I spent less than 200 euros for 4 days in Madrid and here's how I did it.

You do not know me well if you do not know that I love traveling but I am also always broke. If you follow me on social media you probably know that two months ago I spent four days in Spain with my best friend. "So how did you pay for the trip Cris if you claim you are always broke? Traveling is expensive!". First of all, traveling is not expensive, it all depends on what you want to do and what you are willing to spend, and second, I just spent two-hundred euros for four days.

What was included?

• Flights from and back to Milan;
• Our apartment for three nights;
• Dinner out;
• Lunch out;
• Breakfast out;
• Drinks at night (I love Sangria!);
• Visits to few terraces of the city.

"No way you spent just that amount for everything you just listed!" Yes way, I did spend only that, and so can you. You just need to plan your trip wisely. I do not mean to schedule everything because you kind of lose all the fun by doing it, and also because you can plan all you want but things will be different anyway. You just need a notebook to write down a few things like:

• What you want to do and see;
• How much you are willing to spend for transportation;
• How much you can afford to spend on food.

El viaje: La comida.

We had an apartment with a little tiny kitchen so we were able to cook something a couple of evenings. We decided to have dinner out at least once, also because we were on the other side of the city and it was better that way. We also drank Sangria with some chips and olives prior to dinner. It was a lot of fun to see the sun setting at the Temple of Debob. The only time we had breakfast on the go was the last day when we checked out of our apartment. We were basically forced to eat out but we did not mind because we planned it that way, we needed to try churros with hot chocolate (even if it was June and kind of hot, we did what the Spanish do!). Lunch was always out, our first day we spent something like two euros and thirty cents on a glass of beer and a small sandwich with frittata and cheese. Then the other days we got empanadas from a market hall, bocadillos con calamares for a quick stop and then paella and beer in a local restaurant. The very last day we bought a pasta-salad worth one euro and twenty-six cents, I will never forget that. The taste was horrible and it was funny because the little container said "Italian Pasta"... very Italian! D:

Metro o caminar?

Even though Madrid has hills it is still possible to walk around pretty much anywhere, at least for me and my wild soul. So we walked an average of twenty-five / thirty kilometers per day and we spent only ten euros on transportation: five euros for leaving the airport on our arrival and five euros to go back to the airport on departure day. By the end of the trip, we were tanned and in great shape, lol!

Monumentos.

My friend and I also decided that we were not going to get in line to see anything, we were there only four days and did not want to waste time while waiting for our turn. So the only places we paid a few euros for are terraces: Circulo de Bellas Artes andTeraza Cibeles. We also went up on the El Corte Ingles for a free view.

Resolución:

Traveling on a budget is possible. I do not walk everywhere just because I do not want to spend a few euros on transportation, because if I have to take it and feel exhausted I do, but I love walking so it was not a big deal for me to do it. Also, walking is way better. You can discover narrow streets that you would not even know they are there if you took the metro and spent some time only in the touristy places. Food plays a big part when I travel because I want to taste what is local, but this does not mean eating at a restaurant for every single meal of your day for the entire duration of your trip. And lastly, you can still see a lot of the monuments without having to pay. I observed the city from above, I saw beautiful cathedrals while I was walking, who needs to pay?

- Cristian

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