City Guides

City guides: local tips, costs & ideas

Practical guides to each city: what to see morning to evening, what it really costs, and the local details worth knowing. Read one, then build the same thing for your own dates.

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• Athens city guide: itinerary, costs and local tips

  One Athens plan that works for a long weekend or a full five days: the Acropolis on the first morning slot, free viewpoints instead of paid ones, food in the neighbourhoods rather than Plaka's photo-menu tavernas. Days 1–3 are the core trip; days 4 and 5 add the coast, Cape Sounion and an island.

  Read the Athens plan
• Rome city guide: itinerary, costs and local tips

  Ancient Rome, the Vatican and one slow neighbourhood day, arranged so you never cross the city twice in the same afternoon. Days 1–3 are the core trip; days 4 and 5 add the Appian Way, Testaccio and the villas of Tivoli.

  Read the Rome plan
• Barcelona city guide: itinerary, costs and local tips

  One Barcelona plan that works for a long weekend or a full five days: Gaudí booked weeks ahead, the free two-thirds of Park Güell, a ten-trip transport card instead of tourist passes, and dinner where locals eat rather than on La Rambla. Days 1–3 are the core trip; days 4 and 5 add Montserrat and a day out of the city.

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• London city guide: itinerary, costs and local tips

  One London plan that works for a long weekend or a full five days: free museums, one paid landmark a day, free skyline views instead of £45 ones, and evenings in neighbourhoods that are not Leicester Square. Days 1–3 are the core trip; days 4 and 5 add Greenwich, the river and a day out of the city.

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• Paris city guide: itinerary, costs and local tips

  One museum a day, long walks between them and dinner in neighbourhoods where Parisians actually eat — the classic three days, arranged so you never backtrack. Days 1–3 are the core trip; days 4 and 5 add Versailles and a slow day in the Marais and the Latin Quarter.

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• Amsterdam city guide: itinerary, costs and local tips

  One Amsterdam plan for a long weekend or five full days: the two great museums booked on timed slots, the Jordaan canals before the crowds, a free ferry to Noord, and brown cafés instead of tourist bars. Days 1–3 are the core trip; days 4 and 5 add Haarlem, the Zaanse Schans windmills and Utrecht.

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• Lisbon city guide: itinerary, costs and local tips

  One Lisbon plan for a long weekend or five full days: Alfama on foot before Tram 28 fills up, Belém's monastery with the original pastéis, a real fado house instead of a dinner show, and a 24-hour card that pays for itself on the hills. Days 1–3 are the core trip; days 4 and 5 add Sintra and the Cascais coast.

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• Prague city guide: itinerary, costs and local tips

  One Prague plan that works for a long weekend or a full five days: the castle grounds walked for free, the Old Town crossed before the tour groups, beer halls instead of restaurants, and a 72-hour transport pass that costs less than two taxi rides. Days 1–3 are the core trip; days 4 and 5 add Kutná Hora and either Český Krumlov or the Vltava valley.

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• Budapest city guide: itinerary, costs and local tips

  One Budapest plan for a long weekend or a full five days: Pest and the Parliament, Castle Hill at opening time, a morning in the Széchenyi pools and lunch at the Great Market Hall. Days 1–3 are the core trip; days 4 and 5 add the Danube bend, Gellért Hill and Óbuda. All prices are the official 2026 rates.

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• Vienna city guide: itinerary, costs and local tips

  One Vienna plan for three to five days, grouped by area: the old centre and the Hofburg, Schönbrunn, the museum quarter and the Belvedere. Days 1–3 are the core trip; days 4 and 5 add the Wachau valley with Melk Abbey and a Heuriger evening among the city's own vineyards. Food is strictly Viennese — Wiener Schnitzel, Tafelspitz, Sachertorte, Apfelstrudel, Kaiserschmarrn — with official 2026 ticket prices and the new 2026 Wiener Linien fares.

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• Berlin city guide: itinerary, costs and local tips

  One Berlin plan for three to five days, grouped by district so you never cross the city twice: Mitte and the Reichstag, the Wall, Museum Island, a day of Prussian palaces in Potsdam and a slow last day in Charlottenburg and the Tiergarten. Days 1–3 are the core trip; days 4 and 5 add Potsdam and Charlottenburg. Food is Berlin's own — Eisbein, Königsberger Klopse, Currywurst from the stands that invented it and Pfannkuchen — with 2026 BVG fares and ticket prices checked against official sources.

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• Porto city guide: itinerary, costs and local tips

  One Porto plan for three to five days, grouped by area: the old town and São Bento's azulejos, the port lodges across the river in Gaia, and Bolhão market with Porto's own food. Days 1–3 are the core trip; days 4 and 5 add the Douro valley by train (or UNESCO-listed Guimarães) and grilled fish by the Atlantic in Matosinhos. Food is strictly local — francesinha, bacalhau, tripas à moda do Porto, bifana, pastel de nata and port — with official 2026 prices. The budget covers what you spend on the ground; accommodation is shown separately.

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• Copenhagen city guide: itinerary, costs and local tips

  One Copenhagen plan for three to five days, grouped by area: Nyhavn, Amalienborg and the royal quarter, Rosenborg and the old town, Christianshavn and the harbour by bike. Days 1–3 are the core trip; days 4 and 5 add Kronborg castle in Helsingør with the Louisiana museum on the way, and a slow day in Roskilde with its cathedral and Viking ships. Food is strictly Danish — smørrebrød, frikadeller, stegt flæsk, pølser from a pølsevogn, kanelsnegl and wienerbrød. The budget covers what you spend on the ground; accommodation is shown separately.

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• Larnaca city guide: itinerary, costs and local tips

  One Larnaca plan for a long weekend or five full days: Saint Lazarus and the castle on foot, the Salt Lake and the Kamares Aqueduct, Ancient Kition and long Cypriot meze dinners. Days 1–3 are the core trip; days 4 and 5 add a day in Nicosia's old town and a day in the stone village of Lefkara.

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• Tokyo itinerary: 5 to 7 days, by neighbourhood, with real 2026 costs

  One Tokyo plan for five to seven days, grouped by neighbourhood so you are not crossing the city three times a day: historic East Tokyo (Asakusa, Ueno, Yanaka), the shrine and youth quarters of the west (Meiji Jingu, Harajuku, Shibuya, Shinjuku), the imperial centre and Ginza, and the old market and gardens by the bay. Days 1–5 are the core trip; days 6 and 7 add a day trip to Kamakura and the old-town lanes of Shimokitazawa and Kichijoji. Food is strictly Japanese — ramen from a ticket machine, soba, tonkatsu, yakitori in the yokocho alleys, tamagoyaki at Tsukiji and matcha in a garden tea house. The budget covers what two people spend on the ground; accommodation is shown separately.

  Read the Tokyo plan