Rick Steves' Smart Tip To Eat Well In Europe Without Overspending

Pro traveler Rick Steves is full of useful tips for eating well on a budget while traveling. Some of his hints — for example, opting for street food instead of sit-down meals — are fairly self-explanatory. But he has one particular tip that feels a bit like a cheat code for getting full meals at a discount price while traveling Europe: Search for cafeterias where locals get their meals.

This could be any institution. Steves runs off a long list of possibilities, from universities to hospitals, churches, charities, or workplace cafeterias. Don't take his suggestions too literally, though: It appears that the "union of gondoliers" cafeteria he recommends doesn't actually exist. However, his suggestion to eat at the Austrian Supreme Court's cafeteria does check out, and comes with a rooftop view to boot. It serves up a daily menu with a changing set of mostly Austrian and European dishes: Think meat and cabbage with dumplings, veal schnitzel, or gnocchi pomodoro. Dishes cost 11 to 14 euros ($13 to $16.50) — yes, that's not dirt-cheap, but bear in mind that it's a chef-run restaurant, so it's not just dished out of a bain-marie. Plus, a Wiener Schnitzel can go for easily over 20 euros in regular restaurants.

If you're taking Steves' tip, bear in mind that not every cafeteria will be open to the public. For example, you might need an access card to get into some workplace cafeterias. So, do your research beforehand so you don't run into trouble with a security guard.

University cafeterias may be the cheapest options around since students are typically on tight budgets, so let's see how Steves' advice would work in an infamously touristy city: Paris. The French government has a map of Paris-area university restaurants and cafeterias published online, and sure, while there isn't a cafeteria immediately at the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre, you can probably walk to one pretty easily (in any case, another common tip for budget travelers is to avoid restaurants right next to big attractions).

Of course, there are a couple of catches: The pages for the cafeterias don't usually give much in the way of menu details, although considering the high quality of French school lunches, it's probably safe to assume that students eat fairly well, too. More importantly, some cafeterias may require you to pay with a pre-loaded student card, but some will accept cash or cards. Plus, bear in mind that cafeterias may close during university breaks. All of this means that research in advance would be wise.

In Germany, too, a university cafeteria (or "Mensa") is typically open to the public. As in France, you may have to get yourself a pre-paid card on site, or sometimes, you might be able to pay by card, but possibly at a more expensive price. Of course, you can take this same logic elsewhere: Church and hospital cafeterias are also open to the public, although when it comes to ambiance, the latter may be a lesser choice.