Where to Stay in Europe

Hotels, B&Bs, Villa Rentals, Agriturism Farm Stays, Apartments, Hostels, Castles, Convents, Campgrounds, Cottages, Monasteries, and more

After you take care of the transportation costs (plane ticket, railpasses, rental cars, etc.), the single biggest expense on your trip will be for lodging. Luckily, this is also one of the easiest places to cut down your budget.

You could spend $300 to $700 on a posh pad in Paris, go around the corner for a $60 double in a simple, moderate family-tun hotel, or check into a hostel for $18 a night.

The variety of accommodation options is astounding, and that's what this section is for: a summation of you lodging options, and individual pages describing each in detail along with resources to help you track them down and book them.

My general advice? Don't blow your budget on a high-test hotel. Treat your lodgings as merely a place to lay your head for the night. After all, ideally you'll send almost every waking moment out and about, seeing the sights, enjoying the restaurants, and whiling away the afternoon in a café, returning to your room only to wash out a few pairs of socks and underwear and then crash after a vacation day well spent.

That means the only truly important requirements are that your lodgings be clean, central, and cheap (in that order). Don’t get too worked up over the place's look or amenities. The good news is, that sort of accommodation is widely available—it just isn't always easy to find.

That's why this section covers not just the best hotels in Europe (and how to find them), but also 28 alternatives to hotels—from rooms for rent and B&Bs to agriturism farm stays and villa rentals, with castles, convents, cottages, and camping thrown in between. There are even eight ways to stay for free.