How to Eat on a Budget in Europe

Europe is very expensive, especially with the ever-fading dollar for those American readers. Here are a few tips on how to eat on a budget while traveling.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Reason to have a budget
• Money (but not much)

How to Eat on a Budget in Europe

1. Avoid eating at tourist areas as much as possible. When I was in Paris, I was with a group of friends, and we were hungry. We were on our way to the Notre Dame, and a friend of mine recommended that we wait until we get there to eat. Fortunately we didn't. The prices there were astronomical compared to other places that were just a few blocks away.

2. Enjoy their specialties. For example, in Paris you can get a huge baguette for 75 Euro cents. That's not much money, and those things will not only fill you up for an afternoon, they're delicious!

3. During lunchtime, focus on quick food, such as sandwiches or bread and cheese. First of all, you want as much time as possible for sight-seeing, so you don't want to be spending hours of your afternoon eating anyway. Pick up a quick sandwich or a slice of pizza (especially if you're in Italy.)

4. If you find one, go to a supermarket. I can't speak for everywhere in Europe because I haven't been everywhere, but in my experience markets and grocery stores are where you can find the best deals on food. In Italy, you can get a loaf of bread and cheese for less than 2 Euros. Not to mention you can usually find cheap wine and snacks, too.

Tips & Warnings

• Beware of tourist traps. If you see only tourists in a given area, it's probably best not to go there. In Paris, my friends decided to stop at a restaurant because their menu was in English, and there were tourists there. I decided to go to a couscous stand further down the road. I was the only person in there that wasn't a native. I got an excellent chicken and couscous meal for 6 Euros, while my friends spent about 20 Euros a plate on an Applebee's knockoff.