While visiting Munich, take a break from Wagner and the Biergarten by visiting the Frauenkirche, one of Bavaria’s most beloved Gothic structures. The Frauenkirche (”Cathedral of Our Lady”), a Catholic church located near the city’s Marienplatz square, sports twin domed towers and expansive vaulted ceilings. What’s more, admission is free!

Quick History

Munich’s Frauenkirche has been “in service” since 1488, although bombings during World War II destroyed much of its original facade. The interior boasts paintings spanning five centuries, along with the tomb of Emperor Ludwig IV of Bavaria and other items of interest. (For example, a mark on the church’s floor, known as the Teufelschritt, is said to be the devil’s footprint!)

Visiting the Frauenkirche

The cathedral is open daily, although visits are not permitted during services. (Take the advice of our friends at hidden europe magazine, however, and take part in a service!) The church offers guided tours starting at 2 PM every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Visitors can climb the towers for a great view, May through October.

For more information, check out the Munich Tourism Board’s official site and the section on the Frauenkirche (more detailed information is available on the site, in German). 

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“Artemis” by Rembrandt. One of the masterpieces on display at the Prado.

The Museo Nacional del Prado is Madrid’s most famous museum. Opened to the public in 1819, today it boasts a world-class collection of European artwork, including more than 7,000 works spanning from the 12th century to the early 19th century. At any time, about 1,300 pieces of art are on display.

The museum started out as a royal collection of art, and visitors can still get a feel for the varying tastes of monarch’s past. The Prado is especially acclaimed for works by Spanish painters, including Velazquez, El Greco, and Goya, as well as “foreigners” Titian, Bosch, Rubens, and Rembrandt.

Visiting the Prado Museum…

The museum is open daily from 9 AM to 8 PM, and closed on Mondays.

General admission to the museum costs €6 if tickets are bought at the museum’s ticket office. Advance tickets (allowing you to skip the line) can be purchased online through the Prado’s website, for €9.

…for free

However, the Prado offers free admission at the end of every day for two hours (three on Sunday). From Tuesday through Saturday, the museum’s doors are wide open from 6 PM to 8 PM, and on Sunday from 5 PM to 8 PM.

With so much to see, we’d suggest visiting the museum multiple times for free. Popping in to tackle one artist or one section of the museum is not only doable in two hours, but could help prevent “museum burn-out.”

Tip: Check out the museum’s recommended list of 15 masterpieces on the Prado’s website. This virtual tour offers historical insights into the collection’s most famous paintings.

Also see: our list of budget tips for Madrid and our reviews of budget hotels in Madrid.

Next stop: Munich! 

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In London, it’s no big secret that that many activities surrounding Trafalgar Square are free. You can view the paintings at the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery, or hang out in the square and check out its sculptures without paying a pence.

Lunchtime concerts at St. Martin’s in the Fields

However, an oft-overlooked freebie occurs several times a week at the nearby church of St. Martin’s in the Fields. On most Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays, St. Martin’s offers its guests free lunchtime concerts. Music ranges from classical to experimental, often featuring special performances.

Doors open at 12:30 and the concerts begin at 1 PM. (Although the concert is free, St. Martin’s suggests a donation of £3.50 to cover costs.)

Find a list of schedule of concerts, including the (more expensive) evening and jazz concerts, on the St. Martin’s in the Fields website.

And, when the concert culminates, hop over to the National Gallery and get your art on! Stay tuned tomorrow, Cheapos, for more free tips. Next stop: Madrid.

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Lisbon is a city full of fabulous museums and botanical gardens… with entrance fees. However, Parque Eduardo VII, in central Lisbon, is a happy, freebie exception.

The Parque Eduardo

Named after King Edward VII of Britain (following his 1903 visit to Portugal), the park boasts two greenhouses (”estufas”) filled with tropical plants. These beauties sit atop a hill on the park’s west side garden, also known as the “Estufa Fria.” While entrance to the greenhouses isn’t free, the view is. Feast your eyes on the city panorama, stretching out to the River Tagus! (If you don’t mind shelling out a little cash, the greenhouses only charges €1.20 for admission.)

The rest of the park is filled with neatly-trimmed hedges, winding paths, plentiful flowers, and a pretty lake. Some scattered statues and pillars celebrate Portugal’s 1974 Revolution, and a sports pavilion on the park’s eastern side hosts concerts, as well as Lisbon’s annual book fair.

Visiting the park

The Parque Eduardo VII is open daily from dawn till dusk. Take either the Marquês de Pombal or the Parque metro. We also have enjoyed walking to the park from downtown Lisbon, strolling up the tree-lined Avenida da Liberdade and taking in the town.

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Wawel Royal Castle is an architectural marvel located in Krakow, Poland. The fortress stands prominently on Wawel Hill, an area that’s been inhabited for thousands of years. (Seriously, it’s believed that mammoth hunters lived on the hill 50,000 years ago.) During the Renaissance, King Sigismund I ”The Old” commissioned the finest artists around to decorate Wawel Castle as his royal palace. Today, the Castle, and the hill, are must-see attractions for anyone visiting Krakow.

Visiting Wawel Castle

General admission tickets to the castle, which include entrance into most rooms and exhibits, cost 15 zloty (about $7.50).  But, visit the castle on a Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. (from April 1 to October 31) or on a Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (from November 1 to March 31), and your entrance is free.

What free admission allows you to see:

The Lost Wawel: This exhibit, which is permanent and first opened in 1975, showcases the archaeological findings at the base of Wawel Castle. Pass through old Renaissance kitchens and a temple for the Virgin Mary, and check out what remains of Gothic-era defense walls and fortifications.  

State Rooms: You’re free to traipse through the royal apartments, an impressive collection of rooms that could occupy your entire day. The visit includes many rooms: the suite for the Governors of Krakow with its original Renaissance wooden ceilings, the ornate “Envoy Stairs” leading up to the “Envoys’ Room” (and another well-crafted ceiling), the Governor’s parlor, the royal chapel, and the Senator’s Hall. (And, that’s just the first floor!)

Join us again tomorrow, dear Cheapos, as find something fabulous and free in Lisbon! 

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On the South bank of the Arno River, up a majestic hill and down a winding, cobblestone path known as the Viale Michelangelo, you will find the Piazza Michelangelo (sometimes referred to as Piazzale Michelangelo).

The piazza was constructed in the 1890s, beautifully landscaped and lined with copies of Michelangelo’s sculptures. Today, look past the street vendors and souvenir stands to the unbeatable view. Take in the rolling hills of Fiesole behind you, and the spectacular unobstructed Florentine cityscape below. At the square’s center is a bronze replica of Michelangelo’s David.

Take a few minutes to visit the church of San Salvatore al Monte, which still houses original Renaissance paintings and artwork. The church is free and open to the public, and remains the “kissing cousin” to the Church of San Miniato al Monte, which is a (very worthwhile) 10-15 minute walk further uphill.

Getting to Piazza Michelangelo

The walk up to Piazza Michelangelo can take awhile, depending on where you’re starting from in Florence. If you’re climbing the Viale Michelangelo, allow at least an hour, but don’t be afraid to linger longer. The trek, along a picturesque and cobbled lane, is well worth it. Once you reach the piazza, you’ll be glad you hiked it.

For help in planning your walk, we recommend the walk outlined in DK Eyewitness Travel Guide’s “Florence & Tuscany”. Their walk takes two hours and brings you to Piazzale Michelangelo, before continuing on to San Miniato al Monte.

Join us again tomorrow, Cheapos, as we travel to Krakow, and give you more free tips! And, make sure you read our other tips on how to see Michelangelo’s work for free in Florence.

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Photo courtesy of hidden europe magazine

Cheapos clearly like to get under the skin of a city, probing well beyond the regular sights to get a feel for what makes a community tick. Faith is often still part of the fabric of European life, but getting a feel for it as a foreigner isn’t always easy – unless you happen to be a churchgoer.

Churches of all denominations (and mosques and synagogues, too) usually welcome casual visitors to their services, provided that the stranger dresses appropriately, adopts a reverent demeanour, and does not attempt to take photographs during services.

Get thee to Church

York Minster for Evensong is a very different place from the echo-filled space around which tourists wander during the day. The Minster is transformed into something altogether more meaningful. Similarly Vespers in St Mark’s in Venice will leave you in awe of the space for which Monteverdi wrote such evocative music in a way that you’ll simply miss if you shuffle round with the tourist crowds. The interior of the newly restored Frauenkirche in Dresden seems, with its strange mix of pastel shades, like a tribute to poor taste during the day when tourists traipse through the place; attend a service and the space assumes a different meaning and is altogether more pleasing.

Whether it be at a grand cathedral like Chartres or Milan, or in a humble parish church in a small village in the Alps, Mass on a Sunday morning will only take an hour out of your day. This sedentary hour may give some quiet insights into local life. Take in a service at a Methodist chapel in Wales for a good glimpse into Welsh life. What is modern Poland without Catholicism? And in hundreds of communities across Russia, devotional zeal knows no bounds. A visit to an Orthodox service for the Divine Liturgy on a Sunday is a chance to witness some fine liturgical theatre that offers rich insights into life in Russia.

Take in a service and you’ll save on a few admission fees into the bargain. No church has yet had the temerity to charge those who come to pray!

This is the latest in a summer series of postings by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries. The Berlin-based duo are the editors of hidden europe magazine, a publication that explores the patchwork quilt of cultures that make up modern Europe.

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Photo by ladgie353

A quick tour of Southeast Dublin will land you in the cobblestoned Merrion Square, home of many of Dublin’s government buildings. Here you’ll find at least two great structures well worth a visit.

Leinster House, the former residence of the Duke of Leinster, today houses Parliament, and is surrounded by gardens and sculptures. Nearby, on Upper Merrion Street, stands the Department of the Taoiseach, which is similar to the Prime Minister, and also houses the Department of Finance and the Attorney General. Dubliners, known to scoff at any over-the-top pomp, sometimes refer to the ornate building as “Chas Mahal,” a reference to the late Charles Haughey, the sixth Taoiseach. (Most residents, however, simply refer to the structures as “Government buildings.” Simple, but it works.)

All government buildings here are free and open to the public. You must book a tour in advance (for groups only) if you wish to see Parliament, but show up during normal hours of operation at Leinster House and the Department of the Taoiseach and you can view current exhibits and take advantage of free guided tours, free tickets for which can be picked up at the nearby National Gallery (also a free sight).

Once you’ve completed your tour, be sure to take a gander at the structure at One, Merrion Square. This Georgian structure, where Oscar Wilde once lived, is now a museum.

More information, including tour times, can be found on the Dublin Tourism Board’s website. 

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Things can get pricy pretty quickly in Copenhagen, but you can still grab some wheels for free. The city’s free bike program, called “Bycyklen Kobenhavn,” was a pioneer in the urban bike program phenomenon. The city provides 1,300 free bicycles to anyone to zip around the city center.

The program is popular with visitors and residents alike, doubles as a rehabilitation program for locals, and is environmentally progressive. (The city even gave a city bike to Bill Clinton, when he visited in 1997.) In short, the program is just another example of why the Danes are so cool.

It’s a straight-forward system:

1) Find your way to one of the city’s 125 bike parking areas. They’re all located in the city center.

2) Leave a small deposit (a DKK 20 coin, worth about $3) and ride off with your bike.

3) Stay in the city center. The bikes are easy to identify, and you might get some looks if you’re outside the central zone. According to the official website, “If you ride on a city bike outside the zone, you might get fined by the police.” Also, remember not to ride on any of the city’s pedestrian-only streets (you can walk the bike, however).

4) When you’re finished, return the bike to one of the 125 bike parking areas, whereupon you’ll get back your deposit.

The free-bike zone.

For more information on the program, visit the city’s official website for the free bike program.

So simple.

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Built in 1905, the Fisherman’s Bastion is a wide, turreted monument in the neo-Romanesque style of architecture. You can reach it by crossing over from the ‘Pest side of Budapest (where most budget hotels are) and walking up the impressive Castle Hill. It’s pretty easy to spot the Bastion, which used to mark the site of a medieval fishing market. Its giant, white set of cloistered buildings are strung together in what appears to be one long castle-like lighthouse.

While it costs 350 HUF (about $2.30) to reach the top tower of the Bastion and snap photos from the viewing platform, you can explore the rest of the mammoth monument for free—and the views are pretty much the same.

The whole thing looks like a medieval wonderland. Hungarians refer to the Bastion in their native tongue as, “Halaszbastya”. It was originally intended for basic decorative purposes, but was constructed in such a way as to encourage exploration by tourists and locals alike. Highlights of the view include St. Stephen’s Basilica, the Chain Bridge, Margeret Island, Parliament, and an unencumbered view of the Danube and all of ‘Pest across the way.

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