‘This is what I got for £7.50 in one of Europe’s cheapest countries’ | Europe | Travel

Many of Europe’s most beautiful cities are also crowded tourist traps, where you can barely move without blowing your holiday budget. But globetrotting YouTuber Drew Binsky, who has recorded his travel videos in every country from Venezuela to Iran, says that the UNESCO Heritage city of Prizren, in southern Kosovo, is not only one of the continent’s most beautiful cities, it’s also probably the cheapest.

To test his theory Drew, along with his wife Deanna, explored the historic city with just $10 (about £7.50) in his pocket to see how far it would get him.

Even though he was slightly surprised at having to pay to use a somewhat questionable public toilet, overall the experiment was a success.

One of the things Drew enjoyed most about Prizren was how unspoiled it was: “What’s so cool about this city, “ he said, “is this is what I feel like all of Europe looked like before tourists arrived.

“You still have these beautiful old towns with cobblestoned streets, and shops cafes and restaurants –  but there’s no tourists here. You have the whole city to yourself.”

Confident of staying within his budget, Drew splashed out early, buying a small souvenir plate with the city’s name printed on it, which set him back the equivalent of $3, a shade over two quid.

He marvelled about how pro-American the locals were, a side-effect of US intervention in the bitter 1990s conflict with Serbia. As a Muslim-majority country, Kosovo has no real bar culture but that doesn’t mean there aren’t treats to be had.

Drew managed to find himself a top-quality ice-cream that cost him the equivalent of £1.50: “I don’t know why,” he said, “but ice cream tastes better in Europe maybe because gelato is from Europe.”

Drew marvelled at the picturesque city’s cosmopolitan nature: “I’m going to go ahead and say that Prizren is one of the most beautiful small towns in Europe … it’s beautiful, with nice views everywhere.”

He added that the country is a melting pot of fascinating cultures: “Kosovo itself is stuck between Turkish culture, Italian culture, Albanian culture, the Balkan culture it’s so interesting.”

Distracted by the varied sights and sounds of Prizren, Drew almost forgot to finish using up his spending money, but managed to find a bakery which, confusingly, had over a dozen different items all apparently named “Pogoaqa.” It offered various deserts, donuts and apple turnover-type pastries containing a variety of fillings.

That indulgent treat took Drew up to $9.99, and spelled the end of his adventure for the day. With flights from Gatwick to Kosovo’s capital costing half the price of a train ride between London and Edinburgh, the tiny and remarkably hospitable country is certainly one for UK holidaymakers to consider.