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.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Author, reporter, and NPR correspondent Scott Huler recently returned from an epic journey tracing the tale of Homer’s “Odyssey.” After reading “No-Man’s Lands,” his insightful recounting of the trip, we asked him for advice on planning a similar journey—on a budget.

Scott had some great advice:

When Odysseus set off on an epic voyage, he had some non-cheapo advantages: his ships were filled with treasure from the Trojan War, and if supplies ran low it was perfectly reasonable to come ashore and make a brief pirate raid on a coastal town.

That wasn’t going to work for me. When I set out to retrace his journey from Troy to Ithaca, I had little more than a backpack, a tight budget, and a pregnant wife at home. Just the same, I found the cheaper-than-cheap backpack route from Troy to Ithaca perfect for me. I had more than a dozen stops to make. Add to that Athens and the tiny Turkish town of Kesan, and my journey covered around 20 cities in Turkey, Greece, Tunisia, Italy (where I visited the catacombs in Rome), France, and Malta. Finally, I arrived on the western tip of Sicily.

Here are five things you should know if you ever make an epic journey on a small-scale budget:

1. Get your doner on!

In Turkey, if it’s spinning on a vertical spit, it’s probably doner, which is like Greek gyro and delicious almost beyond imagination. But beware: If it’s spinning on a horizontal spit it’s probably kokorec, which is sheep guts, and tastes like sheep guts. If you suddenly find yourself buying kokorec, just get them to put a lot of pepper on it. You can get a few bites down before you turn the corner and find a trash can. Be sure to smile and wave at the vendor. You’ll be a good story for them.

2. Use your words.

Don’t be embarrassed to take a guided tour in the language of your choice: you left home to understand people and places different from you, right? You’ll learn a lot more, and if you stick with trustworthy sources (the museum’s free audio guide rather than the guy who starts plucking at your sleeve after you walk in), you’ll pay only a reasonable fee augmented by, of course, a reasonable tip. I had a guided tour of Troy that got my journey started just right, and I might have missed some very cool stuff had I been too savvy for it all.

3. Buy cheap(er) overnight accommodation.

Here’s how. Take an overnight ferry and pay the extra euros for a room. If you’re traveling alone, pay the addition for a single. Defending territory on couches in saloon bars or hunkering down in chilly winds on deck sounds romantic in a post-college kind of way, but unless you’re absolutely destitute, the extra € 20 will be well worth it, turning a sleepless night into a night of almost delightful, private peace.

4. Take the bus (especially in Turkey).

Not only is the bus one of the cheapest—and greenest—modes of transport, but it’s civilized beyond measure. In Turkey, for example, where I rode the bus everywhere, there’s air conditioning, oriental rugs down the center aisle, free cakes, water, and orange soda. Plus every couple hours or so an attendant brings around a little dash of bergamot cologne. Talk about luxury for less! (Visit the main bus terminal in Istanbul to learn more or to get moving.)

5. When in Rome, stay near the train station.

In Rome, I loved the Hotel Stromboli. Tourist guides will tell you to avoid the hotels near the Stazione Termini, but I think they’re crazy. Cheap rooms abound (if you’re clever, you can get them at the Stromboli for 50 euros or so), and there are tons of paninotecas with delicious and cheap hot sandwiches that keep travelers fueled for a couple euros a pop. Plus, you’ll find plenty of nearby nasoni fountains to keep water bottles full for free and you have constant, convenient access to the train station. No place in Rome is too far to walk from there and when it’s time to head to the airport, that’s exactly where the cheap buses depart from. There are dozens of cheap, clean, and safe hotels in this unfairly maligned neighborhood. It’s where you want to be.

See EuroCheapo’s recommendations for hotels South and North of Termini Station in Rome.

About the author: Scott Huler has written for such newspapers as the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Los Angeles Times and such magazines as Backpacker, Fortune, and Child. His award-winning radio work has been heard on “All Things Considered” and “Day to Day” on National Public Radio and on “Marketplace” and “Splendid Table” on American Public Media. He has been a staff writer for the Philadelphia Daily News and the Raleigh News & Observer and a staff reporter and producer for Nashville Public Radio. He was the founding and managing editor of the Nashville City Paper. He sometimes serves as guest host on “The State of Things” on WUNC-FM. No-Man’s Lands is his fifth book. He lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, with his wife, the writer June Spence; they have a son and another child on the way.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Amsterdam is one of the best European cities for cycling. See the city, speed along the canals, and act like a local.

Ready to roll? First, grab a good map. The tourism office facing Centraal Station offers a bike-specific map with highlighted biking paths and touring suggestions.

Then, go get a bike! Where?

Mike’s Bike Tours
Kerkstraat 134

One of the most popular bike rentals in Amsterdam, Mike’s (along with other rental agencies) requires you to leave some sort of deposit when you rent a bike:  your passport, an imprint of your credit card, or a deposit of €200. They provide you with two bike locks, and will even demonstrate how to use them!

(A word of caution: Mike’s also has a location in Munich and it can be a bit tricky to navigate their web site, so if you decide to book online, make sure you’re on the Mike’s Amsterdam page!)

Rates - 1/2 day: €5 (€8 with insurance); 1 day: €7 (€10 with insurance).

Frederic Rental Bike
Brouwerstgracht, 78

All bikes go for €10 a day (no hourly rentals) and Frederic requires a deposit of either a credit card or passport. Insurance is included in the price.

The advantages of renting from Frederic are simple: It’s cheap, you don’t have to deposit any money, and the bikes are free of giant logos that make them look like dorky, commercial rental bikes. These bikes are “originals,” and thus great for cycling hipsters. Also, Frederic’s staff claims they are “gastronomical freaks” and will fill you with their culinary expertise before you speed off.  While we don’t recommend eating your meals on wheels, you’ll at least now the best places to stop for a meal.

Canal Bike
Weteringschans 26- 1 hg

Ok, so this isn’t a traditional bike company. Canal Bike only rents “canal bikes,” which are pedal boats for two, three, and four people. With pedal boats, you’re free to tour the city via its famous waterways. Canal Bike holds onto a €50 deposit due at the time of your booking. Dock your boat at the Rijksmuseum, Anne Frank House, or countless other city attractions.

Rate - €8 per person for 1-2 people;  €7 per person for more than 2 people.

Mac Bike
Multiple locations around the city

If you’re making a group booking (10 people or more), we think Mac is the best plan of attack. They offer great rental discounts and even lead some of the most unique tours in town, grouped by interest (gay, architecture, even Hans Brinker).

Rates - From €6 (3 hours) to €25 (1 day), depending on type of bike and length of rental.

Bike City
68 - 70 Bloemgracht

Bike City is great if you plan to rent for more than a day. They offer really reasonable 5-day rates (€34-44.50) and prices are significantly reduced if you rent for more than 5 days.

Rates - €10-14.50 per 24 hour period.

Note: Prices are shown for half-day and full-day rentals, although multiple day rentals are available through most bike agencies.  A half-day rental makes sense for a fun tour of the town, although real cycle nuts (we see that Lance Armstrong bracelet!) and tourists looking to use their bike for daily transportation will want a longer rental.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Tourist discount cards can provide great value and a major convenience. But, they can also create a major headache when trying to evaluate their value. Today, we turn to Barcelona…

The Barcelona Card

The city-run Barcelona Turisme office issues the Barcelona Card as a two-day pass (€25), three-day pass (€30), four-day pass (€34), and five-day pass (€40). Prices are 20% cheaper for children, and all passes booked in advance on the official website receive a 10% discount.

Benefits of the card are varied. Pass holders enjoy, among other things:

• Free public transportation throughout most of Barcelona (including the airport train).
• Free admission to 12 museums, and reduced admission (50%-10% off) to another 20 museums.
• Various other discounts, ranging from 10% to 35% off at cultural, entertainment, leisure, and nightlife spots.

Is the card a good deal?

Well, it’s complicated. We fired up our old Commodore 64, tapped out some quick algebra equations and came to this conclusion: The card isn’t for us.

Quite simply, most of the museums offering free admission with the card are not on our list of “must visits,” or, if they are, they’re already pretty cheap. (For example, the Botanical Garden only costs €3.50 full-price.) Most of the museums that we’re certain to visit offer only discounts. (For example, the Picasso Museum is 50% off €9, the chocolate museum is 30% off €3.90, and three major art museums are only 20% off their admission charges of €6-8.50). Other non-museum discounts would just get lost in the shuffle (although we appreciated the 20% discount offered by the Michael Collins Irish Bar).

The transportation savings, however, could make the card a deal. If you were already going to purchase a three-day city transit pass for €13.70, you could upgrade to the Barcelona Card three-day pass for €30, which would include the transit pass. Is it worth the addition €16.30? Perhaps, if you take advantage of the 12 free museums. You decide.

After all the calculations, we had stressed ourselves out trying to make it work. That’s no way to spend a vacation.

A better option: The articketBCN

We prefer the cheaper (and less-stressful) articketBCN, which offers free admission to six major art museums in Barcelona for €20 and is valid for six months.

Museums include the Museu Picasso, Fundacio Caixa Catalunya, Fundacio Antoni Tapies, Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA), CCCB, MNAC, and Fundacio Joan Miro. Tickets may be purchased at any of the museums or at the tourist information center. We’d combine our articket with a T-10 pass transit book of 10 rides on the Metro or bus for €6.90.

And then we’d chill out and enjoy some art!

Popularity: 13% [?]

Emma Clarke, the ubiquitous voice behind “Mind the Gap” and “Stand clear of the closing doors” in London’s Underground, has been fired by the Tube, according to news reports published in London today.

The sacking of Emma took place because the voice-over professional published a number of quite funny faux-announcements on her personal website (which is now so popular that it has become almost impossible to access). These spoof recordings poke fun at perverts, Americans, and the Tube itself.

Some examples:

“We would like to remind our American tourist friends that you are almost certainly talking too loudly.”

“Would the passenger in the red shirt pretending to read the paper but who is actually staring at that woman’s chest please stop. You are not fooling anyone, you filthy pervert.”

The 36-year old Clarke also admits to never riding the Tube anymore, because it’s “dreadful.” In the words of the Times of London, it looks like it’s “the end of the line” for Ms Clarke.

Perhaps she might try “Mind the Gaffe”?

Popularity: 4% [?]

Even the most seasoned European traveller can be caught unawares by rail schedules changes. Most European rail companies introduce major timetable changes over the second weekend in December, and this year there are some big alterations in the offing.

There is no more civilised way of making a big hop across Europe than on a night train, and the new schedules see a whole raft of new night train services. Take Amsterdam for example. The Dutch city has always featured on Europe’s night train schedules, but for 2008 Amsterdam secures new daily services to Copenhagen, Dresden, Milan, Minsk, Moscow, Prague, and Warsaw.

For the first time for many years Switzerland and Bavaria will benefit from direct overnight trains to Poland and points east, with new direct night sleeper services from Basel SBB and Munich to Warsaw and Moscow. Fixed fares apply for travel on most European night train routes, often with little advantage for railpass holders. A one-way journey in a shared sleeper costs from €69. For those on a budget, couchettes are priced from €49 and a one-way overnight in a reclining seat begins at €29.

The changes are of course not limited to night train services. New for 2008 are a daily direct train from both Vienna and Prague to Stralsund on Germany’s Baltic coast, a very handy new daytime train from Kraków to Budapest (less than nine hours on a beautiful route through the mountains that straddle the Polish-Slovakian border), a new fast direct daytime service from Paris to Munich (just over six hours) to supplement the long-standing Paris-Munich night train, a new direct Berlin to Copenhagen link (where the entire train gets shipped on a ferry between Denmark and Germany), and a new direct once daily train from Geneva Airport to Venice.

Rail travel in Europe can challenge even the most competent travel planner. Web sites like those of the Deutsche Bahn can help. But there is really no substitute for the Thomas Cook European Rail Timetable, a gem of a book updated each month. For many savvy European travellers, it is required bedtime reading.

This is the fifth in a series of fortnightly blog posts by the editors of hidden europe.

Popularity: 23% [?]

We were pleased to see that Eric Rayman at the New York Times recently arrived in Paris and immediately hopped on a Vélib’ bike rental. In yesterday’s travel section, Rayman describes the joys of pedaling down the Boulevard St-Germain (and the terrors of biking through Place de la Concorde).

We’ve been big Vélib’ fans since it was launched this spring by popular socialist mayor Bertrand Delanoë, and have even eyed it with envy (especially one Cheapo in this office, who bikes his way through lower Manhattan every morning, along streets that are decidedly unfriendly to cyclists). The program has put 15,000 bikes on the streets of Paris, available for short-term rental for almost nothing from more than 1,000 hop-on and drop-off stations.

BudgetTravel.com pointed out in a post this summer that many Americans were unable to rent bikes from the Vélib’ program, as the kiosks were only programmed to accept credit cards with “smart chips,” which are the norm in Europe. Rayman notes that the machines now accept American Express cards issued in the US, a sign, perhaps, of a “warming of Franco-American relations.”

Consider us warmed!

See also: Vélib official site.

Popularity: 5% [?]

There are changes ahead for the infamously conservative Parisian RATP. On July 1, the price of a single trip metro ticket will increase from €1.40 to €1.50.

Some slight improvements will come with this price hike. Metro tickets will be valid for an hour and a half after purchase, enabling passengers to transfer between buses and trams. (Transfering from buses or trams to the metro, however, will not be an option.)

Popularity: 6% [?]

Photo by Jun7000

You’ve heard of hotels for women only, now there are taxis which only serve the fairer sex. The Pink Taxi Company was launched in Moscow in August 2006, modeling the all-women drivers, women passengers-only format found on the streets of London and Tokyo.

The launch followed a spate of violence against women taxi passengers in Moscow, and has proved so popular that the original ‘fleet’ of two cars has now grown to 20. It has its own website at www.pinktaxi.ru and can be booked by telephone telephone at 940 76 76.

The company has also expanded its range of services. Now it will even pick the kids up from school and make your grocery run for you. Its main advantage for Cheapos, though, is as a godsend for women in London or Moscow on their own. After all, what price can you put on peace of mind?

Popularity: 4% [?]

Photo by Iceblinkbaby

We can’t imagine an inefficient Viennese transportation system. Not only do buses, trains, and trams arrive and depart more or less at the expected time, passengers can also map out their itinerary using suggested routes and means of transport via Wiener Linien online.

Recently, the government of Vienna announced that they will increase the prices of tickets along with the parking ticket charges, much to the anger of the opposing political parties and people on the street.

According to Verkehrsverbund Ost Region, the company that manages transportation in eastern and southern parts of Austria, increased ticket prices only make sense. For the last five years ticket prices have remained more or less stable, while vast investments in security and quality have been made. Case in point: last year the U1 metro line was extended five stations, to Leopoldau.

On June 1, the new tariffs will take effect. The price of a single journey purchased in advance will increase from €1.50 to €1.70. A complete list of fare hikes can be seen here.

Popularity: 7% [?]