Chic cafes and cheap beer: This eastern European capital city is still beautiful on a budget

If you’re looking for a cheap break this summer, forget the usual, overtouristed European cities and consider venturing to Montenegro’s capital.

Podgorica might not be on your ‘must-visit’ list, but there’s plenty of reasons why it should be.

Importantly, you get a lot more for your money here than in other European capitals like Paris or Rome.

But it’s also full of quirky bookshops, stylish cafés and riverside bars which you won’t find overrun with other tourists.

Montenegro’s capital is a prime destination for a short holiday that doesn’t break the bank.

You can eat out on a shoestring, with a meal in a casual restaurant costing as little as €6.40 and a three-course meal for two in a mid-range restaurant around €25, according to global database Numbeo.

If you’re in need of refreshment, a 0.5 litre beer will set you back just €2, a cappuccino €1.49 and a bottle of water around €1.29.

Transport is also a bargain, with a one-way ticket starting at €0.90 and a monthly pass just €30.

According to Numbeo, Podgorica is 38.8 per cent less expensive than Rome and 47.9 per cent cheaper than Paris.

Stara Varoš is Podgorica’s old town, but you could easily be forgiven for thinking you’d wandered into a rural village.

The city’s oldest neighbourhood is a maze of low stone houses, some painted in pastel shades, lining overgrown lanes.

Between the 15th and 19th centuries, this was the hub of a vibrant Ottoman Turkish town. Bombing in WWII damaged many structures but traces of its golden era remain.

A spartan clocktower in the central square was once used for Muslim prayer calls in the Ottoman era.

Winding through the humble streets, you can also find the 15th century Starodoganjska Mosque and the more ornate 18th-century Osmanagić Mosque with