The Popular Breakfast Option Rick Steves Advises Against While You're In Europe

Even with the rise of independent travel and private rental sites like Airbnb, a hotel stay is still many people's idea of luxury and convenience. There is something so appealing about drifting down from your room at your leisure to indulge in a breakfast buffet before heading out for the day to explore your new surroundings. But that is exactly what you shouldn't do while you are touring around Europe, according to seasoned travel writer Rick Steves.

Many hotels across the continent will offer a continental-style breakfast, often at an extra cost on top of the price of your room. It is a popular option and you can see why; generally speaking, it doesn't add a massive amount to your bill, and it saves the hassle of finding somewhere to eat in the morning. Plus, there is the all-you-can-eat appeal. While there is an unspoken etiquette between you and the hotel that you shouldn't stay for the entire breakfast session eating until you burst, nobody will realistically stop you from going round again. It can also be nice to have a sense that you are getting something extra for your buck. Yet, Steves notes on a list of budget tips for traveling Europe, "While convenient, these are rarely a good value. If breakfast is optional, increase the character and lower the price by joining the local crowd at the corner café for your coffee and croissant."

Take a look at the above photo. It's a hotel buffet breakfast in Iceland, but it could be just about anywhere, right? Therein lies the curse. While Europe is made up of around 50 countries that each have their own morning favorites and customs, the ubiquitous continental breakfast is as generic as it sounds — and rarely changes whether you are staying in Reykjavík, Paris, or Warsaw.

The term originally meant a lighter bite, perhaps a roll with tea or coffee, which became a popular alternative to heavier breakfasts in Britain and the United States. Over time, it grew to a far wider range of options, and now many hotels across Europe serve the same vast banquet each morning. You'll have the cooked items, with eggs and bacon sweating under heat lamps. There will be bread, pastries, and a toaster. Another section will often contain cold cuts and a variety of cheeses. A separate pedestal yields cereal, yogurt, and fresh fruit. Occasionally, you might get a specific regional dish tucked in between the homogenous breakfast standards.

This vast spread may feel like you are making the most of your hotel buffet as you perch a danish pastry and some strawberries on the plate next to a fully cooked breakfast. But, as Rick Steves points out, it is detrimental to your cultural experience. How much can you learn about a country sitting in a nondescript dining room eating next to a bunch of fellow tourists?

To really appreciate European breakfast, Rick Steves recommends resisting the hotel buffet and heading out for a local bite instead. If you are staying in a city, you will rarely need to travel far, and you can look up choice spots before you leave your room. Then you can experience the true diversity of the continent's breakfast options. You can't visit Britain without eating at least one full English breakfast from a classic greasy spoon restaurant. Prices are usually low, the food quality is way better, and you can better immerse yourself in Britain's culture while you eat. Across the channel in France, you can feel very cosmopolitan finding a table at a cute Parisian outdoor café and ordering fresh bread or pain au chocolat.

Germans like their morning cold cuts, and in Bavaria, you can try the traditional Weisswurst breakfast which shouldn't be ordered after noon. Italians will sometimes splurge on a spread including delicious meats like prosciutto and mortadella, but they are also happy with a cornetto (croissant) with a jolt of espresso. Traveling in the Balkans, there is nothing like sitting on a sunny square eating flaky burek with potent Turkish-style coffee. And then there's pickled herring often served for breakfast in Scandinavian countries. Perhaps more than any other meal, breakfast is what really makes a country tick. Getting out of the hotel will help make the most of it.