London, Paris, Rome, and Amsterdam are definite stops on the student travel trail in Europe, and you need to know what's free in those sometimes spendy spots. Get a list of the top free things to do in each, and as a bonus, Barcelona and Madrid. Scroll down to see 'em all.
© Kathleen Crislip1. Visit Pere Lachaise cemetery, resting place of notable notables like Marcel Proust and Jim Morrison.
2. See free movies at Parc de la Villette.
3. Hit the Paris beach: volleyball-worthy sand on the Seine.
4. Fashion gawk: see what non-backpackers are wearing on aves Rue de Faubourg St. Honore and Avenue Montaigne. Wow.
5. Free Friday nights at the Louvre: just for those under 26.
© Kathleen Crislip1. Hang out in Piccadilly Circus: perfect people-watching place.
2. Take the iToors Soho Podcast Tour: see some spots where famous scribblers wrote, misbehaved or almost starved in sometimes not-so-long-ago London.
3. Tour the Tower of London with a Yeoman Warder: yeah, free! You can get a bonus free tour, too.
4. See the British Museum: one of the world's best.
5. See street art in Covent Garden; hit a market: check out some photos from spots like Covent Garden and Borough Market before you go.
Bonus to your London budgeting: find out about the top
budget London shopping spots for women. Read a
backpacker's London travel guide, too.
James Martin, About.com's European expert, calls Italy home part-time, and though he's no cheapskate, he knows a thing or two about what to see and do in bella Roma. In James's great list of the usual spendthrift's sights (scaling the Spanish Steps, forays to the Forum), get a bonus factoid: an Italian fellow named Roberto Cercelletta makes $180,000 USD scooping a bit more than three coins from the Trevi Fountain annually.
Yeah, so some (okay, all) of what you've heard that there is to do if you're walking on Amsterdam's wilder side are far from free. There's far more to this lovely city than the smoke and sin that get the notoriety, though, and About.com's resident Amsterdam expert, Shannon MacAllister, has put together a great list of free fun from her home in Amsterdam's
Oud Zuid, like the free ferry over the IJ.
Londoner Damian Corrigan spent some time in Spain as a temporary expat, working in hostels and teaching English and finding out what you'll like in beautiful Barcelona, like visiting the fully functioning (yeah, as a hospital) and architecturally gorgeous Hospital de Sant Pau or when the Picasso Museum is free, not to mention the best
free things to do in Madrid.
