The cheapest European cities to fly to
Welcome to the Budget Flight Checkers Anonymous Meeting. My name is Milou, and I’m a flight checker addict. The first step to recovery is admitting it, so here we go: I am following about 10 cheap flights websites, get notified of deals on Facebook all the time, and check Skyscanner for cheap flights every day. EVERY. DAY. It’s my hobby. It also means I never pay more than €100 for a flight. Ever.
Hence I know exactly which cities pop up with cheap flights often, aka what the cheapest cities are to fly to in Europe, with budget airlines. I decided to share this wealth of knowledge with you ;-) (Why did I never learn anything useful in school?) So here are the cheapest European cities to fly to (from Europe)!
1. Venice
Seems like the more expensive the city, the cheaper it is to fly into :’). Venice is one of those destinations that everyone has to visit at least once in their life. It truly is like no other destination. I felt like I walked into a fairytale when I visited back in october.
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2. Oslo
I keep seeing amazingly cheap flights to Oslo (I’m talking $20 return), and yet I never buy them because I’m scared it will be cold… Ha, I really can’t stand the cold. However, I really would love to see more of Norway soon, even if it is one of the most expensive countries in the world!
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3. Gdansk
To be fair: you can fly to pretty much anywhere in Poland for under $100, but Gdansk is especially cheap and is one of the nicest places to visit in Poland. It’s an upcoming city on the north coast riddled with cute brightly coloured houses.
4. London
My hometown! Because of the fact that London has SIX airports, there’s normally always a cheap flight to be found. And I’m talking less than $50 return. London is another one of those cities you have to visit at least once, but to be fair, I’d returned SEVEN times before eventually moving there. That’s how addicting it is :)
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5. Göteborg
This Western Swedisch coastal city almost ALWAYS has cheap flights there. It’s known for its interesting mix of architectural styles and museums. It’s also not to far from Oslo, if you want to combine them!
6. Bordeaux
The city of wine! Ahhh.. who wouldn’t want to jet off to a weekend of French wine, cheeses, architecture and museums? Bordeaux is usually one of the cheapest French cities to fly into.
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7. Milan
The city of fashion is mostly misunderstood, as it doesn’t have a cute city centre like many Italian cities do. However, it has one of the most dramatic cathedrals in Europe, and some bad ass shopping (and hey, who can knock some Italian food?!)
8. Berlin
The reason I adore Berlin is because it’s one of those cities where you don’t have to try. The vibe there is relaxed, all you need to do is wander, and you’re ok. It’s also one of my favourite cities history wise as it’s got lots of museums on WWII, so history geeks will absolutely adore Berlin.
9. Copenhagen
Copenhagen is an amazing city, especially in spring time, when everyone flocks to the bars and terraces to catch the rays. I love the cool vibe that Copenhagen has. Essentially: everyone is cooler than you. And that’s ok. You go with it.
10. Barcelona
Barcelona is the gateway-drug to Spain. It has everything you’ve ever wished for and more: crazy beautiful architecture, wandering streets, shopping, gorgeous views, beaches and epic food. I’ve spent ten days there for €25 a day, and find myself returning to it over and over again. I can’t get enough of Barcelona.
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11. Cork
I’ve never been to Cork, but I’ve been to Dublin, and I can tell you Irish people are hands down my favourite people in the world! They are SO kind and SO funny. I really enjoyed my time there, and I can’t wait to explore more of Ireland. Cork just looks positively adorable with it’s colourful houses and location by the sea. I’m just waiting for a moment that it doesn’t rain to go explore, which is… never.
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12. Basel
Rounding up this post with the most expensive country out of all of them! I’ve been to pretty much all major Swiss cities, but most of them when I was a lot younger, as a stop over to winter sports in the Swiss Alps. So I can’t wait to go back and actually EXPLORE the cities. I think I vaguely remember ending up in a very stinky raclette place in Basel once so… hey, why not go revisit that memory?
* This list is based on my knowledge of traveling from Western Europe (London & The Netherlands). Some countries have WAY more cheap destinations to fly into (Poland, Germany, Italy and Spain), but I tried to diversify.
What do you find to be the cheapest European cities to fly to?
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Budapest is also pretty cheap! Back in november I bought my retour ticket for €40 and last month I found a retour ticket for €35 (from Eindhoven). Too bad I didn’t buy it then and ended up paying double for my trip in April, haha.
Great post! I recently visited Oslo because it was even cheap (relatively) from Canada. Don’t be scared away by the cold nor what you’ve heard about it being expensive! In winter, yes, it’d be cold for someone from a mild climate, but it’s still not THAT bad if you bundle up. I wrote a post about visiting Oslo on a budget, in case you do decide to go: http://www.ivanaabroad.com/oslo-on-a-budget-how-i-left-one-of-the-most-expensive-cities-in-the-world-with-money-in-my-pocket/
Thanks so much for writing this! My boyfriend and I are constantly trying to find cheap places to go to on a break (he flies from Luxembourg and I fly from Bristol/London Gatwick) and it’s always super hard!!!! Oslo is actually quite expensive to stay and buy food in, but I think the others were spot on! I’d be really interested to read a post about hidden gems in Europe- I think it’s so easy to go to the obvious places and actually there’s a tonne of beautiful, well-connected cities out there that are totally underestimated! Rashina xxx