If you're from the UK or anywhere else in Europe, then consider yourself lucky that you have a great range of the most iconic, and beautiful cities in the world all within a 3-hour flight. Most European cities have a stigma of being ridiculously expensive, such as Paris, the most expensive European city there is, but this list gives a great insight to some of the loveliest and most picturesque cities in the continent, all while keeping in budget.

Here are some of the most underrated cities in Europe that I intend to visit over my lifetime. This list has been compiled through research and by using Pinterest photos, obvs. But I will be sure to add a comment if I've been before!

1.     Bruges, Belgium

Every single day feels like a week as I am counting down the days to Paris - time is ticking too slowly and excitement is really taking over. It is weird because Berlin  definitely overtakes Paris on my favourite European cities list, but I really just cannot contain my excitement for Paris this time.

Anyway, I have recently purchased three nights and four full days in Paris for just £114 - that includes coach transfers to London, a night in London, Eurostar both ways and accommodation.

Pretty awesome, right? I am trying to save money this year, which is why I can't really afford to splash out on expensive European cities right now, so this was ideal!

Paris is quite an expensive city, and here, I am going to talk about how I managed to get this fabulous deal.



So, sit back and let me tell you how you can also take advantage of this amazing opportunity:

Accommodation (£31)
The Sun, as in that horrible newspaper that always prints terrible stories that claim are 'news', they often offer holiday parks for either £15 or £7pp each year, and it just so happens that there is a caravan park just 20 minutes away from Disneyland, which is fab if you know how to drive in another country, otherwise it is about an hour away by transport.

I actually do not buy The Sun, but there are some seriously nice people online that share the codes that you need to be able to go through the booking process. If you have a Google these will come up. If you want a nice little break in Cornwall or Devon, then these codes are valid for that too.

I think our accommodation came to a total of £62, including our booking fee. As there are two of us going, me and the same bestie that came to Edinburgh in my most recent post, it charged us £30pp/pn instead of £15, as the caravan actually sleeps 4. The caravan park is called Est-Champigny and is located just west of Paris, a 15 minute metro into the centre.

Eurostar (£58)
I never considered the EuroStar until the EasyJet flights from Bristol arrived in the evening, therefore wasting an entire day in the lovely city of romance. We checked out EuroStar and there were trains that arrived at 9am, therefore giving us an entire extra day in city. Oh, and not to mention that it was only £29 each way - BARGAIN. 

Our train to Paris leaves at 5am, which is early but going to be totally worth it for a whole extra day of fun and sightseeing, right? Our train returns to London at 5pm, so there is still time to get a bus back to lovely Cardiff. I would definitely consider the EuroStar again and I can't believe that I have never thought of it before. For this cheap and for extra time away, it is definitely worth it. And it saves the faff with airports and check in too!

Transfers to London (£12)
I am from Cardiff which is still a good 3 hour drive from London, so I guess you're wondering how on EARTH I am going to get to the EuroStar at St Pancras station at stupid o'clock in the morning without paying a shizz load on Central London parking.



I have used the National Express a few times and other than my last terrible experience where my driver forgot to stop to let the other driver on, so we had to wait an extra 45 mins at the services (we got refunded for this as the service was damn right terrible!), they've all been pretty ok.

Anyway, if these times don't suit you, then MegaBus is always an option, which is what we have used this time. These are great options as the return price is almost ALWAYS lower than £15, which kicks the train fare by an absolute mile. We paid £12 return for our coaches to London next month, with the perfect times for us too. We leave at 6pm and get to St Pancras at 11pm. So that give us six hours until our EuroStar leaves the station..

London Accommodation (£13)
So, what are we going to do in those six hours? London accommodation prices are absolutely ridiculous - am I correct or am I correct? You're looking at £100 a night at LEAST, for a B&B near the station. My bestie has previously stayed in the Generator Hostel in London and said that it was a good experience, considering it is a hostel.

I am kind of over my fear of hostels thanks to travelling Asia with the girls. You kind of realise that everyone is as weary of everyone else, and nobody is there to kill you. Our hostel cost just £13 each for a bed in a unisex room of 6. So hopefully, we will be able to get a few hours shut eye and get ready for our EuroStar without having to sleep at a train station!

Overall..
So there you go, this is how I managed to get myself an absolute bargain of a deal for three nights in Paris. The total cost came to £114 and hopefully, everything goes well. We have two days in Disneyland too but we added these out of choice. Paris is one of the most expensive cities in Europe so the money that we have saved on accommodation and travel will definitely be spent as spending money once we are over there. I will be sure to share our experience once we return on July 16!

I used to say that living in Cardiff was boring as there isn't much to do, but realistically, it is the capital of Wales and there absolutely loads of great places to visit. Exploring your city like a tourist can be so fun, and it will help you view Cardiff with another pair of eyes.

Here, I take a little look at some of the best tourist attractions that Cardiff has to offer. You'll be amazed at how much fun you can have at these.

National Museum- When I was younger, I used to absolutely love going to the museum. There is so much there such as great artwork and the biggest fake mammoth you will ever see. My favourite part of the museum used to be watching the window of ants doing their hard-work at leaf collecting, just like Bugs Life. Oh, but the museum is actually closed on Mondays, I found this out the hard way.

Cardiff Castle- Who'd have thought that a town centre could have a great, huge Norman castle bang in the centre? Well Cardiff has exactly that. I keep meaning to go back here as I love it! The décor and interior is so beautiful and sometimes, they even have some great events going on throughout the week, so it worth checking that out. If not, then the Cardiff Castle tour is always a great way to spend the day with adults priced at £12.50.

Principality Stadium-  If there isn't anything going on while you're visiting Cardiff, then that really is such a shame because they host some great events - I saw Beyonce earlier this week on behalf of work, and she was incred. You can always take a tour if you still want to experience the stadium - £12.50 for adults!

Cardiff Story Museum- Everyone loves a free activity, right? Discover Cardiff's history in the Old LIbrary where there is a completely free, interactive and fun gallery awaiting. It is so interesting to see how Cardiff has changed over the years; developing from a small market town in the 1300s to the cool, cosmopolitan city that it is today.

Roath Park- I am so lucky to have this is within walking distance from my front door. When my dog was alive, I’d head down to the lake pretty much all of the time. At the end of the day, it is just a park but it is a lovely stroll, especially in summer around the lighthouse. You can even jump onto a pedalo or canoe for a nice ride with the ducks!

Wales’ Millennium Centre- My favourite building in Cardiff! Head down to Cardiff Bay for the great event centre, where some of Cardiff's top theatre events take place. I saw Titanic just a few weeks ago and that was truly wonderful. Thankfully, I have Wicked coming up soon which will be another great night. You can take a wander around the centre during the day and there is a gift shop, coffee shop and even a top-rated restaurant called Ffresh.

Cardiff Bay- Even if you don’t particularly want to see the Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay is a lovely place for a stroll, especially in the sun. If you are into Torchwood, then visit Lanto’s Shrine, or, jump onto the water taxi and have a ride over to the Barrage. There are plenty of bars and restaurants here too and it really is so beautiful in the summer.

St Fagan’s National Museum of History- This is definitely my favourite place in Cardiff yet I always somehow forget about it when I am trying to think of things to do. It is a small village of over 40 buildings from different time periods- it still smells like old times! Plus there is a museum with loads of different bibs and bobs too. Oh and also, there are pigs and sheep roaming about which is always great as I love animals. Plus, they often have food stalls too so perhaps check out when their next food fest is.

Adam and I came back from Mexico the week before last, and we honestly had the best time. We stayed in the nicest all-inclusive 5* resort, Grand Riviera Princess, which was part of a complex of three hotels, and we absolutely did not want to come home, I could have quite easily stayed there for another two weeks. We have been on city breaks together, but not a luxurious holiday like this as I went to Asia last year, so this was our first holiday as a couple - aww!