No te preocupes (Don’t worry!). Here are five cheap eats that will ensure a full belly, and plenty of extra pocket change for all those Gaudi postcards you’ll send back home. They may not be glamorous, but their fare is tasty and oh so inexpensive.

Related: 4 local dishes worth trying before leaving Barcelona

1. Woki

Asturies, 22
Gracia
Website

One of my all-time-favorites, Woki is located in the vibrant Gracia neighborhood, but also benefits from two other locations, one on the beach in Barceloneta and another in Borne (Carders, 6).

Simply select a noodle or rice base for €4 and then add ingredients (starting at €1.30 each). Finally, choose a free sauce, which can be anything from Thai, Hoi Sin or the “House Sauce.”

Hand in your order and the Woki team throws it all together on an enormous wok right in front of you. Since there’s limited seating at Woki, I usually get my noodles to-go, often eating them right out of the box while watching the tide come in.

Grab a sandwich for a wallet-friendly lunch at this cozy cafe. Photo: Facebook

2. Tallers 76

Calle Tallers, 76bis
Website

Right in the middle of the city and on trendy Calle Tallers, this lavender-colored café and restaurant is a right-on choice for sandwiches. Made with artisan breads, sandwiches come in delectable combos like goat cheese with sun-dried tomato and smoked salmon with cucumber.

Hey, it’s a no-frills lunch, but tasty and under €6, though plan to spend a bit more if you purchase a drink or side.

Related: 5 low-cost hotels in Barcelona with amazing locations

3. Buenas Migas

Passeig de Gracia (with locations citywide)
Website

With multiple spots around town, Buenas Migas is an easy-to-find—and yummy—Cheapo option. Choose from focaccia pizzas, ample salads, plus an array of sandwiches and pastries.

A focaccia pizza will run you between €4 and €5 (flavors include ‘meat-lovers’, tomato and basil, and four-cheese). Add a drink with your focaccia and you’ll have a delicious midday feast for around €6!

4. La Central

Calle Mallorca, 237 (with locations citywide)
Website

Not everything offered on the menu at La Central—an eatery within a bookshop—falls under the budget category. However, during the lunch rush, they do offer reasonably priced deli wraps, sandwiches, and some pasta salads. All items range from €6 and up.

But, the real reason I love La Central is for their coffee and ambiance. The place benefits by being one of the city’s most eclectic book stores right in the heart of an old neighborhood. Grab a cup o’ joe, take a seat, and browse the wares.

5. Pans & Company

Plaça urquinaona, 12-13 (with locations nationwide)
Website

In a way I hate to mention Pans & Company because, well, it’s a chain. However, it is also very cheap and the quality and quantities here is pretty good. Not unlike the U.S.-based Subway sandwiches, Pans is fast-food in style, but takes a healthy approach to eating.

The sandwiches and sides offered at Pans are geared towards the classic Mediterranean eater, with combos like melted brie and Spanish ham, or tuna and olives. They also serve large salads and occasionally offer hamburgers.

All sandwiches are under €6 and depending on what you order you will likely have a euro or two leftover to grab a drink, side, or opt for a meal combo (around €6 or €7). Pans also has an espresso bar that offers cheap, good coffee and tasty pastries and breads.

Note: This article was updated on July 31, 2014 with new information, links and photos.

The post Barcelona Food: Five cheap eats under €6 appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

(By the way, if you haven’t already, check out Bryan’s fantastic Paris gift-giving guide!)

1. Café de la Mairie
8 Place Saint-Sulpice, 6th arrondissement (Metro: Saint Sulpice or Rennes)

Located next to Église Saint-Sulpice, the Café de la Mairie is where I catch my breath during my bargain shopping sprees on rue de Rennes or in Saint-Germain-des-Près. Here the historic joint rocks a New York coffee shop or Baltimore diner vibe. Dogs, kiddies and chit-chat abound! It smells great, too, like my grandmother’s Butcher’s Hill row house during holiday meal preparations.

I recommend ordering Cantal jeune cheese (which can be difficult to find back in the States!) with a baguette. This substantial sandwich costs €4, and is large enough for two. The bottled soda pops are served up all old-school with ice, a spoon and a slice of lemon. Service is consistently friendly and swift.

Tips: Ask to sit in Jeff’s section. He’s a charmer. The terrace has a catbird’s view of the famous church just across the square.

Who else has found inspirational bliss here? Literary greats like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Albert Camus, that’s who, along with Henry Miller, Anaïs Nin, and Saul Bellow—just to name a few!

Also, if time permits, pop by Saint-Sulpice, and hang with its Delacroix inside. For the love of Dan Brown, DaVinci-Coders, don’t leave without walking the famous Rose Line (which cuts right through the altar).

2. Triadou Haussmann
80 Boulevard Haussmann, 8th arrondissement (Metro: Saint-Lazare)

Nestled in between Gare Saint-Lazare and Printemps Homme, I recently discovered the historic Triadou, after attending the launches of the holiday window spectaculars at the grand magasins along the hustling, bustling Boulevard Haussmann. Open since 1935, the family-run café is now my new favorite post-shopping stop. Its handsome terrace with its iconic cane chairs, neon lights, and outdoor heaters is also a prime people-watching spot.

So what’s on the menu? I recommend going with the baguette jambon beurre Gruyère (ham, butter and Gruyère cheese). Recognize a running theme in this post? Yes, I am hooked on baguette sandwiches! The bowl-sized café latte is consistently rich and piping hot, topped with a thick layer of foamy cream and served with a chunk of dark chocolate. Making hot chocolate just got easier, and I just can’t get enough.

3. Chocolates and Macarons by Christophe Roussel
5 rue Tardieu, 18th arrondissement (Metro: Abbesses or Anvers)

Is it possible to have too many addictions? I don’t think so. This week, I am happy to shout out that there is a new macaron in Montmartre, and it’s dipped in dark chocolate. Created by charismatic Christophe Roussel and Julie Haumont, the shop’s Calder-like macaron mobiles in the window caught my eye and tempted my tongue. So I ventured inside.

The shop’s interior is bright and trippy, boasting a tie-dyed, psychedelic color scheme in pink, green, purple and orange. Here I definitely felt a “Groovitational” pull and—in a fit of rave—I purchased one too many macaroons to count. Soon I was I feeling the sugar rush, and singing Simon and Garfunkel’s “Feeling Groovy,” as I kicked down the cobblestones to the “I love you” wall in the square behind the Hector Guimard entrance to Metro Abbesses. Ba-da-da-da, all is groovy!

Here’s another loving spoonful. In 2010 Christophe and Julie received Paris’s “Salon du Chocolat Prix Spécial Innovation.” His chocolate bar (yes, you heard me right—it’s a bar that serves chocolate) is located at the Hôtel du Cadran at 10 Champs de Mars in the 7th arrondissement. Don’t leave without tasting Roussel’s signature scrumptious (and Man Ray/Lee Miller-inspired) chocolate lips, or his new chocolate-coated lollipop macarons. Oh, la la.

4. Au Levain d’Antan
6 rue des Abbesses, 18th arrondissement (Métro: Abbesses or Pigalle)

Extra! Extra! Read all about it here. This year, boulanger Pascal Barillon of Au Levain d’Antan won the “Grand Prix de la Baguette de Tradition Française de la Ville de Paris.” Located in Abbesses, Au Levain d’Antan is where I buy most of my croissants and pain au chocolat pastries. (By the way, in the past five years, four boulangeries in Montmartre have won the coveted award. Could it be that there’s something special about the old hill’s own local earth, wind and fire?)

Fast forward, the amiable Pascal Barillon scored a shiny medal, cash, and the honor of baking bread for President Nicolas Sarkozy and First Lady Carla Bruno-Sarkozy at the Palais de l’Elysées (the French presidential palace) for one year! The annual award is based on aroma, texture, crust, and size. And yes, Virginia, size DOES matter, at least when it comes to bread—this year 32 of the 175 competing baguettes got eliminated because, well, they came up a tad on the short side.

Cheapos, here’s what else is short—life! So find your happy place. Bon Appétit!

Your favorite hangouts?

Do you have a favorite cafe, restaurant or bakery to add to our list? Tell us about your favorite Parisian hangout in our comments section.

Also in our guide: Heading to Paris anytime soon? We’ve got favorite hotel hangouts, too! Read our editors’ reviews of their favorite hotels, all located in central Paris and all visited, inspected and photographed by us. Read more in our Paris guide.

The post Paris: Favorite cafe, chocolate shop, and boulangerie “hangouts” appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Whatever you think, panini make a very affordable lunch. There are several great places around town where you can grab one while walking between the sights.

First, let’s address some basic concerns–how to order?

Which kind of bread?

When ordering a panino, lots of places, especially if they let you create your ownsandwich (these are truly the best and freshest!) will ask you which type of bread you’d like. Italian bars and cafès often serve different types of breads; here are the most common:

Ciabatta: Literally means “slipper,” it’s long and flat.

Rosetta: Puffy on the outside and shaped like a rosebud, it’s mostly hollow and airy on the inside.

Tartaruga: Gets its name from the word “turtle” because of its hard shell-like form.

Pizza bianca: This is essentially plain pizza bread without any sauce or toppings and tastes a bit saltier than the others.

How much?

How much should you expect to pay for a panino? Typically, a sandwich costs between €2.50-€4.00, depending on the neighborhood. Anything more than that is just a rip off.

Here are a couple of my favorite spots to hit up for a tasty panino:

Bar Amore
Via dei Banchi Nuovi, 41
00186 Rome (Piazza Navona)
Cost: €2.50

Bar Amore has been around since the 1940’s and is a hub for many locals, office workers and students in the area. The place gets crowded in the mornings for breakfast and is also a hot spot for a quick lunch. Unfortunately, there are only a few tables, so many people simply grab their sandwiches to go.

Marco, who I call the “panino man,” is quick at taking your order and whipping your sandwich into lunch art. He’s also handy at making suggestions (in charming, if broken, English) on what would work well for your sandwich. He offers goodies like scamorza cheese, tuna, prosciutto crudo, turkey breast, breaded chicken, hamburger patties, salame and all sorts of mixed grilled and boiled veggies.

If you’re nearby on a Tuesday, you must try the famous porchetta (pork) from Ariccia. It’s spettacolare!

La Sanwicheria al Nazareno
Largo Nazareno, 16/17
00187 Rome (Piazza di Spagna)
Cost: €4

This little sandwich shop just off Via del Tritone between Piazza di Spagnaand the Trevi Fountain opened in 2011 and definitely serves some interesting panini! They charge a bit more than the rest, but the quality of their ingredients definitely justify it. Everything is made fresh to order (as opposed to some bars where nobody knows how long things have been sitting there!).

You can put practically anything on your panino, including arugola, fennel, tartufo, prosciutto crudo, mortadella, and lots of other interesting and yummy ingredients.

Making your own panini from the supermarket

Instead of buying apanino from the bar, you can always buy the ingredients from the supermarket and make one yourself! Almost any supermarket will sell you a few slices of prosciutto crudo, turkey (tacchino) or salame. All you have to ask is for “due o tre fette di _____” and specify which meat you want. This typically won’t run you more than a euro, especially since you’re not buying 100 grams of cold cuts.

Most supermarkets have a bakery where you can pick out your bread. Ordering just one rosetta, ciabatta or a tartaruga will probably set you back between €0.30 and €0.60. If you get a piece of pizza bianca, it could cost you about a euro. They will even slice the bread for you, if you ask.

Lastly, you’ll need to grab some mozzarella. A portion of mozzarella will cost you between €1-€1.50 for the cheapest brand. And voilà! You have your own delicious homemadepanino for about €3! (Also read our article about shopping in a grocery store in Rome.)

Also in our guide: Looking for an affordable place to stay in central Rome? In our guide to Rome you’ll find our editors’ reviews of the city’s best affordable hotels, all located in the city center, near Piazza Navona, Termini Station, the Vatican and other central neighborhoods.

The post Rome Panini: How to find and order the best sandwiches appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.