See the beginning: "Zagranitsa" No. 20 (331), 2006, "Be Your Own Tour Operator"; No. 25 (336), "Operation Visa"; No. 33 (344) "How to Choose the Right Hotel"; No. 42 (353), "Travel Tricks".
The main weapon of the independent traveler is a map, preferably a detailed one, though any map will do at the start, just to know how to find your hotel. You can get one in advance and for free by downloading it from the Internet, or on the spot - at the airport in the arrival area at the information desk, at your hotel, or at the nearest information center (the best option). There, by the way, you can also find information packets, where through booklets you can learn about transport routes, find up-to-date information on exhibitions or events, get oriented in cultural and nightlife, and sometimes even receive a discount coupon.
The second tool of the tourist is a good guidebook. There's no need to buy expensive copies - the suggested list of places to visit and "tips" will be corresponding, but you shouldn't skimp either; it's better to choose a thicker one with pictures and walking tours. The algorithm is simple: either borrow the tours you like from the guidebook, or navigate using a map with marked attractions and build your own exclusive itinerary.
Official websites of national tourism offices are very helpful in scouting the area; you can find a lot of useful information there, concerning, for example, the operating hours of museums, galleries, theaters, and public transport. Using this information, you can put together a preliminary itinerary for your trip.
RULE No. 1. Transport can become the main component of savings even during the trip.
First, because getting around the center of any city on foot isn't that difficult - especially if you plan a route from point to point. Second, if we use urban public transport, we'll most likely buy travel passes (the regular kind used by locals), or booklets of tickets (buying 10 at a time is cheaper), or tourist passes.
RULE No. 2. We don't skimp on food. We just try to find the best price-quality options.
In European hotels, we don't order meals, not even breakfasts. The same things, only better and cheaper, can always be found in a nearby café. This is especially relevant for the gourmet capital, Paris. The average French hotel breakfast costs €9-12 per person; it's almost always continental, i.e., not very filling. Until 10 a.m., street cafés offer breakfast for €2.5-6, with additions like yogurts, brioches, tartines, and croissants. There is an exception to this rule - Great Britain, where only at a hotel can you find an inexpensive and calorie-laden English breakfast: a daily portion of scrambled eggs with beans, sausages, or bacon - after that you can easily last half a day... Actually, in London, eating cheaply and well is perhaps the main problem. Only establishments with national cuisine save the day: especially Greek and Italian restaurants.
We alternate ruinous gastronomic delights in decent restaurants with visits to cafés in large shopping centers. Usually, big stores have self-service cafés with a standard range of dishes around €4-6 per portion - not very tasty, but often better and cheaper than set meals in tourist spots. There are even elements of communism: for coffee, you get a cup at the register, go to the machine and pour as many times as you like, and you serve yourself a generous portion of the side dish for meat or fish. In total, you can easily manage €12-15 for two. In London, an alternative to such cafés are canteens that offer a buffet for a fixed sum (say, 6-8 pounds). The selection of salads is quite large, but the assortment of main courses is not. In an Italian chain, for example, it's a couple of types of pasta, pizza, and possibly lasagne.
Another find for the thrifty tourist is Christmas markets, where you can find some hot dish for about €5. Options vary: from Creole and Australian cuisine to regional specialties. Plus hot mulled wine for €1-2.
The most unpretentious entertainment - small indulgences: buy local specialties at a delicatessen store or market and have a feast on the waterfront, in a park, or in your hotel room. A dozen oysters and a bottle of Brut, Burgundy and foie gras pâté (a slice in a restaurant is comparable in price to a can in the store €2 - €30), goat cheese and Bordeaux, Spanish jamón, olives and dry red wine "Rioja", Yorkshire pudding and expensive English tea (thankfully, the room has a kettle) - there are many tasting options.
RULE No. 3. A good excursion program can be organized independently and inexpensively.
But it should be remembered that a self-made excursion requires careful preparation, for which there is not always enough time. Counterargument: sometimes guides take you to places not listed in the guidebook, and therefore some "highlights" may be missed by the independent tourist. Very useful for the independent tourist are the special cards available in all European capitals and just large cities, which allow advantageous use of public transport and discounted access to attractions.
Option 1. Regular travel pass
The travel pass system in Europe is very developed; they are available for 1, 2, 3, etc. days and allow travel on local routes (metro, bus, tram, etc.) with only zone restrictions.
Paris. The most advantageous pass is the Carte Orange for a week. It costs €15,4 for zone 1 and €20,3 for zones 1-3. Holders of the "orange card" receive a discount on river tramways. The pass is strictly valid for a week from Monday to Sunday and is sold only until Wednesday of the previous week - and is available to tourists spending at least 12 days in Paris. In addition, you need a photo. Also in Paris you can buy a booklet of 10 tickets - a carnet. They have no expiration date and are very helpful for occasional trips together: a single ticket costs ?1,40, while from a carnet it's €1,04.
London. The most popular pass is called Travelcard. It comes in one-day (?4,90 for zones 1-2), three-day (?15,40) and seven-day (?22,20) versions. You can travel by any mode of transport except night buses. London also has seasonal cards, guest cards, etc. (details at www.tfl.gov.uk). And in some cities of Great Britain, ordinary railway tickets give a discount on visiting some museums and monuments.
Rome. One-day tickets Biglietto giornaliero B.I.G are offered for €4. Regular single-use transport tickets in Italy are sold for €1 for 75 minutes, the time must be counted from the moment the ticket is validated. During this period, you can change buses several times or switch to tram or metro. Three-day Biglietto per 3 giorni B.T.I for €11 and weekly Biglietto settimanale C.I.S. for €16 (details at www.rome.info).
Barcelona. You can buy a T10 pass for €6,65 for 10 trips on any public transport in zone 1, where all the main attractions are concentrated. The cost of a single ticket is €1,2 (details at www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com).
Athens. Here you can buy a day ticket for any type of transport for €3, for example, a single metro ride costs ?0,70, buses and trolleybuses - €0,50, tram - €0,60 cents, or a weekly ticket for €10 (about transport in Greece – www.oasa.gr).
Option 2. The same, but with discounts
The second option is travel passes with extras: discounts and bonuses for museums, cafes and shops. Often the savings do not live up to expectations.
For example, Paris Visite (costs from €8,35 for one day for zones 1-3). The largest distances between stops in the central Paris metro rarely exceed 500 meters, and not everyone manages to simply 'rack up' €8 in a day. As for the attractions and excursions included in the ticket, their list is quite whimsical, if not exotic. For example, here are the museums offered for visiting with this card: Jacquemart-André, Wine, Montmartre, Grévin, Opéra Garnier. The bonuses are as follows: either 15-30% discount, or a second ticket free (i.e., tourists traveling together need to be like the cunning Ulysses to find all this out in advance and buy one Paris Visite, not two).
However, the tempting 10% discounts in restaurants and shops are also accompanied by not very favorable conditions: for example, in souvenir shops they are provided with a purchase from €50, and in cafes they usually give not discounts but cocktails, pieces of cake or ice cream with the condition of ordering a full meal.
In Barcelona, the Barcelona Card for three days for €28 includes public transport and discounts at 100 tourist attractions. Including free admission to the Botanical Garden, Museum of Ceramics, Decorative Arts, 50% off ticket to the Picasso Museum and only 30% off to Sagrada Familia and the Gaudí House-Museum.
In Berlin there is a Welcome Card, which comes in two types: 48 hours for €16 and 72 hours for €22. In addition to transport, it provides 25-30% discounts on visits to attractions such as the Cathedral, the observation deck at Potsdamer Platz, a bus tour, a boat trip, etc. But there is an important advantage for family travelers - only in Berlin, each holder of such a card can bring up to three children under 14 for free.
Option 3. Passes and museum cards
This is the most expensive option among tourist cards. Before getting a museum card, you need to weigh all the pros and cons. First, decide whether you are going to conquer these 'free' museums with a blitzkrieg (and only if you run through three or four attractions a day does the purchase of the card become worthwhile).
UK, London. The one-day London Pass costs €3, two-day - €42, three-day - €52, six-day - €72. In principle, with it you can try to conquer in one or two days the Tower (without the card, the price of an individual entry ticket is €13,5), St. Paul's Cathedral (?6), Shakespeare's Globe (?9), Vinopolis (?15), the warship Belfast (?8), the Tower Bridge exhibition (?4,5), and a cruise on the Thames by catamaran (?9). Another pass - the Great British Heritage Pass (GBHP) - is designed for lovers of palaces, castles, country houses and gardens throughout Great Britain. It grants access to about 400 residences. GBHP for 4 days costs €28, for 7 days - €39, for 15 days - €52.
France, Paris. Paris Pass (1 day - €34, 2 days - €69, 4 days - ?99, 5 days - €139). With this pass, things are a little better than with its London counterpart because it includes at least a few major attractions: the Louvre (without the card, the price of an individual entry ticket is €8,5), the Arc de Triomphe, the Musée d'Orsay, cruises on the Seine, a bus tour, Versailles, the Panthéon, the tombs of Notre-Dame, the Picasso and Rodin museums, the Pompidou Center and others. The museum card La Carte Musées et Monuments includes visits to more than 60 museums (1 day - €18, 3 days - ?36, and 5 days - €54). Paris Museum Pass (1 day - €22, 3 days - ?48, 6 days - €75). Museum Pass (2 days - €38, 4 days - €55, 6 days - €72).
Italy, Rome. The Roma Pass costs €18, is valid for three days, allows travel on public transport and entry to two museums or archaeological sites of your choice from a list, plus gives small discounts when visiting other attractions.
The website www.europeancitycards.com lists cities where tourist passes are available and gives a preliminary estimate of savings.
Option 4. Discount
The fourth and final version - discount cards - given their low price, may be of interest to tourists who plan to actively visit exactly those places where discounts are available.
Official websites always honestly list the names of attractions and the bonus percentage. One striking example is the Paris City Passport discount card – it costs €5, is valid for one year, and in terms of savings offers around 10-30% off certain places (it's better to check the selection of attractions in advance at www.parisinfo.com).
One of its competitors is FranceCard. In London, there is a discount card called City of London Passport (www.mycityoflondon.co.uk). And in Barcelona, there is a nightclub and disco card - Barcelona Nightlife Card. It costs €13 (www.oh-barcelona.com).