Let me tell you something about flying from London: those flight deals are out there, and they’re absolutely wild right now. After obsessively tracking prices (and actually taking these trips), I’ve found some incredible routes that won’t wreck your bank account. Just last month, I nabbed a £60 return to Porto, where I spent mornings watching fishermen bring in their catch at Matosinhos before demolishing the best octopus of my life.
These are honestly the best places from London to visit if you want your money to go further. Whether you’re craving pasteis de nata in Lisbon’s Belem district or want to wander through Stockholm’s gorgeous Gamla Stan without spending a fortune, I’ve got you covered. Here are 13 destinations you can actually afford to fly to right now, because great trips shouldn’t require selling a kidney.
EU Biometric Border Checks Now Live
Since April 10, 2026, the EU’s Entry/Exit System has been fully operational, so instead of a passport stamp you’ll have your fingerprints and photo taken on your first arrival into the Schengen area. That hits 12 of the 13 destinations below, with Dublin the only one exempt, and European airports have already recorded peak-time waits of up to three and a half hours. Give yourself an extra hour or two on arrival this summer, especially on a tight Ryanair or Wizz Air connection. See the EU announcement.
Top Cheap Flight Destinations from London
Looking for cheap flight destinations from London? Visit Dublin for its lively pubs and rich history, explore the charming canals of Amsterdam, admire the historic landmarks of Berlin, or experience the vibrant culture of Madrid. Whether you’re after nightlife, history, or art, these destinations offer budget-friendly escapes from London.
1. London to Dublin ($49–$90 roundtrip)
- ✈️ Flight Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- 🛫 Airlines: Ryanair, Aer Lingus, British Airways (20+ daily flights)
- 📅 Best Time to Visit: April to June 🌷 and September to October 🍂 for fewer crowds
- 🏆 Perfect for: Pub crawlers 🍺, literary fans 📚, weekend escapers 🏰
Dublin is where historic charm meets epic nightlife. This compact Irish capital packs so much character into its streets you can explore the whole city without ever needing public transport.
Temple Bar gets all the tourist attention, but the real magic happens in traditional pubs like The Long Hall and Mulligan’s where locals have been pouring perfect pints for centuries. Trinity College houses the spectacular Book of Kells and the Long Room Library that looks straight out of a fantasy film. The free National Museums are actually worth your time, especially on those inevitable rainy days.
May and late September give you decent odds of sunshine without summer crowds packing the pubs. For insanely cheap flights, Ryanair consistently offers the best deals with midweek fares sometimes dropping below £35 roundtrip, though they fly from outlying airports like Stansted. Aer Lingus connects from Heathrow for a bit more but with less hassle.
- Read Next: Day Trips from Dublin
2. London to Amsterdam ($57–$100 roundtrip)
- ✈️ Flight Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- 🛫 Airlines: easyJet, KLM, British Airways, Ryanair (25+ daily flights)
- 📅 Best Time to Visit: April to May 🌷 and September to October 🍁 for ideal weather
- 🏆 Perfect for: Culture seekers 🎨, cyclists 🚲, architecture lovers 🏛️
Amsterdam is where historic beauty meets liberal energy. This canal-lined city delivers incredible museums, quirky shops, and bike-friendly streets without the attitude you’d expect from a major European capital.
The famous canals aren’t just for photos. Grab a boat tour at sunset when the bridges light up and the whole city glows with a magical vibe. Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum house world-class art collections that actually live up to the hype, while neighborhoods like Jordaan and De Pijp offer the perfect mix of trendy cafes and authentic brown bars where locals hang out.
For cheap flights, easyJet and Ryanair compete aggressively with fares often under £45 one-way from Gatwick or Stansted. Prefer convenience? KLM flies from London City Airport for a smoother ride. Visit in April for tulip madness at Keukenhof Gardens, or hit October for crisp weather, golden canals, and half the crowds.
3. London to Berlin ($77–$130 roundtrip)
- ✈️ Flight Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
- 🛫 Airlines: easyJet, Ryanair, British Airways, Eurowings (15+ daily flights)
- 📅 Best Time to Visit: May to September 🌞 and December 🎄 for Christmas markets
- 🏆 Perfect for: History buffs 🏛️, nightlife lovers 🎧, budget travelers 💰
Berlin is where gritty meets artsy in the coolest possible way. This constantly evolving German capital gives you world-class museums, insane nightlife, and powerful historical sites without breaking the bank.
The Berlin Wall Memorial and East Side Gallery bring Cold War history into vivid focus, while the Brandenburg Gate stands as the ultimate symbol of German reunification. Museum Island packs five world-class museums into one riverside location with artifacts spanning thousands of years. The true standout feature of Berlin is its unmatched creative energy. Street art covers entire buildings, abandoned warehouses transform into legendary techno clubs like Berghain, and neighborhoods like Kreuzberg buzz with pop-up galleries and international food markets.
Ryanair and easyJet deliver rock-bottom fares from Stansted and Gatwick, often below £40 one-way if you book 6-8 weeks ahead. Summer brings perfect outdoor cafe weather and open-air cinema in Tiergarten park, while December transforms the city with magical Christmas markets selling mulled wine and handcrafted gifts.
- Read Next: Top Things to Do in Germany
4. London to Madrid ($79–$140 roundtrip)
- ✈️ Flight Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- 🛫 Airlines: Ryanair, easyJet, Iberia, British Airways (20+ daily flights)
- 📅 Best Time to Visit: April to June 🌺 and September to October 🍂 for pleasant temperatures
- 🏆 Perfect for: Art enthusiasts 🎨, foodies 🍽️, night owls 🌙
Madrid is where classic European grandeur meets vibrant street life. This Spanish capital serves up world-class art, incredible food, and non-stop energy without the tourist crowds of Barcelona or prices of Paris.
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The Golden Triangle of Art lets you hit three incredible museums in one afternoon. El Retiro park is the city’s green heart where locals row boats and picnic with wine and jamón. Plaza Mayor and Gran Vía give you those classic Spanish vibes with stunning architecture and bustling cafes.
For bargain flights, Ryanair consistently offers the lowest fares from Stansted, sometimes dropping below £40 one-way during their frequent sales. British Airways and Iberia operate from Heathrow with slightly higher prices but better service. May and October deliver perfect sunny days without the scorching summer heat when the city empties as locals escape to the coast.
- Read Next: Must-See Places in Spain
5. London to Warsaw ($84–$150 roundtrip)
- ✈️ Flight Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- 🛫 Airlines: LOT Polish, Wizz Air, Ryanair, British Airways (10+ daily flights)
- 📅 Best Time to Visit: May to September 🌞 and December 🎄 for Christmas vibes
- 🏆 Perfect for: History explorers 🏰, budget travelers 💰, food lovers 🍽️
Warsaw is where historic resilience meets modern energy. This Polish capital rises like a phoenix with its remarkably rebuilt Old Town alongside cutting-edge skyscrapers, all without the tourist crowds or prices of Western European cities.
The Old Town looks ancient but was actually rebuilt from scratch after WWII, which is pretty mind-blowing when you see it. Łazienki Park is gorgeous and hosts free Chopin concerts on Sundays in summer. The Warsaw Uprising Museum is actually interesting (not boring like most history museums) with high-tech exhibits about the city’s crazy past. What makes Warsaw awesome is how ridiculously affordable everything is.
For the cheapest flights, Wizz Air and Ryanair often drop fares below £40 one-way from Luton or Stansted if you book a few weeks ahead. June and September give you perfect weather without summer crowds.
6. London to Lisbon ($97–$160 roundtrip)
- ✈️ Flight Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
- 🛫 Airlines: Ryanair, easyJet, TAP Air Portugal, British Airways (15+ daily flights)
- 📅 Best Time to Visit: April-June & September-October 🌞 for pleasant temperatures
- 🏆 Perfect for: Scenic explorers 🏔️, food lovers 🍽️, budget-conscious travelers 💰
Lisbon is where London’s gray skies go to die. This Portuguese capital delivers sunshine, seafood, and seriously affordable living that’ll make you question why you’re paying London rent for rain and crowds.
LX Factory is this super cool creative hub built in an old industrial complex where hipster coffee shops, art galleries, and boutiques fill spaces that used to be textile factories. The rooftop bar PARK is literally built on top of a parking garage with some of the best sunset views in the city and cocktails that cost half what you’d pay in London. For beach escapes without leaving the city, the Cascais train takes you along the coast to perfect Atlantic beaches where locals surf and sunbathe just 30 minutes from downtown.
Scoring cheap tickets is easy with budget carriers battling for your business. Ryanair regularly offers flash sales with fares sometimes dropping below £40 one-way if you can avoid weekend travel and book 4-6 weeks ahead. Visit around September for warm days, fewer tourists, and hotel rates about 30% lower than August peak season.
7. London to Budapest ($113–$170 roundtrip)
- ✈️ Flight Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- 🛫 Airlines: Wizz Air, Ryanair, British Airways, easyJet (12+ daily flights)
- 📅 Best Time to Visit: April to June 🌷 and September to October 🍂 for milder weather
- 🏆 Perfect for: Spa enthusiasts ♨️, history buffs 🏛️, nightlife seekers 🥂
Budapest is where Eastern European charm meets killer nightlife. This Hungarian capital serves up incredible architecture, thermal baths, and ruin bars without the tourist hordes or insane prices of Paris or Rome.
The Danube River splits the city into hilly Buda with its castle district and flat Pest with its epic nightlife. Széchenyi Baths lets you soak in steaming thermal waters even in winter, while the Parliament Building is so massive and ornate it makes most other government buildings look boring in comparison.
For flights, Wizz Air (a Hungarian airline) offers the best deals from Luton with fares sometimes dropping below £60 one-way during their frequent sales. Ryanair competes from Stansted with similar pricing. May and late September give you perfect temps for exploring without summer crowds.
8. London to Prague ($119–$180 roundtrip)
- ✈️ Flight Time: 2 hours
- 🛫 Airlines: easyJet, Ryanair, British Airways, Wizz Air (15+ daily flights)
- 📅 Best Time to Visit: April to June 🌷 and September to October 🍂 for fewer crowds
- 🏆 Perfect for: Beer lovers 🍺, architecture enthusiasts 🏰, budget travelers 💰
Prague is where fairy tale vibes meet incredible nightlife. This Czech capital gives you stunning medieval architecture, amazing beer, and cobblestone streets without the insane prices of Western European cities.
Charles Bridge connects the historic Old Town with its astronomical clock to the castle district where you can wander for hours. Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle complex in the world and gives you ridiculous views over the entire city. What makes Prague awesome is how it packs so much into a super walkable city center where you can hit all the major spots in a weekend.
Ryanair and easyJet battle for the cheapest fares from Stansted and Gatwick, often dropping below £60 one-way during off-peak times. British Airways flies from Heathrow if you prefer a more central airport. May and late September offer perfect weather for exploring without the summer tourist crowds that can make the Charles Bridge almost impossible to cross.
9. London to Milan ($132–$190 roundtrip)
- ✈️ Flight Time: 2 hours
- 🛫 Airlines: easyJet, Ryanair, British Airways, Alitalia (20+ daily flights)
- 📅 Best Time to Visit: April to June 🌼 and September to October 🍂 for pleasant weather
- 🏆 Perfect for: Fashion lovers 👗, foodies 🍕, design enthusiasts 🏛️
Milan is where Italian style meets urban energy. This northern Italian powerhouse serves up incredible architecture, world-class shopping, and amazing food without the overwhelming tourist crowds of Rome or Venice.
The Duomo is an absolutely massive gothic cathedral that took 600 years to complete and lets you walk on the roof among hundreds of spires and statues. Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is basically the world’s most beautiful shopping mall, with stunning glass ceilings and luxury stores. For the best local vibes, hit the Navigli district where Milan’s historic canals are lined with bars doing aperitivo, that magical Italian tradition where drinks come with free food buffets.
May and October deliver perfect temperatures for exploring without summer heat and crowds. For budget flights, easyJet and Ryanair offer the cheapest options from Stansted, Gatwick and Luton, with fares sometimes dipping below £70 one-way during their frequent sales.
- Read Next: Top Attractions in Italy
10. London to Brussels ($136–$200 roundtrip)
- ✈️ Flight Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- 🛫 Airlines: Brussels Airlines, British Airways, Ryanair, easyJet (15+ daily flights)
- 📅 Best Time to Visit: May to September 🌞 and December 🎄 for Christmas markets
- 🏆 Perfect for: Beer connoisseurs 🍺, chocolate lovers 🍫, architecture fans 🏛️
Brussels is where medieval meets modern in the coolest way possible. This compact Belgian capital packs amazing architecture, world-class beer, and seriously underrated food scenes into a city you can easily explore in a weekend.
The stunning Grand Place looks like something from a fairy tale, especially when it’s lit up at night. Forget fancy restaurants. The best food here comes from street vendors serving crispy fries with crazy sauce combinations and waffles topped with everything imaginable. Brussels has this perfect balance of important EU business stuff happening alongside quirky comic book murals and the famous Manneken Pis statue that locals dress up in different outfits throughout the year.
Bargain hunters who prefer flying should target midweek Ryanair flights from Stansted, which sometimes drop below £80 roundtrip. May and September give you perfect exploring weather without summer crowds, while December transforms the city with one of Europe’s most magical Christmas markets.
- Read Next: Beautiful Places to Visit in Belgium
11. London to Vienna ($145–$210 roundtrip)
- ✈️ Flight Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
- 🛫 Airlines: Austrian Airlines, British Airways, easyJet, Wizz Air (10+ daily flights)
- 📅 Best Time to Visit: April to June 🌸 and September to October 🍂 for pleasant weather
- 🏆 Perfect for: Classical music fans 🎻, coffee culture enthusiasts ☕, history lovers 🏛️
Vienna is where imperial grandeur meets modern creativity. This Austrian capital delivers stunning palaces, incredible museums, and legendary coffee houses without the overwhelming tourist crowds of Paris or Rome.
Schönbrunn Palace is basically the Austrian version of Versailles but with shorter lines and gorgeous gardens you can wander for hours. The historic center is packed with architectural masterpieces like St. Stephen’s Cathedral with its multicolored roof tiles. The coffee house culture here is next level. Places like Café Central and Café Sacher aren’t just about the amazing cakes and coffee. They’re cultural institutions where locals linger for hours reading newspapers and people-watching.
For flights, Wizz Air often drops crazy sales with fares under £75 one-way from Luton, while easyJet from Gatwick lets you bring a bigger bag for not much more money. May is absolutely perfect for visiting. The city bursts with spring flowers in the palace gardens, and the weather is warm enough for outdoor cafes without the summer tourist hordes.
12. London to Sofia ($162–$230 roundtrip)
- ✈️ Flight Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
- 🛫 Airlines: Wizz Air, Ryanair, British Airways, Bulgaria Air (5+ daily flights)
- 📅 Best Time to Visit: May to June 🌷 and September to October 🍁 for mild weather
- 🏆 Perfect for: Budget travelers 💰, adventure seekers 🏔️, history buffs 🏛️
Sofia is where East meets West in the coolest possible way. This under-the-radar Bulgarian capital gives you stunning orthodox churches, mountain views, and vibrant city life without the tourist crowds or prices of most European capitals.
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is one of the largest orthodox churches in the world with golden domes that shine in the sun and an interior covered in incredible frescoes. The city sits right at the foot of Vitosha Mountain, which means you can literally take public transit from downtown to hiking trails with epic views in under 30 minutes. What makes Sofia special is how it layers ancient Roman ruins, Ottoman architecture, Soviet monuments, and modern developments all in one walkable city center.
Wizz Air from Luton consistently offers the cheapest flights, with fares sometimes dipping below £80 one-way during their frequent sales. Late May brings perfect warm days and green mountain views, while early October gives you gorgeous fall colors without the winter chill.
13. London to Riga ($171–$240 roundtrip)
- ✈️ Flight Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
- 🛫 Airlines: Wizz Air, Ryanair, airBaltic, British Airways (5+ daily flights)
- 📅 Best Time to Visit: June to August 🌞 and December 🎄 for Christmas markets
- 🏆 Perfect for: Architecture lovers 🏛️, budget travelers 💰, food enthusiasts 🍲
Riga is where Baltic cool meets stunning architecture. This Latvian capital delivers incredible art nouveau buildings, vibrant markets, and buzzing nightlife without the insane prices of Scandinavian cities just across the Baltic Sea.
The Old Town looks straight out of a fairy tale with its colorful buildings and church spires, but venture just outside and you’ll find trendy districts like Miera iela (Peace Street) with cool cafes and street art. Riga has this wild mix of architectural styles from medieval to art nouveau, where over 700 buildings feature elaborate facades with crazy details like screaming faces and mythical creatures.
Wizz Air and Ryanair battle it out with the cheapest flights from Luton and Stansted, often with fares under £90 one-way if you book a few weeks ahead. Summer brings perfect weather for exploring the city and nearby Baltic beaches, plus amazing midsummer celebrations in June.
✈️ How I catch these London fares before they sell out
Every route on this list swings hard depending on when you book, and I’ve watched short-haul returns from Stansted and Luton drop 40 to 60% below the ranges above during flash sales. Going’s Premium plan ($49/year) is what pings me when a Lisbon or Warsaw fare falls off a cliff, usually while I’m still eating breakfast. If you ever want to sit up front on the longer stuff, Elite tracks business and premium economy drops too.
Try Going Elite free for 14 days — use code JON25 for 25% off if you keep it.
- Read next: Best Historic Sites Around the World
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Global Viewpoint is a personal blog. All content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional financial, medical, or legal advice.
