From Edinburgh to Athens, Copenhagen to Lisbon, there is no shortage of hostels and therefore prime opportunity to sightsee what Europe has to offer. Below I list three hostels that I believe provide the perfect backdrop to any city trip away.
Image Credit: Giuseppe Milo from Flickr
I visited this hostel two years ago shortly after the beginning of my first year of uni. A classic halls pre-drinks ended up with myself and two other friends booking flights to Dublin to soak up some of the rugby-mania atmosphere the city boasts, as our weekend away overlapped with Ireland’s fixture against Scotland in the Six Nations.
The hostel itself was one of the friendliest accommodations I have stayed at, and this, mixed with the fact we managed to befriend German roomies on our first night, our weekend began perfectly.
As students here in Newcastle, I couldn’t recommend Dublin enough as a city to visit if interested in travelling with mates over the course of your degree. Return flights came in at under £50 each for a long weekend away, mixed with one of the friendliest cities I’ve visited.
If that doesn’t entice you enough, Dublin offers truly unique sites to visit also, the Guinness Storehouse (10 min walk from the hostel) is up there with some of the best museums I’ve visited.
Image Credit: chas B from Flickr
Although Stockholm may not predominantly feature as your typical student getaway, this hostel resides itself in a chic jugendstil style building near the heart of Sweden’s capital.
Unlike many hostels, The Backpackers boasts not only plenty eating areas in an outside garden, but also has a café inside also, mixed with its spacious social space and complimentary food on arrival, you are guaranteed to not come up stuck on where to eat if you arriving in Stockholm for the first time.
Its facilities don’t end there, laundry facilities are aplenty as well as public computers to use too. Perhaps the most surprising addition is the fact that the hostel has its own sauna inside, meaning you can relax in style after a long day walking around what Stockholm has to offer.
And if walking isn’t your sort of cup of tea, you’d probably not end up in a hostel called “Backpackers”, regardless, public transport links are a stones throw away from the hostel. The “T-Centralen” subway is only a seven-minute walk away and the popular Skansen museum a leisurely 20-minute jaunt.
Image Credit: djedj from Pixabay
This hostel technically isn’t in Amsterdam, being just outside of the city; however, this place is well worth the slightly extra journey to visit, as it is truly unique.
Located on a lakeside a stone throw from the Dutch capital, Lucky Lake offers every room in the form of a mini caravan. If your caravan cravings weren’t filled enough, the site even has it’s own caravan movie theatre.
If being away from the city puts you off, fear not, the site lies just seven kilometres from the nearby Holendrecht train station, from which it is just a short ride until you reach the heart of the Amsterdam.
This, therefore, provides the perfect platform for day-trip outings to what the city has to offer, which varies from the world-renowned Van Gogh Museum to the home of Anne Frank. If sport is more your thing you are in luck, the Johan Cruyff Arena plays home to the Ajax football club, who currently boasts some of the best footballers in not only Holland but European football collectively.
Feature Image Credit: djedj from Pixabay, chas B from Flickr, Giuseppe Milo from Flickr