A weekend in Zurich costs roughly what three weekends cost in Tirana. Here is where the cheap end actually is, and which of it is worth going to.
The lowest tier
| City | 2 nights, excl. flights |
|---|---|
| Tirana | €130–200 |
| Sofia | €140–210 |
| Skopje | €130–200 |
| Belgrade | €150–230 |
| Bucharest | €150–230 |
| Kraków | €160–250 |
| Budapest | €170–260 |
Central room, three meals out, transport, and entry to a couple of things.
The catch, which is flights
A city with a €180 weekend can have a €250 flight if it is poorly served.
Well connected by low-cost carriers: Sofia, Bucharest, Kraków, Budapest, Porto, Thessaloniki.
Thinner: Tirana, Skopje and some Balkan capitals outside summer, where fares can exceed the entire ground cost.
Price the whole trip, not the destination's reputation.
Which are genuinely good
Tirana — the least-visited capital in the region. The Bunk'Art museums in former nuclear bunkers document the Hoxha dictatorship in remarkable detail. The centre was repainted in bright colours by a mayor who became prime minister. A cable car runs up Mount Dajti, and the café culture runs all day at almost no cost.
Sofia — Roman remains under the streets and visible through glass in the metro, the Alexander Nevsky cathedral, and Vitosha mountain reachable from the city.
Belgrade — the fortress above the confluence of the Sava and Danube, a serious nightlife scene on river barges, and Brutalist New Belgrade across the water.
Bucharest — the Palace of the Parliament, among the largest buildings in the world, plus the old town, the village museum and interwar architecture.
Thessaloniki — Byzantine churches, Roman ruins, the best food in Greece, and a waterfront. Almost no international weekend traffic.
Western Europe's cheap end
Porto — accommodation, eating and transport all substantially below Lisbon or Madrid, in a compact and beautiful city with good low-cost connections. The best-value city in western Europe.
Naples — the cheapest major city in western Europe, with the archaeological museum holding Pompeii's finds, the best pizza anywhere, and Pompeii and the coast attached.
Valencia — a third cheaper than Barcelona, with a river-bed park, the old town and the beach.
Where the savings come from
Accommodation. A central double at €50–70 rather than €150–250 is most of the difference.
Eating out. A good restaurant meal at €8–16 rather than €25–45.
Not from museum entry or transport, which are broadly similar across Europe.
Practical
Use bank ATMs rather than exchange booths, and decline dynamic currency conversion when the machine offers to charge you in euros — that offer is always worse than the card's own rate.
Off-season takes another 20–30% off these figures, and city breaks are the trip type least harmed by winter.