What to book first for a European city break, and what to leave alone

Book these early, because they run out

Timed entry to the one famous thing. If a city is known for a single sight, it sells out, and the slots that survive are 8am or 6pm. Look now, not later.

Small restaurants. Anywhere with fewer than about 30 seats books out weeks ahead in season, and those are usually the good ones. Two dinners per city is plenty.

Trains between cities. In Spain, France and Italy an advance fare can be half the price of the same seat on the day.

Anything on water. Boats run to a timetable, they cancel for weather, and in small places there is one operator with one crossing a day.

Car hire in summer. Coastal Europe in July and August runs out of cars, and the price triples in the last fortnight.

Book these a week or two out

Day trips with a fixed departure, cooking classes and tastings, anything capped at a dozen people, and football tickets if it is not a big fixture.

Do not book these at all

Most museums outside the famous one. Lunch, because every booked lunch is a lunch you have to walk back across town for. Bars and cafes, obviously. And a full itinerary of paid activities, which is the most common and most expensive mistake.

Three checks that save the most money

• What is free on which day. Many national museums are free on the first Sunday of the month, and free evenings are common midweek.

• The city card maths. Add up what you would actually pay for what you would actually do.

• The transport pass. A 72 hour pass is often less than four singles, and in other cities walking beats the pass you bought.

Two checks that save the most disappointment

Closing days. Museums closed on Mondays, markets closed on Sundays, whole neighbourhoods closed in August.

Last entry. Plenty of places stop letting people in an hour or ninety minutes before they close.

What this looks like in practice

For four days in Seville in May the booking list is short: the Alcázar with timed entry a month out, two dinners two weeks out, the train to Córdoba and back once the dates are fixed, and nothing else. Everything else is decided on the day, from a plan that says what is near you, what is open, and what to do when it hits 38 degrees by noon.