TOOLS : [SECTION] :

Strong Euro? No Problem! (cont'd)

<< back

9. Don't Let Restaurants Eat up Your Budget
Since European meals often feature multiple courses, a cover charge, and automatic service fee, dining out can quickly gobble up your ready cash.

One solution is to avoid restaurants as much as possible. Picnic on fresh fruit, cheese, salami, and bread from local markets and little shops. Lunch on street food--crêpes stuffed with ham and cheese in France, pizza by the slice in Italy, sausage rolls in Germany.

Another option is to patronize the more expensive establishments at lunch--when prices are often lower--then for dinner seek out simpler restaurants offering fixed-price menus or menus of the day, with which you get fewer choices but full meals with wine can ring in under $25.

The third and best strategy is to find the local equivalent of a diner or café, where the menu is limited but the grub is hearty, cheap, and very traditional. Pubs in Britain and Ireland serve rib-sticking staples like shepherd's pie and fish 'n' chips along with the pints of ale. Tavernas in Greece accompany bottles of retsína with platters of mezédes-- appetizers of stuffed grape leaves, tzatziki, and herbed keftédes meatballs. In Spain you can stroll from tapas bar to tapas bar nibbling on canapés and seafood-on-toothpicks while sipping wine. Italians enjoy hot prepared foods sold by weight at a tavola calda or sit in a tavern-like osteria to sample the best local vino along with platters of cheeses and prosciutto, simple plates of pasta, and roasted meats. The brasserie in Paris are a good 20% cheaper than upscale bistros and restaurants even if you don't go with the prix-fixé menu, while Germany's biergarten (outdoor) and bierhalle (indoor) allow you to hobnob with the locals while downing liter-sized mugs of beer and nibbling on pretzels, salted radishes, and sausages dipped in spicy mustard.

10. Pass on the Sights
Now, I don't mean don't so sightseeing. Of course you're going to pay your $8.65 for the Uffizi, $11.30 to get into the Louvre, and $16 to visit the Vatican. Those are worthy splurges. But beyond the biggies, spend smartly on your sightseeing. Avoid marginal sights with high admissions. Gorge yourself on freebies (www.europeforfree.com) and on Europe's grand, art-stuffed churches. And remember that, in London, they got things backwards: the major churches charge admission--St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey--while the great museums are free, including the National Gallery, British Museum, V&A, and the Tate.

Whenever you arrive in a new city, ask at the tourist office about sightseeing passes that can get you into the lion's share of local attractions for free or at a discount. Oftentimes, these cards double as bus passes for unlimited rides on public transportation, and some even allow you to move right to the head of the long line of suckers waiting to pay full price for their tickets.

Q&A
There are so many deals available in the resources I just listed there's little need to single out just one or two this week--besides, we're running out of time. So let's get right to a listener question:

This one comes from Wichita, KS.

Do you have any recommendations about attractions for children in London? We're taking our three children, ages 5, 8 and 11 in July. Are there any places to eat out that are in the same vein as The Waffle House or Dennys where you can get a good meal without spending a lot of money?

more >>