Sausages hang in Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse, a gourmet marketplace named after the famous chef from Lyon. Did I mention there are more than 4, restaurants to try?

Look out for the Les Bouchons Lyonnais sign outside the restaurant. Brasserie Le Nord was the first brasserie opened by the late Paul Bocuse in and is a gorgeous example of this typical Lyon brasserie, with old fashioned decor, lots of wood and stained-glass along with a perfect menu of traditional dishes such as tartar, terrines and tartine.

Brasserie Georges de Lyon is the oldest brasserie in the city and one of the largest in Europe. La Mère Brazier , founded in by Eugénie Brazier and considered to be the mother of modern Lyonnaise cuisine, will deliver everything you expect of French dining.

Food markets in Lyon are a part of daily life, especially the Marché St-Antoine. There are the makings of a very fine picnic if the weather suits. Lyon has some of the best wine-growing regions in the world on its doorstep, and the wine shops here are a wealth of information, and in many of them, you can taste in-store.

There are also numerous chic Airbnb and self-catering options, ideal if you want to take advantage of the food markets. Aer Lingus flies direct from Dublin to Lyon. Alternatively, fly to Paris and take the TGV train to Lyon. Dean Wye is a charming part of the UK. Photograph: Paul Box. Thrill seekers can climb, canoe, kayak or mountain bike around the hills, lakes and valleys.

Look out for local produce: Wye Valley asparagus in the summer and local game from the Forest of Dean in winter. Local cheeses include the aptly named Stinking Bishop. For great bakes and bread using locally milled organic flour, visit the award-winning Forest Bakehouse , a co-operative bakery and cafe based in the village of Longhope.

Check out Harts Barn Cookery School to book in for a forage followed by a cookery class, or Briery Hill Farm for llama trekking followed by afternoon tea.

Head to The Saracens Head Inn in Symonds Yat for a proper pub lunch and some tasty local ales. Forest Deli. Most pubs, and there are plenty of them, will have local ales on tap.

Look out for Hillside Brewery , Wye Valley Brewery and cider from Severn Cider who also do visits and tastings at their family cider mill in the Forest of Dean.

The Tudor Farmhouse, a lovingly restored 13th-century former working farm and hotel in the village of Clearwell. You can even order packed lunches for your days out. The hotel has its own bookable adventures, such as foraging and wildlife adventures with local naturalist Ed Drewitt.

Ask for a room with a roll-top bath when booking, perfect to sink into after a day of exertion. Fly from Ireland to Cardiff or Bristol and rent a car, or bring your own car and cross by ferry to Fishguard or Holyhead.

Modiano market in Thessaloniki, Greece. Exploring the city by foot is pretty much like being in an open-air museum.

Ancient ruins are dotted all around, and impressive Greek, Byzantine and Ottoman architecture lines the streets. Bougatsa, a traditional custard pie. The food markets are a good place to start.

Visit Kapani Market to experience the traditional food vendors, and head to the new Modiano Market for artisan treats. For lunch or dinner look out for the ouzeri, typical Greek taverns that serve ouzo and mezedes, small plates of local favourites such as taramasalata, calamari, fried zucchini and saganaki.

The charming Ouzeri Tsinari in the old town is a perfect example. Usually chicken or pork, gyros is meat from the rotisserie, whereas souvlaki is skewers, and they both come wrapped in soft pitta with tzatziki, salad and a few chips.

For the traditional version head to Diagonios near the White Tower and the waterfront, and for a modern take try Savvikos Great Greek Grill. Greek wine has been having a renaissance of late, and Thessaloniki is home to many well-regarded wineries, so drink local.

In Ireland, the fire's likely to smell of rich peat and the main food is a toasted ham-and-cheese sandwich—toasted whilst still in its plastic wrapper. No, seriously. Good, though. Not when France has a cafe on every corner where you can sit and sip the day away in the glassed-in front room, watching passersby and reading a novel, perhaps ordering a small platter of cheese and pâtés, a sandwich, or some cakes.

Not when every town in Italy is filled with pizza-by-the-slice joints and tavole calde. A tavola calda literally "hot table" works like a tiny, high-end cafeteria: you peruse the steaming trays of hot, prepared dishes rigatoni in ragù, chicken parmigiana, grilled vegetables, ravioli, veal in a lemon sauce Not when England has its chippies, where you get wonderfully greasy batter-fried cod, whitefish, even skate, and your fish is accompanied, as always, by a pile of chips that's the word by which the Brits, due to some kind of transatlantic mix-up, call French fries, leaving potato chips to be called "crisps.

Not when Spain has tascas, bars that serve tapas, those bite-sized appetizers that can be anything from a hunk of cheese or jamon ham to sardines wrapped around a pearl onion, a spread made out of cod smeared onto a round of bread, some albondigas meatballs , or a chunk of spicy chorizo sausage.

These started as tiny slices of bread put atop open wine bottles at bars to keep out the flies. People started eating the bread as they sipped their tiny glasses of rich red wine, and asking for toppings to make the bread more festive, and before you could say tapas from the word for "cork" , the tapeo—wandering from tasca to tasca nibbling and drinking as you go—was born.

You know what? You don't need McDonald's at all. Forget I said anything about "Fast food. Fixed-price menus are a budget traveler's ticket to full restaurant meals that won't break the bank.

Usually a prix-fixe meal includes a selection from amongst the medium-priced dishes on the main, a la carte menu. If it's called a "tasting menu," however, it probably costs a bit more and is something designed to show off the chef's skill. If it's called a "tourist menu" or "menu of the day," each course is likely to offer a small selection from among the cheapest dishes the menu—a savings, sure, but not always a memorable meal often pasta with tomato sauce followed by a veal or chicken cutlet.

I've eaten in a lot of fancy restaurants occupational hazard , and I gotta admit: of the five most memorable meals of my life in Europe, two were picnics. Hit all the little food specialty shops you can find. Gather loafs of bread, a selection of local cheeses you've never heard of, piles of thinly sliced cured meats, olives, ripe fruit, pickled artichokes, boxes of juice or bottles of wine and water, some pastries, maybe some local chocolates OK, wait.

That's too much. Put some back. Next, pick out a spot: a grassy slope in the city park, a bench overlooking the ruins, a low stone wall alongside some grape vines or a flock of picturesque sheep, the steps to a shuttered baroque church, the hood of your car parked at a lookout high in the Alps, the middle of an olive grove, or even just back inside your hotel room.

There you have it: a picnic worthy of a king. Most European "second," or "main" courses are pretty standard fare—meat or fish, simply prepared—and yet are also the most expensive items on the menu. Since a grilled steak is, while quite good, nothing particularly special or unique, you can save money every meal by indulging instead in both an appetizer and a first course rather than a first and a second.

Appetizers and first courses are where fresh ingredients, homemade pâtés and pastas, and European creativity truly shine, as well as where you find the most traditional dishes because, traditionally, no one could afford much meat anyway.

You don't need to pig out to enjoy Europe's cornucopia of delicious dishes. Just ask for a half-portion and, oh, maybe about 60 percent of the time the waiter will be happy to serve you a pint-sized plate at a reduced price. This is a great tip for families, too, who might be traveling with kids who order big but end up eating very little.

But if you ask for tap water, you'll get it for free don't worry; tap water's safe everywhere. In the interests of full disclosure, I have to admit I don't follow this particular tip myself, cause I like fizzy water and don't mind paying a bit for it.

For each destination, the study calculated prices of cheap eats, three-course meals in a mid-tier restaurant, and a tasting menu in a Michelin-star luxury restaurant for one person, and then ranked cities by affordability. These are the best European cities for cheap eats and foodies on a budget in Hungarian cuisine has many outstanding dishes, but perhaps one of the most famous traditional meals is goulash.

Visit the largest of all the markets in Budapest, Central Market, or Street Food Karavan Budapest. Head to Warsaw Central Train Station for cheap eats at the Night Market, too. When in Barcelona, try fideua, a Catalan pasta-based paella, or crema catalana, a creamy custard pudding with zest.

Michelin-star restaurants are less expensive in Barcelona than both Budapest and Warsaw, offering a unique selling point for travellers looking for a luxury experience on a budget. If sampling local produce and sweets is more your style, visit the food markets.

La Boqueria is the largest and located just off the famous La Rambla boulevard. Mercat de Santa Caterina is an excellent place to source specialty ingredients.

Mercat de Sant Antoni is mostly frequented by locals. France is famous for many things, but its culinary scene is especially revered, from croissants and macarons to escargot and classic pot-au-feu — the national dish.

Take a peek into the true Parisian gastronomy scene with a stop at Marché President-Wilson.

If you're on the go or don't feel like cooking a meal, you'll be able to buy prepared sandwiches, wraps, and salads that range from about $5-$9 Every European town has cheap fast food, and it is often the Donor kabab. If you are staying in a hostel, ask there about cheap eats Tips to save money on dining in Europe and eat better for it · Look before you tip · Be a pig at breakfast · Be your own chef · Splash out at lunch · Become a street

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Gourmet food discounts Europe - Missing If you're on the go or don't feel like cooking a meal, you'll be able to buy prepared sandwiches, wraps, and salads that range from about $5-$9 Every European town has cheap fast food, and it is often the Donor kabab. If you are staying in a hostel, ask there about cheap eats Tips to save money on dining in Europe and eat better for it · Look before you tip · Be a pig at breakfast · Be your own chef · Splash out at lunch · Become a street

Picking the less obvious places might be kinder on your pocket too, with cheaper flights, better value dinners, more options for local accommodation and less demand for tables in the best restaurants.

Here are five destinations for you to consider that prove sometimes the road less travelled can leave you very well fed. A chef takes a break at the entrance of a typical Bouchon Lyonnais in the Old Town of Lyon.

Photograph: Getty. Lyon is a must-visit for anyone who loves to plan a holiday around eating. This visually impressive city, full of grand historic buildings, is home to 4, restaurants and is often cited as the gastronomic capital of France, if not the world.

Balance out the eating with walks around the many historical and architectural landmarks and meander around the cobbled streets and traboules covered passageways of the restored old quarter of Vieux Lyon.

Sausages hang in Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse, a gourmet marketplace named after the famous chef from Lyon. Did I mention there are more than 4, restaurants to try? Look out for the Les Bouchons Lyonnais sign outside the restaurant. Brasserie Le Nord was the first brasserie opened by the late Paul Bocuse in and is a gorgeous example of this typical Lyon brasserie, with old fashioned decor, lots of wood and stained-glass along with a perfect menu of traditional dishes such as tartar, terrines and tartine.

Brasserie Georges de Lyon is the oldest brasserie in the city and one of the largest in Europe. La Mère Brazier , founded in by Eugénie Brazier and considered to be the mother of modern Lyonnaise cuisine, will deliver everything you expect of French dining.

Food markets in Lyon are a part of daily life, especially the Marché St-Antoine. There are the makings of a very fine picnic if the weather suits.

Lyon has some of the best wine-growing regions in the world on its doorstep, and the wine shops here are a wealth of information, and in many of them, you can taste in-store. There are also numerous chic Airbnb and self-catering options, ideal if you want to take advantage of the food markets.

Aer Lingus flies direct from Dublin to Lyon. Alternatively, fly to Paris and take the TGV train to Lyon. Dean Wye is a charming part of the UK. Photograph: Paul Box. Thrill seekers can climb, canoe, kayak or mountain bike around the hills, lakes and valleys.

Look out for local produce: Wye Valley asparagus in the summer and local game from the Forest of Dean in winter. Local cheeses include the aptly named Stinking Bishop. For great bakes and bread using locally milled organic flour, visit the award-winning Forest Bakehouse , a co-operative bakery and cafe based in the village of Longhope.

Check out Harts Barn Cookery School to book in for a forage followed by a cookery class, or Briery Hill Farm for llama trekking followed by afternoon tea. Head to The Saracens Head Inn in Symonds Yat for a proper pub lunch and some tasty local ales.

Forest Deli. Most pubs, and there are plenty of them, will have local ales on tap. Look out for Hillside Brewery , Wye Valley Brewery and cider from Severn Cider who also do visits and tastings at their family cider mill in the Forest of Dean.

The Tudor Farmhouse, a lovingly restored 13th-century former working farm and hotel in the village of Clearwell. You can even order packed lunches for your days out. The hotel has its own bookable adventures, such as foraging and wildlife adventures with local naturalist Ed Drewitt. Ask for a room with a roll-top bath when booking, perfect to sink into after a day of exertion.

Fly from Ireland to Cardiff or Bristol and rent a car, or bring your own car and cross by ferry to Fishguard or Holyhead. Modiano market in Thessaloniki, Greece. Exploring the city by foot is pretty much like being in an open-air museum.

Ancient ruins are dotted all around, and impressive Greek, Byzantine and Ottoman architecture lines the streets. Bougatsa, a traditional custard pie. The food markets are a good place to start. Visit Kapani Market to experience the traditional food vendors, and head to the new Modiano Market for artisan treats.

For lunch or dinner look out for the ouzeri, typical Greek taverns that serve ouzo and mezedes, small plates of local favourites such as taramasalata, calamari, fried zucchini and saganaki. The charming Ouzeri Tsinari in the old town is a perfect example. Usually chicken or pork, gyros is meat from the rotisserie, whereas souvlaki is skewers, and they both come wrapped in soft pitta with tzatziki, salad and a few chips.

For the traditional version head to Diagonios near the White Tower and the waterfront, and for a modern take try Savvikos Great Greek Grill.

Greek wine has been having a renaissance of late, and Thessaloniki is home to many well-regarded wineries, so drink local. You might even consider a trip out of the city to the many surrounding vineyards.

Ktima Gerovassiliou is breathtaking, and home to an impressive wine museum. They call Ana Poli the city above the city. The Waterfront area is a good option, too, with plenty of good value hotels. Onoma is a buzzy hotel with modern rooms in the city centre. Ryanair fly direct to Thessaloniki from Dublin.

Östermalm, Stockholm. Photograph: Anna Hugosson. When it comes to museums there is something for everyone — Stockholm is home to about , covering everything from Abba to art and history, architecture and design.

There is even a dedicated drinks museum, Spritmuseum. Breakfast in Stockholm. Photograph: Visit Stockholm. Nearly every city will have a few websites written by expats that are dedicated to finding quality restaurants.

Restaurants across Europe cut their prices during lunch to attract business people on their lunch break. The meals are the same quality as dinner, so this is a great way to have good food without paying a lot.

Street food, like kebabs, can be hearty enough to be split between two people. Trying to do this on the fly via a smartphone is also an option, but I always find it easier to already have options ready.

This is another reason to carry some snacks with you as you travel. If you ask for water at a restaurant, they will nearly always bring you an expensive bottle of water.

Tap water is free, but you have to specifically ask for it. And yes, it is safe to drink the water. You can easily find fruit, yogurt, bread, cheese, and deli meat at any store.

However, always be cautious of the cheapest deli meat because from my experience it can be pretty gross. Drink your drink coffee, tea, beer, wine, hot chocolate, etc. at the bar and it will usually be cheaper than if you sit at a table.

Visitors are surprised how much soda and bottled water cost in restaurants. The tipping customs in Europe are different in each country. However, in general, the tip is already included in your bill. Many hostels include a free breakfast — eat it.

It is usually bland, but whatever. Go back for seconds if you can. The key is finding the best places to go and maybe having a little self-restraint. Europe has fairly lax laws or at least lax enforcement about drinking in public.

The people working at the hostel will usually have their favorite bars, pubs, and cafés, so it makes sense to ask them. Find out where they go after work. Many hostels organize pub-crawls. It may not always be true, but keep in mind that you could find better deals elsewhere.

Nearly every store will have a wide selection of wine especially in regions that make a lot of the stuff , and a variety of beer will also be available. If you want a greater beer selection, you will probably have to go smaller specialty shops.

Also, it is fairly rare to find cold beer in grocery stores, but smaller convenience stores will sell individual bottles that have been chilled. European students enjoy drinking cheaply just as much as you do, so find out where the local students hang out. Almost any major city will have websites dedicated to finding the best drink deals in town — which are often the places that students frequent.

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How to Eat and Drink on a Budget While Traveling in Europe Tips for eating well and drinking in Europe without breaking the bank.

Share Post. Greengrocers Another great place to find high-quality, fresh produce is at greengrocers. Street Food and Budget Takeout Restaurants Getting a meal from a street food vendor or budget takeout restaurant is a great way to get a filling, warm meal for a fair price.

Other Tips for Eating on the Cheap Lunch Specials Restaurants across Europe cut their prices during lunch to attract business people on their lunch break.

Share Meals and Get Creative Street food, like kebabs, can be hearty enough to be split between two people. Ask for Tap Water If you ask for water at a restaurant, they will nearly always bring you an expensive bottle of water.