Snag Cheaper Drinks In Europe With Rick Steves' Expert Tip
Rick Steves is a European travel guru, his insight makes seeing the sights and eating the food abroad as approachable as visiting a new restaurant in your own city (he's even distilled all his know-how into just four simple rules for dining in Europe). The excursion booker, writer, and TV host also has plenty of hacks for saving money when dining across Europe, including one for snagging cheaper drinks, like coffee. As he and fellow author Steve Smith write on Rick Steves' Europe, "Be aware that cafes charge different prices for the same drink, depending upon where you want to be seated."
They go on to say that while you can be seated at a table and enjoy your beverage, it will be cheaper to drink it standing up at the bar — yes, for the exact same drink. This is common, especially in both France and Italy, where cafe culture is huge, and where the cost to sit at a table with your drink could be double the price (and sometimes more). In most cafes, the tiered pricing will be posted, so you can check out how much each activity will set you back before committing.
When to stand with your drink and when to sit in European cafes
Perhaps it is a matter of economics; you're traveling Europe on the cheap and want to spend as little money as possible, while still taking in all the cultural vibrancy each city has to offer. Enjoying your cafe beverages standing up, at the bar, is definitely something you can do to save a euro here and there (hey, it all adds up). Or maybe you are just looking for a quick respite from soggy weather or to pass a few minutes between tours. As we will see, the expectation is different when you sit at a table with your coffee. If you only want a quick, cheaper drink and then to be on your way, standing is the way to go.
On the other hand, when you get a table at a cafe, the waitstaff and other patrons who come in will expect you to be parked there for a while. So if leisurely sipping, maybe grabbing some lunch (or scooping up bites of a coffee granita in Sicily), or people watching for a few hours at an outdoor table, especially if it's near a major attraction, sounds like a plan, it's worth it to pay out the extra for the drink(s).