Are you looking for a free place to sleep in Europe? You’re at the right place. I used all my experience wandering around Europe on a low-budget to put up a complete list to give you some ideas you might not have thought of.
If you have hitchhiked or travel on a long budget before, you already know that you might have no idea where you’re going to end up for the night. But after a long day full of adventures, you’ll definitely need a suitable place to rest! It’s essential to find a perfect balance between finding enough to rest to carry on your journey and maintaining your targeted budget. Sleep is essential and should not be discounted.
I spent years traveling around Europe and I challenged myself to never pay for any accommodation, therefore I know how complicated it can be to find a free place to sleep in Europe, especially in an unknown place you’ve arrived a couple of hours ago. Using my personal experience of around 70.000 kilometers hitchhiked while traveling with next to no money, I made a list with some options I’ve tried in my trips in order to help you and give you some ideas the next time you’re unsure about where to sleep.
This list is centered on finding a free place to sleep in Europe, if you’re on another continent some other options might be available to you (such as camping in a tea plantation as in the photo below), but you can use this list as well to get some inspirations if needed.
Contents | Where to find a free place to sleep in Europe ?
- Find a host through an hospitality website
- Airports
- Train stations / Bus terminals
- Parks
- Rest areas on the highway
- Crash on the last floor of a building
- Sleeping under a bridge
- Go to a Couchsurfing event and find a host there
- Get out of the city and stay in the nature
- My favorite option : Ask People !
- Bonus, three more original places where I slept.
Find a host through an hospitality website :
Couchsurfing / Trustroots / BeWelcome / Warmshowers
There are several websites where you can ask people to sleep in their home. You’ve certainly have heard about the most famous one of them, Couchsurfing.
It’s not technically free anymore since they’ve started to charge a fee in 2020. It can also be difficult for you to find a host in major European cities since many people are sending similar requests to the same hosts in popular European spots.
However, there are several other options, such as Trustroots, which is a popular hospitality website among hitchhikers. Warmshowers is a hospitality website designed for cyclists.
We put up a complete list of alternative places to Couchsurfing if you’re interested.
The concept of these websites is simple : You browse the place you’re planning to go to, read the potential hosts’ profiles and then send a unique and personal request, explaining why you would like to meet them and stay in their home.
Come and read our article about how to find a Couchsurfing host !
It’s an incredibly powerful way to learn about a country’s culture by staying in someone’s home. Every hotel room around the world is very similar, but a home is different from one country to another. Your host will usually be keen on spending time with you, and giving you suggestions and directions about what to visit. You can take a shower and have a relaxing place to stay.
You have to spend a lot of time to send requests, sometimes for no result. It requires you to plan beforehand in which place you will spend the night, and that can be the opposite of the hitchhiking spirit. Since you’re staying at someone else’s place you have to abide their rules.
Airports
Airports could very well be the best free place to sleep in Europe, at least for a night or two.
You won’t be the only one sleeping there anyway, as many other travelers will also spend the time there. There’s quite a bunch of security guards in an airport, so safety shouldn’t be an issue. I tried several airports in Europe and I remember being able to sleep decently well but having problems getting there since they are far way from the cities.
Believe it or not, there’s even a website dedicated to sleeping in airports, showing how popular this option is amongst travelers. I slept in some airports and especially the second best sleeping airport according to the aforementioned website, located in Munich. A good night of sleep, although it was rather far from the city.
It could be more comfortable and safer than sleeping on the streets. Toilets open all night. Food and beverages options and probably Wi-Fi available. Warmer than sleeping outside.
Difficult to get to, because it’s commonly far from the city. If you can’t hitchhike there, it’s usually expensive to take public transportation to get to, and if you choose to blackride, normally more police will patrol the airport line. Lights are usually on all night.
Train stations / bus terminals
The train station or the bus terminal is a bit like the airport : You won’t be the only one sleeping there, but it is more dangerous than the airport but also much easier to get to, since it’s usually located near the city centre. Most of the time security guards will wake you up very early.
In my experience, I’ve always had better nights of sleep at the airport than in a station or a terminal. I remember trying in the Brussels train station and it was just impossible to get any rest, or being awaken by the guards at 5am in the bus terminal in Bursa (Turkey). Therefore, sleeping in bus terminal or a train station will usually br available to you if they don’t close their doors during the night, but as it comes to a free place to sleep in Europe, I’ll usually prefer other options.
Easy to get to, possibly just by walking. Sleeping is tolerated there as it is a prime spot for homeless. Warmer than sleeping outside.
Difficult to find a quiet area, and the lights are on all night. Not the safest place in town. Guards won’t let you sleep unless it’s very late or very early. Might not open 24/7.
Parks
Opening the map and spotting the main green area in the city is always an option. Once again, chances are you won’t be the only one sleeping there. It can be a good option if you have your own sleeping material, like a sleeping bag or a hammock. Otherwise it might get cold during the night depending on the season.
My memories of sleeping in parks in Europe are always synonym with cold nights where I could not sleep much even though it was already spring or fall, certainly because I’ve tried to travel as light as possible, usually meaning it would not even carry a sleeping bag.
You might get trouble with the police, as they’re not to keen on letting people, and especially travelers, sleep in a park.
More space and less people around you. You can probably find a spot without lights so that could give you more privacy.
It’s colder to sleep outside so make sure you have the proper gear. Police might not let you sleep in the park. Probably not as safe as the airport unless you are farther away from the city.
Rest areas on the highway
This one makes a lot of sense if you haven’t reached your destination.
There’s no point for you to enter a city if you have nothing to do there or if it’s already very late, because exiting a city is one of the hardest parts when it comes to hitchhiking in Europe. Therefore if it’s night and you already feel pretty tired, or nobody wants to give you a lift, you could rest for a while. In the biggest petrol stations, they have restaurants open for 24 hours. The staff there is usually pretty kind with hitchhikers.
When I have to crash in a rest area, I always try to speak with the staff and then I try to find a chair and a table to sleep for a while. If the rest area is big enough I try to find a quiet place outside and lay down in my sleeping bag. A decent free place to sleep in Europe if you’re hitchhiking around.
You are already ready to hitchhike in a prime spot as soon as you want the next morning. You don’t need to waste time to find a spot to sleep.
Sleeping on a chair pretty much guarantees a not-so-good night of sleep. I struggle to sleep much in that kind of situation, but my wife is a professional at that !
Crash on the last floor of a building
That’s a technique I’ve used a few times while looking for a free place to sleep in Europe or around the world. When it’s late and I have nowhere to sleep in a city, I try to find an open building, go to the last floor and sleep right there in the hallway. The best is to find a commercial building, as you can be sure that no one will come before 7-8am. If it’s a residential building you’ll never know at what time you will be awaken. The owners’ attitude is also impossible to predict if they find you there.
One time I arrived Zagreb very late, I was in the center and I found an open building. At the last floor I realized that one of the offices was not locked, I entered and slept there until 7am. I didn’t leave any traces behind me and started my next day by visiting the city. If you use this technique, please just make sure not to leave anything behind you !
Centrally located. Warmer than outside. I like to sleep in places where people don’t expect, that way I’m less of a target and I feel safer.
Could be difficult to find an open building. Could have potential problems with the police or the owners.
Sleeping under a bridge
That’s the only thing of the list that I’ve never done. I’ve seen others doing it, therefore I think it’s fair to include it on the list. It might give you another idea of a free place to sleep in Europe.
You are covered from the rain at least. Could be pretty central. Socially accepted to sleep under bridges, you’ll just look like a homeless person.
People might pass by all night long so I’m not sure if that’s really a safe place to crash for a night. Can be cold depending on the weather.
Go to a Couchsurfing/Meet-Up event and find a host there
I mention Couchsurfing or Meet-Up, but it can also be through another event, preferably related to things you enjoy (concerts, festivals…) as you might find someone with similar tastes as yours, making easier to hit it up quickly!
This idea worked for me in a Couchsurfing event in Madrid so why not ? If you haven’t found a host, you could check if there’s a CS event that day and try your luck there. At least the people you’ll meet there will probably be alright with the idea of hosting a traveler so that could work for you.
Lately I’ve been slightly disappointed with the CS events I attended, even though I wasn’t looking for a host, but I struggled to connect with people there.
Be wise and careful while using this option of a free place to sleep in Europe and feel free to let me know how this worked out for you!
Get out of the city and stay in the nature
When it comes to urban survival, one of the easiest ways to make it pass the night is to leave the city. Similar to sleeping in parks, and depending on the gear you’re carrying with you, why not just leave the city in order to find a suitable spot inside the nature ? That could be setting your hammock between two trees in the forest, or pitching your tent in a field for instance. When it comes to finding a free place to sleep in Europe, carrying your own camping gear is a great advantage!
You’ll have more spots to choose from. You might be the only one sleeping in this forest, and probably no one expects to find you there. Less crowded than the city, and probably safer than a park.
You may need a long time to get out of the city, and if you want to go back to the city the next morning in order to visit, that could be a waste of time and energy. It could be difficult to find a suitable spot in a town that you’ve never been before, and locals could look at you with suspicions.
My favorite option : Ask People !
Once upon a time, I found a roof countless times just by asking random people on the streets. It has many advantages, first, locals know the city much better than you do, so they might be aware of a suitable spot for you to sleep at. Secondly, it’s a great way to make new friends !
I don’t know for you guys but I’d feel pretty bored to just go around a city without meeting anyone… This technique is the best remedy to fight against loneliness and boredom, and you might even end up sleeping in someone’s home and have a lot more stories to share after that!
The first time I found someone to host me was in Cluj-Napoca, a city in Romania, I went to a park and saw some people in a hammock. I had a hammock in my backpack and I asked them if it was safe to sleep in this park at night. They laughed at me. I started to share my story, and said I hitchhiked from France to Romania.
They became interested so I showed them some pictures, and they ended up inviting me in their home. That was a life-changing experience for me, and I started to ask people everywhere I went.
Pro tip when looking for a place to sleep in a city : Ask buskers where you could sleep without money. They usually have good advice since they’re usually active on the city’s alternative scene.
Unique experience for you and your host. Make new friends. More comfortable inside a home than outside. Many stories to share.
Sometimes it doesn’t work, and you have no backup solution. It requires energy, self-presentation and a way to persuade others. It can be time-consuming before you find someone to help you.
Bonus, three more original options of a free place to sleep in Europe
If you’ve used everything on this list to no result, here are other options I came accross to sleep for free in Europe
Homeless shelters
Once in the city of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, I asked a church about where I could sleep for the night. They could not recommend anything, but one priest took time to call the local homeless shelter. It was late, and they had one remaining spot for the night, so I wouldn’t have taken anyone’s spot. I went there, had a quick shower, met other foreigners and slept in a dorm of about 10 people.
Squats
We’ve heard about squats but finding one to sleep in is much more difficult, especially if it’s only for short-term. Squats are usually low-profile. We were lucky enough to find a squat in Oslo, the capital of Norway, and after sharing our story with the guys in charge they welcomed us for 4 nights.
Caves
As mentioned before, you can & should use the nature surrounding you to find a free place to sleep in Europe. This is how I ended up sleeping in a cave by the lake in Ohrid, Macedonia.
Was it helpful to plan your trip ? Have you ever tried another free place to sleep in Europe? Feel free to comment to add any suggestion or feedback to this list !
