Plus, with all that Milan has to offer for visitors, it is a popular destination all year long, so it’s hard to find a bargain no matter what time of year you come. There are plenty of charming, budget hotels in Milan to be found, though, thanks to an abundance of family-run pensions and small, local hotels.

We’ve picked a handful of our favorites in Milan, so you can easily book your next vacation.

More about budget travel in Italy:
• 10-Day Affordable Itinerary through Rome, Florence & Venice
• Avoid these 10 common mistakes when traveling in Italy
• Driving in Italy: 7 tips for staying safe, sane and on budget with your rental car

Best budget hotels in Milan, Italy

Read on for our top picks of budget hotels in Milan for this year. Each option offers great rates, plus perks like a central location, plentiful amenities, or charming decor.

Malta is a family-run hotel that attracts Cheapos with great prices.

Hotel Malta

Neighborhood: Citta’ Studi
Doubles averaging $98 per night

The Hotel Malta is a perfect cheapo spot, with an excellent Citta’ Studi location, comfortable lodgings, and a welcoming staff. Rooms are pretty simple in design, but amenities are aplenty including air conditioning, free Wi-Fi, and private bathrooms. Read the full review

Aspromonte Hotel sits right on the edge of a local park in Milan.

Hotel Aspromonte

Neighborhood: Citta’ Studi
Doubles averaging $107 per night

The clean, sleek Aspromonte combines a warm family-friendly atmosphere with modern style. The location is prime, but still quiet. Room amenities include clean private bathrooms, air conditioning, televisions and free Wi-Fi. A continental breakfast is included in the room rate. Read the full review

Staying at Garda feels like staying with family.

Garda

Neighborhood: Central Station and Buenos Aires
Doubles from averaging $131 per night

With a convenient location near the train station, Garda stands out from the budget hotels surrounding it, thanks to its lively décor and staff members that treat guests like family. You may feel particularly drawn to hang out in the lobby, which feels regal. Read the full review

The bright, recently renovated rooms at Hotel 22 Marzo are welcoming and Cheapo-approved.

Hotel 22 Marzo

Neighborhood: Around Viale Corsica & Corso Marzo
Doubles averaging $133 per night

Convenient and cute, Hotel 22 Marzo features a friendly staff, recently renovated guest rooms, and modern amenities. Create comforts include air conditioning, TVs, and free Wi-Fi. The hotel is steps from a tram stop, and there are plenty of shops and restaurants nearby. Read the full review

Could Hotel Ideale be ideal for your trip to Milan?

Ideale

Neighborhood: Citta’ Studi
Doubles averaging $145 per night

They don’t call it “ideale” for nothing! This three-star hotel sits on a charming, tree-lined boulevard and offers cozy rooms. Some even have balconies, a welcome addition. Bathrooms are private, spacious, and clean, and you get free Wi-Fi and breakfast included in your stay. Read the full review

Find more budget hotels in Milan with our guide

Don’t forget to comment below on your favorite hotels to book in Milan! Looking for even more places to stay? Check out our full guide to cheap hotels in Milan.

The post Best budget hotels in Milan for 2025 appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Here’s our quick guide to your choice of north-south rail routes if you are traveling from central Europe through Switzerland to Italy.

There are just three routes to choose from: the Simplon, the Gotthard and the Bernina.

The Simplon route

Our rating: **

Used by four daily EuroCity services from Geneva to Milan and by the thrice daily EuroCity trains from Basel to Milan. Not our favorite option as the best of the scenery is missed in tunnels. The Geneva and Basel routes converge at Brig, and then run through the Simplon tunnel into Italy. The trains from Geneva do offer some super views as they skirt the northern edge of Lake Geneva. But the Basel route south through Berne is pretty but unspectacular, and then plunges through the 34km-long Lötschberg tunnel to reach Brig, where you get a breath of fresh air before diving into the Simplon tunnel.

On the plus side, there are some super views of Lake Maggiore as the train cruises through northern Italy towards Milan. Sit on the left for the views. And it is those lake views which are the redeeming factor for the Simplon route. So we give it two stars.

The Gotthard route

Our rating: **

Used each day by seven EuroCity trains from Zürich to Milan (and also one from Basel to Milan). This route is also taken by domestic Swiss services from Basel and Zürich to Locarno and Lugano. Indeed, this is the main north to south rail axis through Switzerland. The approach to the north side of the Gotthard Tunnel is classic Switzerland. Sit on the right side of the train for super lake views with range upon range of mountains edging ever closer.

With the opening of the new 57-km Gotthard Base Tunnel in 2016, the journey is now even less scenic.

The Bernina Express running right along Lake Bianco. Photo: Terry

The Bernina route

Our rating: *****

Far and away the finest of the three north-south routes from Switzerland into Italy. No ifs, no buts. The Bernina knocks spots off the competition. If you are in a rush to get into Italy, take the Simplon or Gotthard routes. But if you want to see the Alps, the Bernina is the obvious choice. This is the only route that goes over the Alps rather than tunneling through them.

The Bernina is served by Rhaetian Railway services from St Moritz (in the Swiss Engadin) to Tirano (in Italy). Local trains run hourly on this route throughout most of the day, although evening services are very limited. There are also some through trains from Chur and Davos to Tirano (branded “Bernina Express” and with a supplementary charge).

The beauty of the Bernina, particularly if you ride the local trains which stop at every tiny station, is that you have a real sense of engaging with the landscape. There are glaciers and Alpine meadows, with moments of high drama as the train drops down from high mountain terrain into serenely beautiful valleys. Beyond Tirano, the route runs south-west to Milan, skirting the east side of Lake Como for more than an hour.

The time question

So why does everyone not take the Bernina route? It seems to be really a matter of time. Sadly, most travelers are in a rush. And the lure of a direct train tempts folk to the faster Simplon and Gotthard routes. Journeys from the principal Swiss cities to Milan via the Bernina route require several changes of train. Here are some comparison journey times for Zürich to Milan:

via the Simplon route: 4 hrs 15 min
via the Gotthard route: 3 hrs 45 min
via the Bernina route: 10 hrs 05 min

The travel times speak for themselves. Yes, the Bernina journey takes more than twice as long, but it’s so very, very much better that canny travelers give the Alps the time they deserve. Indeed, there are a heap of places along the Bernina route which warrant an overnight stop, so why not spread the journey over two days?

Editor’s Note: Looking for more insider information on train travel across Europe? Pick up a copy of Europe by Rail, now in its 15th edition, it is the definitive guide for exploring the continent by train. You can also follow them on twitter at @EuropebyRail.

The post Crossing the Alps by Train: Three rail routes from Switzerland to Italy appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

It really doesn’t have to be if you follow these tips by Milan locals. Rest assured, you’ll be getting the best Italian delicacies the Lombard capital has to offer from €3 snacks to affordable plates of homemade risotto.

More tips for eating in Italy:
• Ordering coffee like a pro in Italy
• Don’t leave Rome without tasting these 5 classic dishes
• A tasty guide to visiting Bologna on a budget

5 Cheap eats in Milan

Once you check in to your hotel in Milan, it’s time to get down to business and start eating your way through the city!

Zio Pesce is seafood heaven without the high price tag. Photo: Carmen Condeescu for Spotted By Locals

Zio Pesce

Via Andrea Maffei 12

A lot of people are unaware of this fact, but Milan actually boasts one of the largest fish markets in the country. Still, finding a restaurant that gets quality seafood right for a decent price is tricky, but thankfully, local Carmen has the answer: Zio Pesce. Here you can get seafood pasta (spaghetti allo scoglio for €14) that would satisfy even the most demanding of Italian gourmands. In fact, the restaurant is always full of them, even on an otherwise slow Monday night, so be sure to plan ahead.

Related: Our favorite hotels under $100 a night in Milan

La Piccola Ischia

Viale Abruzzi, 62

There aren’t many kinds of food that are more popular around the world than pizza, but Italians are notoriously particular about what constitutes a proper one. Naples has a long tradition in this art, and La Piccola Ischia is a great place to discover what a real Neapolitan pizza tastes like. Here you can also try fried pizza; local Matto is still licking his lips from the one he had with sausage, mozzarella and tomato sauce. With its informal setting and low prices (from €10 per person), he reckons it brings together everything a true Italian pizzeria should be about.

Did you know Milan has a fantastic Chinatown? Photo: Carmen Condeescu for Spotted By Locals

La Ravioleria Sarpi

Via Paolo Sarpi 27

It is said that pasta was originally brought to Italy from China by Marco Polo in the 14th century. We can’t know for sure, but La Ravioleria Sarpi really gives credence to this legend, for when you really get down to it, what’s the difference between dim sum and ravioli? This street food joint makes “Chinese ravioli” at the heart of Milan’s Chinatown using nothing but quality ingredients. For around €3.50 per dish, it’s hard to go wrong — order like local Carmen and try more than one!

Design, food, and atmosphere… Risolatte has it all. Photo: Carmen Condeescu for Spotted By Locals

Risolatte

via Camperio 6

Risolatte is a gem hidden right in the center of Milan. The striking 1960s home decor collected from vintage markets around the country would be enough to fall in love with if it wasn’t for the authentic, home-cooked Italian dishes. The menu changes every day, which guarantees that everything is fresh and of the highest quality, but the milk risotto and cotoletta alla Milanese are must-tries. Perhaps the best part? Given the service, the charm and the quality of the food, the prices (less than €25 per person) are actually quite fair compared to the rest of Milan.

The post 5 Local tips for cheap eats in Milan appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Our Hotel Charly Milan review

Located a quick walk (less than 10 minutes) from Milano Centrale, Hotel Charly makes a convenient stay whether you are passing through for a night or looking for a comfy home base for a few days.

Vintage streetcars run right to the Duomo di Milano, the most popular attraction in the city. The Metro (Lima stop) is a few blocks away, and you can walk to the Public Gardens (Giardini Pubblici Indro Montanelli) in about 10 minutes.

My quick tip: Book a room with a private balcony overlooking the lush garden for a snug urban oasis in the heart of Milan.

Related 
• 11 Easy ways to save on your trip to Italy
• Milan hotels under $100 per night
• Avoid these common mistakes on your trip to Italy

Wake up and open the doors to the balcony.

A friendly staff available around the clock

Your visit will most likely start off with a warm greeting (aka barking) by the Hotel Charly’s friendly dog in the lobby. The staff is very cordial, and although they speak a little English, they’re very happy when you attempt a few Italian phrases.

My limited Italian skills came in handy. Check-in is easy, and you pay when you leave. You drop the old-school key off at the desk each time you go out, so you won’t have to worry about losing it. Someone is always at the desk 24-7, so you also don’t have to stress out if you stay out a little later than planned.

Looking out from the patio of Room 6 at Hotel Charly.

Ask for a room with a private balcony

When I made my reservation through EuroCheapo, I asked for one of the rooms with a balcony overlooking the garden. (There’s a note field where you can make a comment or special request.)

I stayed in Room 6 which had a calming yellow color scheme and a full-size bed right next to the huge windows that lead out to the patio. I reserved about three months in advance for a trip in late May. The earlier you make a booking the better to ensure you get a balcony room and a lower rate.

The final bill of my stay was €94 per night for a double room, including the local taxes and breakfast.

Start each morning with a pastry and cappuccino on your private balcony.

Classic Italian breakfast in a lovely garden

A lot of times, I skip the hotel breakfast in Italy. In my book, nothing can beat a cappuccino and cornetto at a local bar. However, Hotel Charly has an espresso machine and will gladly froth you up a fine cappuccino and provide you with a nice selection of pastries, yogurt, meats, and cheeses. Grab a seat in the charming breakfast room with a view of the garden or ask for a tray and enjoy it on the balcony. It’s a lovely way to start your day in Milan.

It will be hard to lose this old-school key!

Climate control comes in handy during the warmer months

If it’s too hot, the rooms have air conditioning units controlled by remote control. This came in handy when the weather turned quite warm during our stay. With one click of the AC and a quick close of the patio doors, we created a comfortable oasis. You won’t even miss the garden view because the patio doors are glass.

Don’t miss the bakery down the block

One of the best perks of staying at Hotel Charly is the bakery just down the street on the corner of Via Vitruvio and Via Lodovico Settala. Panificio Pasticceria Vailati offers sweet and savory treats from poppy seed flatbreads with anchovies and capers to handmade chocolate covered cherries.

I even stopped by for a couple of last-minute bags of treats to enjoy on the flight back to New York!

Read more about Hotel Charly and book a room online.

The post Hotel Crush: Hotel Charly Milan review appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Related: See all flash deals on European travel

Do the math and that’s only $450 per person, with all taxes and fees included. Even better, you’re not limited to a short booking period but rather a six-month window. You can travel between September 16, 2016, and April 3, 2017. We found flights in the winter and spring leaving on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday (and coming back those same weekdays) for this special fare. If you want to travel on the weekends, the price is just a little bit more. Just book by Monday, August 22 to score this deal. 

And even though the price is right up our cheapo alley, the perks that come with a flight on Emirates are usually way beyond our budget. On budget airlines like Wow or Norwegian, you get a low price but everything else comes at a cost (seat reservation, baggage, food, etc). However, Emirates Economy offers a whole new level of experience. You can savor a four-course meal, watch 2,500+ channels on the in-flight entertainment system, and even log onto free Wi-Fi during your trip. And if you are worried about getting hit with steep baggage fees, sit back, relax, and enjoy your flight because Emirates Economy lets you bring two checked bags with you. All of this for only $450 per person? Sign us up!

Pack your bags. It’s time for a trip to Milan! Photo: Christopher J

Once you get to Milan, you’ll have no problem finding affordable accommodations. EuroCheapo has hotels in Milan for as low as $60 per night for a double room. Plus, you don’t have to stick to Milan. Hop a train and be in Venice in three hours, Florence in two hours, and Genoa in 2.5 hours. You can even sneak in a night in Bologna, a beautiful student city with a reputation for amazing cuisine — but of course, you’ll find incredible food no matter where you go in Italy!

Click here to search dates and book your ticket. 

The post Flight Deal: 2 Tickets to Milan, Italy for $899 on Emirates — Book by August 22 appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Travelers can choose to launch their journeys from one of six airports: Berlin, Cologne/Bonn, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover and Stuttgart.

The airline has divided their mystery destinations into several categories. Cologne/Bonn offers seven summer season categories, all but one of them priced at €33 per leg: Culture, Gay-friendly, Metropolis, Nature, Trekking and Hiking, Party and Shopping. The seventh category, Sun and Beach, is priced at €49.99 per leg. Hamburg and Stuttgart offer four destination categories, Dusseldorf three and Berlin and Hannover one apiece.

The booking process

My mission was to yield to chance and to watch my pennies. Though quite pleasant to fly, Germanwings is a low-cost airline. Pinching pennies on a low-cost carrier means not paying extra for either a seat assignment or checked luggage. On the ground I prioritized supermarket meals and booked the very cheapest accommodation I could find.

I chose Dusseldorf for two reasons. One, it was easy and relatively inexpensive to reach from London, my home base. Secondly, the Dusseldorf “party” gathering of destinations appealed to me more than any other. The grouping included Leipzig, Dresden, Warsaw and Katowice, as well as Stockholm and Barcelona, cities where I have friends. (From the outset I found this category to be confusing. This group of cities didn’t really strike me to be particularly or relatively festive places. Marketing is hard!)

And the destination is…

I made my booking after dinner one evening. A receipt flashed on my screen and I discovered that I was destined for Milan Malpensa. Milan was one of two cities on the list I had hoped wouldn’t come up. I like Milan fine but had visited fairly recently. So my first reaction was disappointment. Here’s lesson one, perhaps the most obvious of all though worth repeating: Blind Booking is not an ideal holiday solution for anyone with a very fixed idea about where they want to travel.

That said, there are ways to game Blind Booking. For €5, customers can exclude a destination from the group list. Customers can also examine existing timetables to maximize their likelihood of flying to a particular destination.

Beyond these hacks, Blind Booking is about yielding to chance. Because the booking period extends to 45 days prior to departure, Blind Booking doesn’t have to be a fly-by-night endeavor. With over six weeks of lead time, there are plenty of opportunities to plan ahead.

I booked a two-night jaunt. Because my departing flight left too early to make it from London to Dusseldorf with a comfortable cushion for transfer time, I had to fly in the previous evening. And because my return flight from Milan to Dusseldorf arrived around 11 PM, I had to find a hotel in Dusseldorf for a night at the end of the jaunt.

These two additional details provided the second lesson of Blind Booking, equally as obvious as the first lesson, but worth articulating nonetheless: This cheap roundtrip ticket is essentially a clearance item. In exchange for €66, customers have to organize themselves around the itinerary on offer. My guess is that departures and returns in the early morning and late night hours are particularly common Blind Booking slots. Flexibility is key.

The trip

I headed for the mountains: Two nights in Lugano, followed by a scenic rail journey from Locarno to Domodossola.

I flew into Milan Malpensa, had a quick (and necessary) espresso at an airport café and took the Malpensa Express to Milano Centrale. Here I had about 15 minutes to buy my ticket on to Lugano, which was a snap.

Though EuroCheapo I booked two nights at Ristorante le bucce de Gandria, a small restaurant with several guestrooms in Gandria, a village on the edge of Lugano. My room was CHF130 ($145) for two nights, which around these parts is quite cheap. After arriving I made a beeline to the nearest gas station/convenience shop where I bought the holy grail of a simple supermarket dinner: salami, cheese, anchovies, yogurt, nuts and water. The damage: CHF20 ($22).

My two days were about reacquainting myself with Lugano, a city I’d last visited when I was 19. Supermarket lunches, long walks along the lake, two delightful swims, a pleasurable dinner on the balcony at Locanda Gandriese restaurant in Gandria, enjoyed with a local Ticinese wine and capped with a shot of house-made limoncello, wanders through Lugano’s hillside shopping streets, and a visit to the Museo Cantonale d’Arte, the cantonal art museum of Ticino.

Locarno is charming town just a short ride from Lugano. Photo: Luca G

On my third day I took the train to Locarno. Outside, Alpine vistas; inside, boisterous children set free on a field trip. In Locarno I caught a scenic train back into Italy, to regional hub Domodossola. This town, at the confluence of two rivers, features some noteworthy late medieval architecture and an attractive central square, Piazza del Mercato. Its stone and timber houses, arcades, and mountain peaks give Domodossola a rustic charm. I enjoyed risotto and steak for €13 at a quiet restaurant well off the central square and wandered for some time.

From Domodossola I caught a direct bus to Milan Malpensa for €15. This bus, which relies on government subsidy, runs on a demand-only basis and must be reserved in advance.

The Upshot

Germanwings’ Blind Booking is a little bit gimmicky but quite fun. It’s a good option for travelers with a broad interest in a great number of destinations; anyone with something very specific in mind should give it a pass. Anyone considering a Blind Booking break should take a look at their schedule and weigh the pros (surprise, cost) and cons (schedule, rigidity).

Note: Germanwings did not support this journey in any way.

The post Germanwings’ Blind Booking Deal appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

It has, in truth, been incredibly relaxing and perhaps there’s a lesson or two in here for Cheapos planning summer trips. We’ve not used a single plane on our spring tour of western and central Europe, sticking instead mainly to trains, with just the occasional journey by bus or boat thrown in for good measure.

Wander around Santa Margherita Ligure's harbor. Photo © hidden europe

Seduced by sunshine

But the secret of not merely surviving but actually enjoying such long trips has a lot to do with making the most of each overnight stay. Cast back to Palm Sunday early this month, and we experienced one of those glorious days that are just too good to be spent entirely on the move.

We left Florence shortly after midday, taking slow trains via Lucca through blossoming western Tuscany. We then tracked north up the coast, but by 3 p.m. realized that this sparkling spring Sunday was one made for lingering by the sea, so we alighted at Santa Margherita Ligure.

Santa Margherita Ligure

This is a gem of a small town, tucked into the coast of the Riviera di Levante. The previous stop on the train line up the Ligurian coast is Rapallo, which has been celebrated as the perfect Ligurian resort. Some might argue that Portofino, so very much smaller but often dreadfully overcrowded, has the edge.

A walk through town. Photo © hidden europe

While devotees of this stretch of coastline tussle over the competing merits of Rapallo and Portofino, we think the best option is Santa Margherita Ligure, which lies halfway between the two.

Exploring the area

Within 20 minutes of having alighted from the train, we had checked into the Hotel Laurin and were soaking up the Ligurian sunshine on a splendid private terrace overlooking the Mediterranean. “Life,” we thought, “doesn’t get much better than this.”

That Santa Margherita stopover was utterly memorable. We wandered around the yacht harbor, went over to Portofino by boat and returned on the local bus. We explored cliffs and coves, enjoyed a splendid dinner of local fish at Trattoria dei Pescatori and were quite sad when, just after lunch the following day, it was time to leave Santa Margherita Ligure and head north towards the Alps.

Twenty-two hours in Santa Margherita were enough to make us realize that we had stumbled upon somewhere special. We shall most certainly return.

Connections

Santa Margherita Ligure is served by direct Trenitalia InterCity trains from Genoa (35 mins), Milan (2hrs 15mins) and Pisa (2hrs). There are regular boat services linking Santa Margherita with both Rapallo and Portofino, both hops taking about 15 minutes.

Santa Margherita is also a good base for exploring the Cinque Terre coast. Local trains from Santa Margherita to the Cinque Terre villages take an hour. During the summer season there are also direct boat services from Santa Margherita Ligure to the Cinque Terre villages.

The hotel we chose at Santa Margherita, the Laurin, is a very comfortable family-run hotel on the waterfront an easy 15-minute walk from the railway station. Rooms are from €70. The Ciana family who run the Hotel Laurin are a long-established family of hoteliers. In 1897, Gaudenzio Ciana who ran a hotel in Novara moved to Santa Margherita Ligure and opened a hotel there. 115 years later, the Ciana family are still in this idyllic spot on the Ligurian coast and, as well as the Hotel Laurin, they also have a handful of other properties in and around Santa Margherita Ligure. The Hotel Laurin is marketed under the Best Western brand.

The post Ligurian Diversions: Santa Margherita Ligure appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Ten years ago this week, we launched EuroCheapo from my apartment in Berlin with a guide to 25 budget hotels in Paris. On June 14, 2001, with three friends huddled around my desk, I clicked “upload,” refreshed the browser, and watched djddz.com come to life.

True to “cheapo form,” we clinked glasses of inexpensive sparkling wine and went off for a Vietnamese dinner in Prenzlauer Berg.

The "Original Cheapos": Gianni, me and my old red bike reunited in Berlin in 2008.

2001: A Web Odyssey

Remember early 2001? George Bush was sworn into his first term in January. The US economy was rolling along and airline security less restrictive. European travel was different: You shopped with francs in France, Deutsche Marks in Germany and (lots and lots) of lira in Italy.

I had been dreaming of writing a guide that would promote the idea that European travel could be affordable for everyone. As I’m particularly fond of small, interesting hotels, I decided to focus on them. Guidebooks covered some of these, it was true. But I thought we could find an audience by only writing about cheap hotels, showing photos, and putting it all on the Web for free.

To start the site, I flew to London in January 2001 and tried to sleuth out cheap sleeps in the Bloomsbury neighborhood. That first day I knocked on the doors of B&B’s along Gower Street.

But there was a problem: The city was flooded with B&B’s. There were dozens of them lining Gower Street alone, and they all looked about the same from the outside. How was this ever going to work?

Kari and Alex working in my apartment, summer of 2005.

Saved, by Cheapo standards

I panicked… and headed to Rome, where my friend Gianni Bettucci helped me get my–and the site’s–act together. At the tourist information office by Termini Station they handed over a thick directory of every hotel and alberghi in the city.

On the back of a place mat at a nearby Chinese restaurant we listed out what we called our “EuroCheapo Standards.” To even be visited and “inspected,” the hotels had to be centrally located and cheap. To be chosen as an editor’s pick, they had to be clean and, ideally, smaller, non-chain properties. Bonus points would be awarded for personality.

I'm failing to impress the receptionist at the Winston Hotel in Amsterdam in 2005.

We got to work inspecting bedrooms, taking notes, and snapping photos of beds, showers and breakfast rooms. All the while we were explaining a site that didn’t exist to somewhat skeptical proprietors. In a few cases, we even had to explain the concept of the Internet. (“Is it like the fax?” asked one B&B owner in Rome. “Kind of.”)

Throughout the spring of 2001, we also visited hotels in Amsterdam, Florence, Paris and Prague. And yes, I revisited and re-tackled London.

Throughout the first month in the new office we didn't have an Internet connection. We tried to find one wherever we could.

Finally, we set up our apartment (with office) in Berlin’s Friedrichshain neighborhood. I spent a couple of months composing the hotel reviews and designing the site at the Staatsbibliothek near Potsdamer Platz.

How was the site going to make any money? Easy–banner ads! I proudly coded one into the top of the home page. There were also some ads to Amazon.com that could pay a small commission if somebody bought a guidebook. These would pay the rent, right?

Finally, on that balmy June night, we clinked our glasses and celebrated the launch of our new guide. And then we waited for Yahoo! to notice. We’d be waiting for a while. (As for that other, newer search engine with the stripped-down design–we didn’t pay it much attention.)

Dash forward

Growth was slow for the first couple of years. I moved back to New York in 2002, although I headed back to Europe many times a year to add new cities and revisit the old ones. The site started to take off in 2004, which allowed me to hire Kari Hoerchler, followed by Alex Robertson Textor and Vivien Kim Thorp the following year.

The night got late early for Pete and me at Wake Up London in 2005. (The hostel--and dance club--no longer exist.)

At about this time we lost the lease on our sublet office space in SoHo, and the office memorably moved into my apartment in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. There the expanded crew (plus interns!) sweat out the summer of 2005. We moved back into New York’s historic Cable Building at Broadway and Houston several months later, where we remain today.

In 2006, my brother Pete and sister-in-law Meredith became my business partners, and helped take the site to another level professionally. Pete’s business and marketing skills immediately served us well, as did Mere’s editorial experiences. During the following two years we invested heavily in the site’s technology, building a hotel and flights search engine.

Ten years after launching, we’re still hunting down cheap sleeps and taking photos of bathrooms. The “EuroCheapo family” has grown with new hires, correspondents, tech wizards and interns. Like any Web site, we’ve gone through redesigns, logo antics, bug testing (and more bug testing), site crashes, and incredible new launches that leave us proud.

The site has expanded from reviews of 25 hotels in Paris to include hotel recommendations in 28 European cities, a guide to New York, and a blog that publishes dispatches from correspondents around Europe. And we’ve got some new cities ready to launch this summer. (Stay tuned!)

Vivien, Kari, Meredith and Pete in London in 2005

Cheapos I have known…

The site would not exist today without the contributions of the many talented people who have joined the team along the way. We feel fortunate to have found so many others who have agreed with our site’s mission to “help make European travel affordable to everyone.”

Presenting some Very Important Cheapos:

Pete Meyers and Meredith Franco Meyers: Pete and I are brothers, born 15 months apart. We’ve worked summer jobs together and run businesses together (including a wildly–some might say “weirdly”–popular shaved ice stand in Lakeside, Ohio). Therefore, it wasn’t a big surprise to those who know us when Pete and his wife Meredith joined the company in 2006 and became my business partners.

Pete and Meredith officially become my business partners -- and our mother signs as a witness.

It’s hard to imagine what the site would be today without them. The Web site with a funny name suddenly became a “family business,” and I had partners who were deeply invested in and passionate about the business. Pete came from a strong interactive advertising background and took over the business and marketing efforts. Meredith had spent years writing and editing for women’s magazines and gave those skills a “Cheapo” twist.

Kari Hoerchler: Back in New York in 2004, Kari was EuroCheapo’s first hire. During our initial meeting (at the “Big Cup” coffee shop on 8th Avenue in Chelsea), we filled a legal pad with the projects that she’d be tackling during her two days a week. Clearly, she needed to work more days–and I needed to learn how to prioritize projects.

Kari poses as Sarah lines up a shot in 2010.

Since then, Kari has visited hundreds of hotels in Europe (this year, in Seville)–and she currently serves as the listings manager for our hotel search engine. The site would be skimpier without Kari–and the office much less fun.

Suzanne Russo: A master of all editorial trades, Suzanne first interned for EuroCheapo in 2007. We assigned her to fact-check our city guide articles during the day, while she worked on her Masters of English at New York University at night. Sure, she could understand Joyce, but could she make heads or tails of Venice’s vaporetto pass? (Yes, she could.) Suzanne now serves as our listings editor, editing hotel reviews from our correspondents around Europe.

Michael Cargian and James Ellis: Since 2007, Mike and James have been writing and bug-testing the code that makes EuroCheapo work. Mike is on the line daily from San Francisco, and James works his magic from Sydney, Australia. Together, the duo have created a hotel price-comparison search engine, a budget flights search, built a blog, and dealt with many other “Cheapo-” prefixed projects. Without them, the site would be… well, it wouldn’t be.

Meredith, Suzanne and I plotting cities out on a map of Europe in 2011.

Our correspondents: As the site expanded, we needed to find hotel reviewers who could add new cities and revisit the existing listings. Finding the right reviewers can be tricky, as you need someone who shares a sense of value and keeps an eye out for charming touches, quirky details and that certain “je ne sais quoi.”

Additionally, the site sprung to life in 2007 with the launch of the EuroCheapo blog. Suddenly we were publishing daily dispatches about cheap and free things to do in a couple dozen cities. The blog continues to be an extremely important part of the site.

Thus, many, many thanks to the fine writers who have hunted down hotels and penned blog dispatches over the years. And many thanks to our current group of Europe-based writers: Audrey, Bryan, Chaney, Cynthia, Jacy, Jessica, Joann, Laura, Marc, Monica, Nicky, Nicole, Nina, Regina, Susanne and Theadora.

Alex, Vivien, Tom and Pete celebrating the redesign of EuroCheapo in December 2008.

Alex Robertson Textor: Alex joined EuroCheapo in 2005, and quickly attacked our city guides and transportation sections with a sharp eye and budget sensibility. Alex has reviewed hundreds of hotels for us all over Europe, this year in Dublin and London. Alex also served as the EuroCheapo blog editor for its first two years. Today, he also writes for Gadling.com, maintains his own blog, Spendthrift Shoestring, and contributes to numerous publications. Importantly, Alex also introduced our office to the magic of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Vivien and Kari planning their hotel visits while staying at the Hotel Garth in London, 2005.

Vivien Kim Thorp: As Vivien assumed her position as hotel listings editor in 2005, armed with a red pen, she asked, “Which style guide do you follow? AP or Chicago?” I had no idea what she was talking about, no doubt clarifying the scope of the project before her. During her three years at EuroCheapo, Vivien reviewed hotels in several cities, cracked an editorial whip, and greatly elevated the quality of the writing on the site. Today she lives in San Francisco, where she’s finishing off a Masters in journalism.

Sarah Silbert: Originally brought on as a summer intern, Sarah “graduated” into an editorial position at EuroCheapo, where she fact-checked, copy-edited and blogged from 2008-2010. She was also in the cheap hotel trenches, inspecting hotels in Copenhagen and Helsinki for the site. Today Sarah is an associate editor at Laptop Magazine in New York.

Tom, TJ, Laura, Viv, Annie, Alex, Pete

Annie Shapero: For several years, Annie served as our Italy-based correspondent. From her home in Rome, she reviewed hotels in the Eternal City, as well as Florence, Venice and Milan. When Vivien and I first interviewed Annie for the job at a cafe in Rome in 2006 (see photo, below), we immediately knew that we had found a Cheapo-in-spirit (which is evidently why I felt compelled to photograph the event). Today Annie lives in New York where she runs DiVino Wine Events, and she still reviews hotels for us in Italy (this summer updating our Milan guide).

Gianni Bettucci: After helping me out that first year, Gianni launched a career stage managing and producing theater in Berlin. He now runs the incredible Familie Flõz troupe of masked performers and still lives in Berlin’s Prenzlauer Berg.

Finally, my family has been involved in the business from the very beginning. Of special mention:

Vivien and I met with Annie Shapero in April 2006 in Rome. We hired her on the spot.

“Grandma Miller,” over the course of a Fourth of July family game in 2000, came up with the site’s original name, AntsyPants.com. I registered it the next week and was approached immediately by another company to buy it. (Those were the days…) I sold it, and this provided much of the site’s start-up capital. (“EuroCheapo” was a back-up name. Read more about this on Budget Travel’s Web site.)

Aunt Jeanie and Uncle Mel made an additional family investment (along with cousins Drew and Dave) that funded much of that first year in Berlin. We still hold annual meetings.

My mother and father: My dad, a lawyer, incorporated the business in 2001 and tended to the banking when I was traveling those first years, while my mother has been a constant source of support and encouragement through every entrepreneurial endeavor. Traveling with them in Europe is always a blast.

"Travel Gram" on a trip with me in Salzburg, 2004.

Eileen Detlefsen, a.k.a. “Grandma Det,” a newspaper woman since the 1930’s, continues to serve as a source of inspiration and occasional columnist, as “Travel Gram.” Eileen founded and operated her own newspaper in the 1950’s and 1960’s with my grandfather, and my mother and aunts were teen columnists. She still has the best copy-editing skills I know. (Read more about “Travel Gram.”)

Ben and Elizabeth: My two other siblings, both of whom have worked as editors, have offered thoughtful advice, editing help, and introduced us to interns. I ran the site for six months from my sister and (now) brother-in-law Matt’s home in upstate New York after returning from Berlin in 2002.

Guillaume: My partner and sounding board for business (and non-business) matters. During the past five years, he’s participated in thousands of hours of business discussions–and changed my mind about many things.

Louie, one of our early interns.

Looking forward

The Web is constantly evolving and user expectations have shifted dramatically since we launched the site ten years ago. This can be a daunting challenge.

I believe, however, that there will always be a demand for expert budget travel advice. I look forward to the next ten years, and am hopeful that, blessed with the talents of this group and the Cheapos yet to come, we will continue to provide a service that is helpful and relevant.

A meaningful travel experience in Europe doesn’t need to be expensive. We’ll do our best to promote ways to keep it affordable–and accessible–for as many readers as possible. We hope you’ll join us.

The post EuroCheapo Turns 10: Cheapos who made it possible appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Onwards to Italy

Even before the coming of the railway, Brig (or “Brigue” in French) held a commanding position in transport across the Alps. Napoléon had decreed that a carriage road should be built over the Alps, and over 5,000 workers struggled to build the Simplon Pass highway over the mountains to Italy.

When it was opened, travelers were surprised to find that in good weather a ten-horse carriage could make the journey from Brig to Domodossola in just 12 hours. Nowadays, sleek modern trains purr through the Simplon rail tunnel and reach Domodossola in just 25 minutes.

Visiting Brig

Brig is more than just a railway junction and the town certainly warrants a visit in its own right. Brig’s star building is the superb Stockalper castle with its handsome triple-tier arcade courtyard and stately cupolas. It is a mark of the town’s erstwhile wealth. That castle, a brace of fine churches and several good restaurants around a fine piazza all combine to make Brig the perfect place to linger.

A great base for exploring Switzerland

The town makes a fine base for rail-based holidays exploring central and western Switzerland. Few other European cities can claim to be as perfectly connected to key tourist destinations as Brig.

Top destinations by direct train from Brig include:

1. Kandersteg: one train per hour (travel time: 40 mins)
2. Stresa (for Lake Maggiore): every two hours (travel time: 55 mins)
3. Berne: two trains per hour (travel time: 1 hr)
4. Montreux: two trains per hour (travel time: 1 hr 20 mins)
5. Zermatt: one train per hour (travel time: 1 hr 20 mins)
6. Lausanne: two trains per hour (travel time: 1 hr 45 mins)
7. Milan: every two hours (travel time: 1 hr 50 mins)
8. Andermatt: one train per hour (travel time: 2 hrs)
9. Zürich: one train per hour (travel time: 2 hrs 10 mins)
10. Geneva: two trains per hour (travel time: 2 hrs 25 mins)

Holders of Eurail passes might just note that services to Andermatt and Zermatt are operated by the Matterhorn-Gotthard Bahn (MGB), a private mountain railway company that does not accept Eurail passes. But the Swiss Pass (sold by Swiss Travel System) is recognized by MGB.

The post Brig, Switzerland: A major rail connection worth exploring appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Since late 2008, BikeMi has operated stations around the city, allowing locals and tourists to explore the city on two wheels for just a few euros. BikeMi currently boasts over 100 pick-up and drop-off stations throughout Milan, with around 1,400 bikes in total. The program is set to expand to well over 200 stations and 5,000 bikes by the end of 2010.

How it works

To hop on, you’ll first need to register. On the BikeMi Web site, choose a temporary or annual subscription and provide your credit card information. Once your card is approved, you will be e-mailed a user code and password to be used at any bike station.

Simply type in your code at the station keypad and take a bicycle. And don’t forget to watch the time—bikes must be returned to any BikeMi station no more than two hours after they’ve been checked out. (Exceeding the limit three times will get your subscription cancelled.)

The daily rate for using a BikeMi bike is €2.50. A weekly subscription costs €6. On top of these flat fees, you’ll be charged €0.50 for every 30 minutes (following the first free half-hour).

All in all, we think BikeMi provides plenty of incentive to slip off the D&G stilettos and get riding through the streets of Milano.

The post Milan: Get moving with the BikeMi public bike share program appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.