For some years now a group of the so-called “budget airlines” in Europe have been embroiled in a fares war trying to offer the cheapest fares to a host of cities throughout Europe. It’s not unusual to see that one of the leading budget airlines such as Easyjet or Ryanair is offering return flights from the UK to Spain, France or Germany for £1 (approx $1.45). There might be airport landing fees and taxes to be added to the fare, but it remains an absolute bargain if you’re keen to visit a variety of European cities. One of the biggest disadvantages of these flights is that they often make use of to the smaller municipal airports rather than the more well known biginternational ones. This sometimes means that a flight that is advertised to a big European city actually lands some fifty miles away. There can be some advantages with this arrangement, the regional airports will normally provide a much slicker service on check-in and luggage because they are servicing a lot less flights. The downside is that transportation serving these airports can be patchy at best and an extremely popular alternative is hiring a car from the airport. The following are some of the wonderful cities that we have visited whilst making use of cheap floghts from the low cost airlines. We are sure that you’d enjoy visiting any of these great, without doubt they have a lot to offer the visitor to their shores.

Glasgow, Scotland

Glasgow was once a particularly unattractive industrial monster but the city has seen a Renaissance and is now a fascinating, architecturally diverse city supporting a vast number of tourists throughout the year. The chic West side of the city is home to one of the oldest universities in the United Kingdom. Situated on a hill in the middle of the Medieval district of the city, the students bring a cosmopolitan, fun loving atmosphere to the surrounding area. The budget airlines use Prestwick Airport some 51 km (35 miles) to the north east of the centre of the city and there is an excellent road between the airport and Glasgow city centre. It’s a popular area for sightseeing, so the best idea is to hire a car at Glasgow Airport before setting out on your journey. A congestion free half hour journey from the airport along the M77 motorway brings you to the city centre. Glasgow is a perfect base for a journey to the Trossachs National Park. Just 13 mile (20 km) drive out of the city and you might find yourself enjoying sensational countryside aback a pony, whereas a 50 km (30 mile) drive east using another excellent motorway will take you to Edinburgh , the city of festivals complete with Princes Street shopping, castle, palace and the seaside.

Florence, Italy

Undoubtedly one of Europe’s most stunningly beautiful cities, Florence is served by the airport at Pisa, which is 84 km (50 miles) west of the city. Rent a car at Pisa airport and you will be perfectly positioned to take in Pisa with its leaning tower, majestic Florence and some of Europe’s most picturesque countryside, that of the majestically beautiful Tuscany. It therefore will not come as a huge surprise that Florence is one of the leading historic cities in the whole of Europe. Once you arrive at the city of Florence you will discover that much of the centre of the city is pedestrianized thus preserving the many ancient statues and architectural treasures from the vibrations and pollution associated with hectic traffic. As a result you are overwhelmed by a sense of tranquility as you wander from one monument to the next. You don’t have to walk too far before being hit by the evil, ear splitting roar of Florence’s legion of scooter riders. Other than the Ponte Vecchio the remainder of the bridges leading to centre of the city are polluted, noisy places, thus giving us a further reason to keep to the ancient alleyways and peaceful sanctuaries of Florence’s wonderful piazzas.

Tours, France

Tours, set amongst the famed Loire Valley chateaux with not a single chateau to its name! The ideal centre for discovering the Loire Valley renowned for its amazing array of palatial residences, Tours boasts quite a number of its own charms. Although the little airport is but a couple of miles from town, it’s pretty much essential that you hire a car in the Loire Valley to fully explore a selection of the most stunning towns and villages to be found throughout France. A large number of cultural treasures will be found scattered beside the Loire. The Loire valley is a UNESCO World Heritage site and offers beautiful countryside, historic villages and lots of flamboyant castles. During the renaissance the Loire Valley was named the “Retreat of Kings and was a firm favourite of the French royal family. Former working fortified castles were converted into elegant palatial trophy residences and these are now the main tourist attractions of the region. The historic towns that line the river banks are a magnet to tourists from all over the world. Towns such as Blois, Chinon and Tours have so much to see and do whilst the most popular of all the chateaux is probably that on the estate of Chambord. Throughout the region you will find little, family owned vineyards selling a variety of tasty wines at budget prices. Look out for the word “degustation”, which means sampling I guess, and as long as ‘Le Patron’ is not in the middle of a long leisurely lunch you will be offered a warm welcome and he will be delighted to lead you through a tasting of his complete selection of wines. Naturally, it is strongly advised that you take a tee-totaller as your driver, some of these tasting sessions can become extremely alcoholic!.