz -- 2nd time I've called him that today). Where have you always dreamed of going/seeing? Because w/ your budget you could manage in just about any city.

London- the Tower of London is a true castle. Or Windsor. Or Hampton Court Palace(not a castle but an amazing palace). Westminster Abbey,etc etc.

Paris - castles/palaces already mentioned above. The Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, sidewalk cafes etc etc.

Or Rome, or Prague, or Barcelona, or Madrid, or Munich (not that many real castles near Munich but it is a beautiful city), or Edinburgh (TONS of castles in Scotland), or anywhere.

What is your dream destination?

Hi guys, thanks for all the opinions. Here the long story why I am really confused where to go....


I have been saving for 5 years for this that's why I don't really want to make this as the TRIP of a lifetime because the money I saved is really hard to come by. I have a long list of places that I want to go to in Europe but then I have little time and I think it would be unwise to got to a lot of places that's why I have to choose only one given that I have only roughly 4 days (excluding travel time).

I initially wanted to go to Spain to see the Alhambra but then it is too far from Madrid and Barcelona so I crossed that one off my list-too hard for a neophyte like me.

The same way I was about to cross out Neuschwanstein off my list because of the schedule which is on September 25-Oct 1- that's Oktoberfest and as a lot of people say, prices tend to go high on those dates thus I think I won't be making the most out of my money.

Now Prague and Paris...

There are many direct flights from my country to Paris and I believe I can get best rates for Paris but (I know it's idiotic but forgive me coz it's my first time) I had this expectation that Paris is very EXPENSIVE.

Now with Prague, there are no direct flights to Prague and airfare would be a bit more expensive but it's cheap in there.
So in this are Paris = Prague.

I want to see Cezsky Krumlov the same way I want to see Versailles. I'm into old buildings and shopping- not really into museums.

Also I'm traveling alone- so I'm kinda scared to do a lot of stuff on my own that's why I was planning to join day tours thus the budget of USD1000-USD1200.

Sigh! I hope I meet peeps in here who are also gonna travel on those given dates to either Paris or Prague.

W/ the info you have added . . I'd go to Paris. It really is not an expensive city. It can be expensive of course. But I have been there several times and only once spent close to $300 a day -- and that time I rented an expensive/posh apartment w/ a friend. A hostel or 2 star hotel, sidewalk crepes or pastries for breakfast, wine and cheese picnics or cafes for lunch, reasonable dinners and your sightseeing and bus/metro tickets won't come close to $300.

Right now $300 is about €225 which is quite generous.

I'd go to Paris because 1) it is one of the places you want to see, and 2) it has cheaper airfares. You'll come home with money to spare so you won't have to save so long for your next trip.

Go to Paris.

It's not expensive if you know how to travel. There are lots of inexpensive restaurants and you're only there for 4 days. How much money could you possibly spend in 4 days? Certainly not $300 per day in Paris.

There are centrally located hotels for every budget. Do a search for Paris Hotels Left Bank and Paris Hotels Right Bank for recommendations.

Get some guide books from the library!!! There are threads on this board on budget travel.

Join some walking tours. There's the Sandeman's free tour (3 hours) that gives some highlights and the Notre Dame free tour. Paris Walks tours (about 2 hours each) are E10 or E12 (can't remember the exact price). So you can join groups for short tours. These are all walk-up tours - no prebooking.

On these walking tours look for other people traveling solo and approach them to have dinner together. I've met people this way.

Why are you afraid to do things on your own? What's the worst that can happen? Some people are afraid they'll get lost but so what. You turn around and find the right way.

Museums - one of my pet peeves is people who claim they are not into museums. There are all sorts of museums so do not discount museums. One of my favorites in Paris is the Jacquemart-Andre - a period house with Renaissance artwork. It's small and will take an hour. You get to see how rich people lived (different from the aristocracy and Versailles). There's a fashion museum, a poster museum, a stamp museum, etc. I think there's even an architecture museum in Paris.

Well, if you chose to go to Paris there will be at least 10-12 other Fodor peeps in the city Sept 29-Oct 6. Many of us met in Santa Fe NM in 2010 and some of us have yet to meet. All are welcome to join the merriment that week.
Ann Marie

I agree that if your budget is $300 a day, you can go anywhere. That's about what I spend for everything, and I'm not on any budget--some days I spend less, though. And I stay in nice 3* hotels and spend maybe 40-50 euro for dinner a lot of times.

However, since castles seem to be a big thing to you, I would suggest Prague would give you more of the castle vibe than Paris. Yes, there are some castles around Paris, but you'll ave to travel to get there. And then it isn't the same thing I imagine appeals to you. But you could go to Chantilly and Vincennes for two easy ones, if you do go to Paris. Prague is a really fun city.

Basically, where do you really want to go, forget the budget issue as that isn't any problem from what you've said. FYI your dates coincide almost exactly with the Paris fashion show week for spring/summer 2013 RTW. Not that this should affect hostels so much (you really do not need to stay in a hostel with your budget, what did you plan to spend 200 euro a day on, anyway?), but it does affect hotel bookings and you need to get a reservation fairly early if you go to Paris at that time. Not now, but don't wait until Aug-September.

Agree on Adrienne's points above.

For example, the Musee du Moyen Age (aka Cluny) is a well lcoated museum (heart of St Germain area), It is build in an old abbey, itself built over the ruins of roman-era baths. It is a small museum that could be seen in 30-45 minutes. If has old tapestries (one was incorpoarted into well-known novel), chunks of carvings from Notre Dame cathedral,etc.. A place to stop for a browse before going for a crepe/cafe.

Louvre, yes it is massive. You could go just to see its exterior. Another way to look at it: it was the winter home of the kings of France. So it is museum...and a grand palace. So the interiors can be impressive. But, being so large, not a place to see it all in one visit. I have not been inside in years,but have regularly gone to the area around it.

Or, tacked on to it..Museum of Decorative Arts.

http://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr/english-439/

Or, across the street from it..the Louvre des Antiquaires. A three story building of high end dealers, some stuff that could be in a museum.

So I might do a search of museums in Paris, just to see the variety that exists, and then rule out if not interested.

Do NOT worry about travelling alone. most of my trips to Paris have been alone and I am happy to have done so. You can plans your days around what YOU want to do, at your pace. Want to stop for a cafe and sweet, do it. Sleep in, do it.

Get a good map (not a tourist map) and let yourself wander, turning down that interesting street or alleyway..knowing you can always find your way back. Adventure awaits!

Last trip I wanted a bit more of being 'led' around, so I did a Paris Walk tour almost every day...followed by 1/2 day of my own wanderings.

While not a castle, the Louvre began as a fortress in 1190 and before becoming a museum was transformed into a palace.
I enjoy visiting Napoleon III's Royal Apartments in the Louvre and the remains of the moat in the lower level of the Louvre. You can check out google images to see both.

Near Paris are Versailles and Fontainbleu to continue a palace theme. Other royal building that are not castles but are royal residences can be seen in the link below.
http://frenchtravelboutique.com/page/royal_residences_tour.html
Ann Marie

In the basement of the Louvre you can see remnants of the old ramparts...and in certain areas of the city remnants of the old city walls.

Cezsky Krumlov is not very close to Prague. Vis-Michelin says it is 2hr 40mins drive or 179 km. This is like the question about the Alhambra in Grenada and whether it is close to Madrid.

My budget for Paris when alone ( I have been solo and with family or friends, solo is super fun!) is roughly under 90 euros a night for hotel, and under 50 euros a day for food. I don't usually spend more then another 20 euros a day on sightseeing,, sometimes less( like if I go to the Louvre its for the day, so less then 11 euros is my days entertainment,, I do leave the museum for lunch and return later in day ,, after a bit of a walk etc)so total would be about 160 euros a day( and I have gotten good hotels for as little as 75 euros a night!) ,, thats about 210 dollars a day isn't it, and I am not on a tight budget,, I mean I am not feeling poor and scrapping by,, if I want to buy a 5 euro icecream then I do.. so I think you have a great budget ,and yes, you can enjoy Paris on that easily. Paris offers so much to see, you will not run out of places to go things to do ,, etc.

Thanks for the reply guys- really helpful.
Since Justineparis said that you can do have a budget of 140 euros a day so how about anyone who's been to Prague-what's floor?

Lots of people like Prague, especially beer-drinking people, and Munich too, but really neither of these cities come anywhere near Paris for sheer beauty, style, and general wonderment. My opinion.

No idea what "floor" means? Perhaps the bottom of the budget range? If that's what it means then I have no idea.

I can tell you what I spent in Prague about a year ago for 3 days including 4 nights lodging = 6761 Krona which comes to about $360. I'm frugal but didn't skimp on meals or sightseeing.

This is why I'm astounded that you're worrying when you have $300 per day to spend.

@adrienne wow! where did you stay at???

Prague 6 - small pension near the castle in a residential area - the room rate of $50/night included breakfast; took the tram to the center of Prague.

Nadine,, you can go way cheaper in Paris then I do,, I don't go super cheap as I said. A girl at my work stays at hostels for 35 euros a night, and can eat for 30 euros a day!