Where to stay

Naples is full of affordable hotels if you know where to look. I spent one week in the Hotel San Giorgio, a three-star hotel by the train station that charged about €30 a night.

I was skeptical, too. Many reviewers online said the train station neighborhood, by Piazza Garibaldi, was too seedy and far from the action. The neighborhood, however, while not the most charming, is adjacent to the historical center and I never felt unsafe. Within 10 minutes I was at my favorite pizza restaurant and could indulge in a bottle of wine with dinner. It was clean, convenient, and comfortably close – and did I mention cheap?

Tip: Do a quick search on EuroCheapo for cheap hotels in Naples. Rates and availability fluctuate with the season, so check your dates and make sure that you’re not planning to come during high season.

How to roam

Naples is a great base to visit the surrounding area, which has enough destinations to occupy you for at least a week. The Circumvesuviana train, a regional line, will get you out to the Roman ruins at Pompeii or Herculaneum for around €6 round trip. To take the train all the way to Sorrento, the home of Limoncello, you’ll pay only €8 round trip.

Ferries out to the islands, like Capri and Ischia, can be trickier. The Naples Office of Tourism provides you with a schedule with no prices (ranging between €10 and €20 a ride), but be aware that there are two ports, one for expensive hydrofoil ferries (Beverello) and one for less expensive boats (Porta di Massa).

Even among the cheaper boats there are two different prices. There is no science to it, so get to the port at least 30 minutes in advance to figure out which boat you want, and know that the cheaper one does not take significantly longer to get anywhere and is a great way to enjoy the coastlines from the deck of the ship.

Eating in Naples

I can’t imagine coming to Naples and eating anything other than pizza. The native Margherita pizza, with tomatoes and mozzarella, sets you back between €3 and €5. No typo there. Just look for pizzerias that display “Verra Pizza Napoletana” to be sure you’re getting a real, traditional pizza – there are rules and the Italians aren’t kidding around.

Similarly, gelato and pastries are extremely inexpensive and you can eat copiously without heading repeatedly to the ATM.

Like Paris, coffee is always cheaper at the bar, where many Italians gather for a quick espresso and biscotti. If powerful tiny shots are your thing, you’ll fit in at the Napoli café counter and you probably won’t pay more than a euro for your coffee.

Attractions

In Naples itself, there aren’t many must-see attractions. There is no tower, cathedral, or museum that I was itching to enter. Instead, wandering around the city, you quickly realize that most monuments and buildings are free to enter. The Castel dell’Ovo offers great views of the city from up above, and it’s free to wander.

Atop the city, the Castel St. Elmo offers some of the most breathtaking views of the city, the ports, and Mount Vesuvius lurking in the distance. A man sitting at the entrance will direct you to a ticket booth, but the ticket is unnecessary. You can simply take the elevator on your left up to the top of the Castel and stroll the ramparts without entering the tiny museum that requires the ticket.

Museums and excavation sites at Pompeii and Herculaneum do cost money and unfortunately very few discounts are available, but with a €3 pizza for dinner, the entrance fees don’t seem so daunting.

Your budget tips for Naples?

Do you have any tips for visiting Naples on the cheap? Share with us in our comments section.

The post Naples Budget Tips: How to keep it cheap in Napoli appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

UNESCO honors

The two cities share a common history, both having been part of the Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia. And both have that same Italianate flair in their central squares and some of the surrounding courtyards. The center of Kraków was the very first place in Poland to be inscribed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites. That was back in 1978. Lviv had to wait another 20 years to receive the same accolade.

What to see

The main square of Lviv

Lviv boasts a galaxy of fine churches and civic buildings. Must-sees include the Armenian Cathedral and the over-the-top baroque St. George’s Cathedral. The latter has served as the mother church of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which dominates religious affairs in western Ukraine. Its followers, often called Uniates, use Orthodox liturgies but are in union with Rome. It’s a detail that underlines the west European orientation of this part of Ukraine.

Above all, Lviv is a fine place just to wander. The Italian Yard, a sublime piece of Renaissance architecture with its balconies, is a spot to linger over coffee. Or head to Vysoky Zamok (Castle Hill) for sunset, when the view of the city takes on a dreamy quality. For a more macabre take on life (or death), don’t miss Lychakivsky Cemetery, a magnificent wooded parkland east of the city full of crumbling memorials to poets, philosophers and soldiers.

Where to stay

Lviv is happily very cheap. Get a place in a six-bed dorm at the Central Hostel, in a plum spot on the main square, for just 120 Ukrainian hryvnia. That’s about €12. Off-season is much cheaper. Or trade up to the George Hotel where the cheapest rooms are just €35 (including breakfast). The best of the hotels is definitely the Zamek Lewa (Lion’s Castle) in a leafy compound a 20-minute walk south of the center, which has doubles for €70 (including breakfast).

Beyond Lviv

The city is blessed with a great hinterland that is well worth exploring. Lviv Ecotour organizes day trips and longer tours for English-speaking visitors. Apart from nearby spots like the handsome town of Zhovka, the Carpathian wilderness beckons.

Ukraine is open for business. Holders of passports from CIS or EU States need no visa. Nor do US, Swiss, Canadian or Japanese citizens. You can fly directly into Lviv airport from Vienna, Venice, Warsaw, Munich and Dortmund. Or take the daily overnight train from Kraków.

The post Ukraine’s Sleeping Lion: The City of Lviv appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.