Cheap Eats in Europe + General Advice

To paraphrase a famous line from “The Graduate”, “I have one word for you: Döner kebab”.

Actually that is two words, but one item. I think my sons both lived on these Turkish kebabs when they studied in Germany. Now the döner kebab (sometimes spelled kebab) vendors are common, especially in Germany, Austria, and countries eastward. Less so in Spain and France.

Buying already made sandwiches and a drink at the supermarket and eating in a plaza is a money saver.  Before buying the Euro rail I would check the fares for the individual trips you need and add them up just to compare prices with the Euro rail.  I've always thought the Euro rail was expensive but maybe I'm wrong.  You can use omnio, trainline and flixbus to check individual prices.

Many European department stores have good and reasonably priced cafeterias. Hitting market days in the cities often provides inexpensive, quality meals.
I also agree that you should check prices in official RR sites and compare them with any rail pass. On some trips while using the pass, you’ll have to pay an additional fee to reserve a seat, a necessity on some routes. Flixbus is often a money saving alternative to rail and is safe and reliable with an easy to use app.

The Travel Tips section of this website is full of info for first time travelers. https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips

Also recommended you get a copy of Europe Through the Back Door.
https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/europe-through-the-back-door

consider this guy's advice -
https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/sleeping-eating
https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/travel-talks/food-101
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=European+Cheap+Eats+%E2%80%94+Rick+Steves

My 18 year old granddaughter did a similar but 7 week trip last summer. She used the Eurail pass for your age group. She also got 10% off during a sale around Christmas time. She had no issues with their travel app to keep track of her travel days and reserve seats as soon as they became available, when needed at an additional cost. She went to all of your countries except Spain, Austria and Czechia. She added a side trip to London. She said she came in under her very modest budget and also stayed with friends a lot and a few hostels. She would go to bakeries for inexpensive sandwiches and visit outdoor market food stalls. She occasionally made reservations and ate at nice restaurants. She took a cc so she could easily tap in and out of local transportation when available. She had a great summer and I hope the three of you will too.

Rick Steves wrote a small book about he and a friend backpacking through Europe the summer after they graduated high school. I read it but didn't keep it and can't remember the name. I also don't know how you would go about getting a copy - contact the office, I guess. I think you would enjoy reading it. On the other hand, he mentioned that he came home from that trip malnourished.

Edited to add: A little Googling helps! "During the trip, Steves wrote a 60,000-word journal that he recently released in book form with only minimal edits as On the Hippie Trail from Istanbul to Kathmandu." The book was being given away free with a purchase in the travel store at one point.

Cheese, olives, and a hunk of sausage or ham. Maybe bread or crackers. Carry these in spillproof Ziploc or other bags, and you’ve got a relatively low-cost picnicking meal wherever you go, refrigeration not required. You can get these at an outside farmer’s market, or grocery/supermarket, and sometimes a convenience store type place. A knife would come in handy, whether somebody brought it from home, or you pick one up in Europe. Make sure the knife is kept and carried in a safe manner.

When I did this many decades ago, I discovered the joy of sardines fresh from the can spread on a fresh baguette. My own kids made it through school in France eating merguez sausage and french fry sandwiches in a baguette. Diner kebab for Lola's kids, merguez frites for mine.

In Germany at least, a doner kebap makes a pretty good meal. Often I have to force myself to eat the whole thing. If I didn’t have the wife with me, I would eat one at least every 2 days. Bratwurst make a good meal and although I don’t seem to see them as much as I use to, rotisserie chicken is a good value.

Eurocheapo.com is a website with a lot of very good budget advice, including hostels and food. It covers many major cities. You might have to dig a bit to find the food parts, but here's a sample post for Florence.

Basically to save money, avoid places you have to sit to be served. I really liked currywurst in Berlin and Febo in Amsterdam. If you have a sensitive stomach, pack meds for it, as unfortunately cheap eats can come at a cost in that department.

And oh how I wish I had done what you're planning to do at the age you're doing it, Tucker! I have few regrets in life, but waiting until my 30s to start traveling is one of them. Enjoy the adventure. And though I will sound like a geezer, try to appreciate the joy of fresh/young knees and the ability to sleep on uncomfortable beds, two things you will likely grow out of! :)

The way to really save $ is to stay out of the most expensive cities--like Berlin, Hanover, Amsterdam and the larger Italian cities.

Budapest is very inexpensive, and after a night in one of the Ruin Pubs full of beautiful Hungarian ladies they won't want to leave there. And tell'em to stay out of the Roman Baths on weekends when the young adults take over with bands and psychedelic lighting systems.

They'll also find Spain to be much cheaper than France, Germany and Italy--very inexpensive.

We like to stay in Bed and Breakfasts where we eat heavy at breakfast, skip lunch (or picnicing) and eating an early dinner.

Doner kebabs have come to our rescue more than once, not only because these places are inexpensive with huge portions, but also because they're open when other places aren't, including nights and Sundays.

And bakery sandwiches are the best! You know the bread will be first rate, and often the person working behind the counter will ask what items you want on it, so it's custom made!

Frites stalls are good and cheap, as are many other sandwich/pizza/snack stalls or trucks.

I’ll guess a number of us on the Forum did this. I did College freshman. Amsterdam, Bremen, Brussels, Geneva, London, Paris, Munich, Vienna, Zurich. Used a Eurail pass. Met up with college friends in Paris.

Remember lots of sandwiches and fruit. Sodas in bottles. Real Coca Cola. Sitting in parks eating on park benches. Also looking a pictures of food displayed in restaurant windows.

Learned to watch where workers, laborers, families and college students went to eat. This was pre McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut and other American chains.

My suggestions for saving money is researching Farmers Markets and hostels in each of the cities.
Buying and reading the Savvy Backpackers Europe on a Budget Guide.

Also look on line at websites Cheap Eats, Monastery Stays and https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/backpacking-europe-guide/

You’ll need a tap debit card and at least 1 credit card for emergencies. Visa and MasterCard are best.

Learn some basic Spanish and some French. Hello. Goodbye. Thank you. Where’s the toilet.

Carry a coin purse. Take small Kleenex packets. A Kerchief and water bottle you can refill. Carry some bandaids, moleskin and pain relievers; Aleve, Advil, Aspirin, Motrin. Whichever you prefer. Also take some Pepto Bismal chewables. Take a few safety pins, twist ties and some gaffers tape. Take a couple of golf pencils. Ear plugs, and small flash light. Extra batteries.

Carry a cell phone with portable battery charger.

Download City Mapper, Google Translate, Currency Exchange, Tripit, Lonely Planet, and Skyscanner.

In churches look at bulletin boards. Often free events are mentioned, flea markets, plays, concerts, etc.

In some cities outside cafes and restaurants you’ll see sidewalk signboards advertising lunch or dinner specials.

Most important - if you have not bought the Eurailpass, do not go this route. The Eurailpass is not a cheap alternative. You travel 1st class, and the ticket is priced that way. 2nd class is half as expensive. The only thing you gain is that you have paid for the tickets in advance. Instead of the Eurailpass, develop a VERY solid plan and get tickets in advance. Your tickets can be much much cheaper.

Have you seen this current thread about hostelling? https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/budget-tips/opinions-experiences-hosteling

I did that when I was your age, but I didn't have anybody going with me. Have a great time - I did!

KFC, McDonalds and Burger King and some of those destinations, tipping is cultural.

We always carry bread, sausage and butter. It sounds like cheaping out, but the quality of the bread and sausage put this in treat category as far as I am concerned. I always stop at outdoor markets for a wurst or what have you. Many Europeans graze at the food carts for lunch.
Best of all....think about beer brewery tours. After each tour there will be a visit to the breweries taproom and most often a nice meal. Thing fresh beer, potatoes and goulash.
If you are stating at small owner managed pensions, don't be that person who loads up and carry's the food away. Stopp at a bakery and a butcher for your grub
And, travel like a European to avoid meal expense. Have you big meal at noon and eat your sausage and bread as your dinner...

Lunch specials abound in many countries, so make that your main meal of the day and have your salad/soup/sandwich for dinner. If there are any Farmers markets, they often sell their produce at a bargain at the end of the day. Sandwiches from bakeries may be cheaper than those in grocery stores. If there is a university near by, they may have a cafeteria with meals at a good price. Eat ethnic. A giant lunch at an Asian, Indian, or Middle-Eastern small restaurant is often a bargain. You may even find buffets. Many hostels have kitchens or may even have evenings, like pasta night, offer tours of cities, etc.
Join expat FB groups for the cities you want to visit. You may find a wealth of information about events, things to do and see, etc.
You might even try couch surfing, especially if you can reciprocate at some point in the future. I have a friend here in Frankfurt that does that and he always takes the person out on a sort of tour of the city, in return he gets dinner. Still a bargain.

Spain is your cheapest country. Vienna and French Riviera the most expensive stops. If you are on a bargain trip, I would consider stopping in some other places besides those.
Not sure who told you no tipping, but this is not true in many countries. Germany for instance. 5-10% is normal, just don't leave it on the table.

If you feel the need to eat a really big meal, do so at lunch as it is much cheaper than dinner. Many times we have located good, big lunch places by asking the local shop girls and workmen for suggestions.

Madrid, Barcelona, the French Riviera, Milan, Florence, Venice, Vienna, Prague, Berlin, Hanover, and Amsterdam in 4 weeks? You won't have time to eat. LOL

I'm fine with McDonald's or Subway, etc. I'm not a foodie, but no I don't eat much of that stuff otherwise.

Same opinion as Mr É

Madrid, Barcelona, ​​the French Riviera, Milan, Florence, Venice, Vienna, Prague, Berlin, Hanover and Amsterdam in 1 month?

It's a joke!

You won't have time to eat anything other than sandwiches on trains, I even think that you won't have many opportunities to leave the stations, which is in a way a good thing for you since it is often in the train station areas that you can find the cheapest food.

Same opinion as Mr É

Madrid, Barcelona, ​​the French Riviera, Milan, Florence, Venice, Vienna, Prague, Berlin, Hanover and Amsterdam in 1 month?

It's a joke!

We are 18, and have saved up enough money to pull this off, but just barely.

They are 18. More power to them. I am sure someday they will delve deep into those cities, but right now i think they just want to hit the highlights. You have received some good advice on cheap eats. Enjoy your trip.

Okay, I didn't call it a joke. At 18 I suspect it a good trip for them. Great experience. But "dining" may best be done at burger King. There is one or a McD on most train stations.

If they fly into Madrid and out from Amsterdam, they will be moving by train 10 times in that month, roughly every 3-3 days. They will be able to spend 3 nights in 8 of the cities, and 2 nights in each of the other three. Not a deep dive into any one city, but a pretty good way to explore, especially at their age. We have done similar trips for 2 weeks ( not a full month), mixing up 2 and 3 night stays, but in a smaller, more compact area with shorter train trips (we like to keep journeys to 3-4 hours or less).

So some days their train time will be longer, and they will be buying something at the station to have for lunch on the train. There should be lots of good options for local food in most stations; no need to resort to McDonalds. I believe that may be more expensive than a döner kebab in Austria/Germany, or a baguette sandwich with prosciutto, cheese and tomatoes in Italy (€5-6 for either). I have never eaten at any McDonalds, but online sources indicate a Big Mac is €7,90 and a Combo meal €10,90 in Berlin.

I really think that you can ALWAYS do better than McD. First, these places are not that cheap anymore. Second, every city has a market with cold cuts, bread, cheese, and wine. Wine in Europe is cheaper than soda in the US. In most European countries, 18 YOs can drink wine.

NOTE ONE IMPORTANT FACT: Not every European town allows picnicking in all places. There are terrible stores about E1000 fines in Venice. Make sure you know where you can eat al fresco.

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.

How much that Big Mac will cost you: Took me a while but I tracked down actual Berlin prices. Big Mac is 4.40 euro. Might be more at the train station, but everything will cost more at the train station.

And we aren't talking a stale baguette with some old cheese on it. No, we are talking two beef patties, special sauce, shredded lettuce, American cheese, dill pickle, and minced onions, served on a three slice sesame seed bun. For about 7.90 euro you can get that with large fries and a large American coke.

But if you are going to be on a train for an extended period of time, I recommend the KFC Bucket Meal. You can dig into that for hours.....

As for Kabobs? Its hard to beat that unique seasoning from being cooked in an open window on a busy sidewalk or street, uncovered and unprotected from flies and vermin. Yum....

In Milan and perhaps in Florence, but especially in Milan, you can take advantage of hefty "aperitivo" buffets in the evening. In many bars at around 6-8, a buffet with snacks, focaccia, etc will be laid out and access to the buffet will be included in the price of a drink. The Navigli area has plenty of such bars.

In Madrid and Barcelona, the chain '100 Montaditos will let you have a very decent tapas experience at a very low price.

Marseille is cheaper than Nice and "cooler"; I would spend more time there than in Nice in your situation.

Amsterdam is expensive overall so don't blow all your money before you get there!

The McDonald’s in Germany sell beer, and the drinking age there starts at age 16 … not that I’m suggesting that you and your friends get beers at McDonald’s.

In Nice, be sure to have socca, strips of chickpea flour crepes (a bit like tortillas or very thin pancake pieces) at Chez Pipo. The place is full of students getting a ridiculously cheap meal. It’s in the Nice old town, a couple blocks north of the old harbor. The address is 13 Rue Bavastro. They’ve got pizza, too.

As to the "apertivo buffets", we did look at this in 2022. We were in the Naviglia district. Usually the Aperol spritz was E5-7. If you wanted the buffet, the cost would be E13-14. So the "buffet price" was almost twice - no free lunch there.

I think the best cheap eats are the sandwich you make from the food from the market.

But the best idea from me is to ask at the hostel. Hostels have a lot of mostly young people traveling on the cheap. They know what is available locally, and what should be avoided.

Just one request of the OP: Please do not stoop to begging for the money for your next train leg. I've actually seen some US students doing this. To avoid this, find a way to contact your folks if you need extra funds. There are all those apps like Venmo and Paypal. Carry a credit card, and use it if absolutely necessary.

Speaking of McDonalds. In 1990 we showed our two HS/College aged sons a little synopsis of the Economist’s Big Mac Index before they took off for some weeks of their own on our one month trip. If they were wondering how far their many different currencies would go, they could do a quick check of Big Macs in the European countries they were visiting. We weren’t actually encouraging them to eat any, just check the price. Here is the current article. I don’t see the concise data but if I find that format I’ll edit this.

https://www.economist.com/big-mac-index

EDIT: https://www.economist.com/news/2015/01/23/on-the-origins-of-the-hamburger-standard

This is an example from 1986 of the price of Big Macs in various currencies well before the introduction of the Euro in 2002. We all had it harder pre 2002 but I still miss some of mental gymnastics making those conversions.

More of the Big Mac...

No surprises....Switzerland is 38.5% higher and Norway is 24% higher. In Croatia it is 34% lower. You want fries with that?

https://www.statista.com/statistics/274326/big-mac-index-global-prices-for-a-big-mac/

Part of traveling is the food. If you are only going to McDs and grocery stores you are shortchanging yourself on that vacation. Another of your big costs will be entrance fees to museums and such. SO, if you throw that out also, you are left with wandering around eating your sandwich.
Your itinerary is too robust. Crammed. And, all that traveling will entail costs.
Might be good to rethink this idea against your budget.
Tell us your budget for this trip, exclusive of airfare and see what feedback you will get.
You probably don't want to be as I was back in 1970, sleeping in Vondelpark and under bushes in Paris, finding old baguettes in garbage cans. and returning bottles for deposit to eat. Or, giving blood to get some money.
Why, because my budget was wholly unrealistic. Such it was in the 70s.

As this will be my first time really spending time in Europe, what should I be ready for as an American?

Be mindful of your volume. In much of Europe, Americans have the reputation of talking loudly

Hi and welcome to the forum, Tucker!
What a great adventure you have ahead of you! You're planning to hit more destinations over 4 weeks than I would but heck, you'll hopefully come away with a good idea of which of them you know you'll want to go back to someday.

A note about hostels? You're going to be traveling during high season, when everything from attractions to accommodations will be in demand. The better hostels will book up quickly and in advance so if you know where you want to stay, I sure wouldn't wait until you hit town to try and get a bed. Book in advance but also review their individual cancellation policies/penalties; should your trip fall apart for any reason, you want to know if you can cancel your hostel booking without penalty, and what the deadline is for doing so. Review their house rules, too.

As well, I'll strongly recommend buying trip insurance, especially to be covered in case of a medical emergency. We never leave the US without it.

Read up on keeping your cash, cards, phone, passport and other valuables firmly in YOUR hands and no one else's. I don't want to beat that horse to death but protecting yourself from theft is important. Hitting the pub? There may be eyes watching for the inebriated tourist with an easily picked backpack or pocket. There are umpty methods of keeping your stuff safe; use any that you think will work for you, and use them every day, everywhere you go.

Eurail pass: I'll sit that discussion out except to suggest giving Flixbus a look? You can land some REALLY cheap rates for some bus journeys that may not take much longer than by rail. A combo of rail and bus might save you some $. In fact, someone just started a thread about Flixbus a couple of days ago:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/flixbus-reliable

Try to save as much as you can between now and next summer. Free is good but you don't want to pass on some great experiences because there's a price involved, right? Not all of those prices will be high, and the payoff in memories will be worth the euros.

If you haven't found it yet, give Nomadic Matt's website a look? It's been around for awhile, and you fall squarely into his intended target audience. There should be some good tips there that you can add to any you're provided here.

https://www.nomadicmatt.com

I am chuckling a bit over the caution to keep the noise down. Heaven knows I've experienced plenty of teen-to-20's European (and Asian) tourists VERY audibly having a VERY good time. HA! Just be sensitive to your surroundings and you'll know when to whisper or use your inside voice. :O)

Hi OP! I did four Europe trips between 19 and 24 years old. Varying between 1 month and a little over 1 year. It's a fantastic thing to do.

I generally tell people to slow down on their travel itineraries, except for first time young people. Don't listen to the old people. You have plenty of energy to bang out an ambitious "see it all" itinerary. When it's over, you'll be hooked on backpack travel and you'll do it again before you get too serious in life. And that second time you'll revisit some of the places you like that you blew through and slow down.

You ask for suggestions outside of supermarket food. Bakery sandwiches etc and Doner Kebab are good suggestions.

Doner Kebab can be interpreted broadly as a recommendation to street food. It could be a grilled bratwurst, big cone of fries with mayo and peanut sauce, fish sandwich, etc. Street food is a good way to mix it up as you're getting tired of sandwiches.

There are a lot of convenience food outlets in Europe now, just like the US. You're going to see tons of electric bikes with temperature controlling boxes on the back of them. These are zipping around with takeout deliveries. The types of food are highly diverse, and some of it can be a pretty good deal. Many of these sorts of outlets have a couple-few tables to sit down. Google reviews are a very rough guide to finding the better values.

Ms. Jo above, who has lived in Germany for a long time, offers good advice about restaurants. Many places offer a menu of the day of one sort or another at lunch time. To some extent, Europeans still eat a larger lunch and a smaller dinner compared to the US. And I'm not sure if it's true, but I've heard that in some countries, restaurants of certain sorts are mandated to have a discounted multi-course menu at lunch time.

When I was younger, we ate very well in Spain for instance, Menu del Dia posted on a sign board outside the restaurants, price right there too. Often wine beer or mineral water was included as well.

Some hostels offer food, particularly if they have a pub. Generally speaking, the food is filling and affordable. When I was young a couple of the hostels in Bruges for instance sold big plates of beef stew for not much.

Some university cafeterias are subsidized and public. I used to eat at the University of Amsterdam quite a bit in Amsterdam. This might be a relic of the past though.

But areas around universities in general will have a lot of affordable food options, as college students are pretty much in the same situation that you are.

Lastly, and I don't particularly recommend this, sometimes religious organizations will feed you if you agree to sit around and listen to their sales pitch. You're probably not that hard up.

Have a fantastic time, It will be totally awesome

LOL Tucker.

You have 12 travel days on a 30 day trip. Not small travel, like Milan to Lake Como, or even Vienna to Bratislava, but BIG travel. Are you taking night trains? Or killing chunks of the day riding trains? (Prague to Vienna took us 4 hours, a few years back)

If you want to 'soak up the culture,' you have to spend some time in a culture and in a place. It might help if you and your friends have some language skills. What do you speak? And your friends? If you have French and Spanish, for example ... or German and French, that might help you focus on culture(s) to soak up. Sure, English is widely spoken, but many have limited English

You don't need to complete a lifetime bucket list before you are 21. And those big cities in the summer are chock full of tourists. Prague is like Disneyland. What about smaller cities or towns in Languedoc (Nimes, Montpellier, Sete) or Provence (Arles, Gordes, Cassis, Bonnieux), instead of just the Riviera?

A trip to Italy alone, with Bologna, Padova, Lucca (near Pisa), Siena (an hour from Florence), and small towns throughout Tuscany (Volterra, for example) and Umbria (such as Orvieto), plus Rome (and perhaps Naples, Sicily and the toe or heel of the Italian boot) rather than only going to Milan, Florence and Venice? The small towns will be cheaper and you will find more Italians (or whatever/wherever) and fewer American, British and Asian tourists. We are going to southern Italy in April. Two weeks in Sicily, one week in Puglia and one week in Campana (incl. 3 days in Naples). This past spring, we spent 4 weeks in France, including one week cycling in the Dordogne and one week cycling in the Loire Valley.