Quick Answer
Eastern Europe: €30-50/day. Southern Europe: €50-80/day. Western/Northern Europe: €70-120/day. These are realistic mid-budget figures — not luxury, not sleeping rough. Hostels, street food, public transport, and free walking tours.
Budget Tiers by Region
Cheapest: Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic (€30-50/day). Mid-range: Spain, Portugal, Greece, Croatia, Italy outside major cities (€50-80/day). Expensive: France, UK, Netherlands, Germany, Scandinavia (€70-120/day). Very expensive: Switzerland, Norway, Iceland (€100-200/day). Choose your route based on budget — 2 weeks in Eastern Europe costs the same as 1 week in Scandinavia.
Accommodation Tips
Hostelworld for hostels (€15-35/night in Western Europe, €8-20 in Eastern). Booking.com for budget hotels. Couchsurfing is still active in smaller cities. Night trains save a hotel night — OBB Nightjet runs excellent routes (Vienna-Rome, Zurich-Berlin). Airbnb is no longer cheaper than hotels in most European cities after cleaning fees.
Transport
Eurail Pass: worth it for 4+ countries in 2+ weeks. Otherwise, point-to-point is often cheaper. Budget airlines (Ryanair, easyJet, Wizz Air): €15-60 one-way if you book ahead and pack light. FlixBus: €5-25 for intercity routes — the budget backbone. BlaBlaCar rideshare: often cheaper than buses. Trains: book 2-3 months ahead for the cheapest fares on high-speed routes.
Food
Supermarket meals: €3-6. Kebab/falafel/pizza slice: €3-5. Sit-down restaurant: €10-20. Beer in a pub: €3-7 (€1.50 in Prague, €8 in Oslo). The golden rule: eat lunch, not dinner. Many restaurants offer prix fixe lunch menus at 40-50% of dinner prices. Markets (Mercado da Ribeira in Lisbon, Mercato Centrale in Florence) offer gourmet food at reasonable prices.
Free Things That Are Actually Great
Free walking tours (tip-based) in every major city. Museums: many European museums have free days (first Sunday of the month in Paris, free in London always). Parks and gardens: Retiro (Madrid), Vondelpark (Amsterdam), English Garden (Munich). Churches and cathedrals: almost all are free. Beaches: all Mediterranean beaches are free (sun loungers cost €5-15).
Sample 2-Week Route on €1,000
Prague (3 nights, €35/day) → Budapest (3 nights, €35/day) → Split (2 nights, €50/day) → Dubrovnik (2 nights, €55/day) → Kotor, Montenegro (2 nights, €40/day). Total: ~€1,050 including transport. This covers accommodation, food, transport between cities, and 1-2 paid activities. Eastern and Southern Europe is where budget travel still thrives.