So the cheap airlines have yet another promotion and you've the chance to visit a number of cities for less than you'd spend on an evening on the town. If you have not heard of some of the destinations and you're not clear on what there is to do in others, here's our guide on what to see in the new, interesting routes being launched by the no-frills airlines. All prices are for returns and include taxes.

France

Bergerac (south-west France)
Buzz, flying from Stansted
If you're not tempted by the wine - and Bergerac has some of France's best - there's always the Dordogne, with bastides (fortified villages) all over the rolling countryside. But anyone looking for the real French experience should beware; one of the most hotly disputed areas between the English and French in the Hundred Years' War now has one of the biggest enclaves of Brits in France. Make sure you see the old village of Sarlat and the prehistoric cave paintings in the Vézère valley.
Price £80-£340 (starts 23 March)

Brest (north Brittany)
Buzz, Stansted
Relentlessly bombed during the Second World War, Brest doesn't have a great deal of tourist appeal apart from Océanopolis with its huge aquariums. What it does have is a great position to start a tour of the white sand beaches and natural harbours of the Brittany coast. Small wonder the craggy coastline is one of France's top tourist destinations. One of the most attractive areas for cyclists and walkers is the Crozon peninsula to the south.
Price £70-£310 (starts 31 March)

Caen (Normandy coast)
Buzz, Stansted
You might think it's quicker to get to Caen by ferry, but the six-hour sailing from Portsmouth can be daunting. The town has the remains of both William the Conqueror's castle and the Conqueror himself and is an ideal base for trips to Bayeux to see the tapestry and for the D-Day beaches. You won't starve either: the village of Camembert isn't far away and cider and Calvados producers in the surrounding countryside have an open-door policy for tourists.
Price £38-£300 (starts 31 March)

Dijon (Burgundy, eastern France)
Buzz, Stansted
A must for mustard lovers, Dijon has a museum charting the condiment's history. Stock up on the hottest flavours at the shop run by the producer Maille. In what was the prosperous and independent region of Burgundy, the town's former grandeur can be seen in the Dukes' Palace and the rich burghers' homes. Head off into the Côte d'Or, the wine producing country to the south, or try Dijon's liquor, crème de cassis.
Price £70-£310 (starts 31 March)

Grenoble (the Alps)
Buzz, Stansted
You don't have to be a skier to visit the Alps. In spring and summer, there are some spectacular walks in the pretty, undeveloped park of the Vercors Massif to the south or the Chartreuse Massif to the north. Grenoble, set on the Drac and Isère rivers, is surrounded by mountains. Go up the town's cable car for the best views.
Price £80-£340 (starts 31 March)

Limoges (central France)
Buzz, Stansted
Famed for its porcelain and surrounded by beautiful countryside, Limoges is worth a visit if you want to see a china collection that includes services made for Napoleon Bonaparte and Charles and Di at the Musée Nationale Adrien-Dubouché. Space and astronomy enthusiasts can visit Rochechourat, where one of the largest meteorites ever to hit Earth struck 200 million years ago.
Price £70-£310 (starts 27 March)

Montpellier (Mediterranean coast)
Ryanair, Stansted
The large student population makes this a vibrant town with buzzing bars. If history is more your scene, walk around the historic part of town, or jump on the train to Carcassonne - the 90-minute journey is worth it to see the inspiration for the castle in Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty . It's worth noting that Ryanair flies direct to Carcassonne .
Price from £59.98 (starts 4 April)

Toulon (French Riviera)
Buzz, Stansted
Though the home of France's Mediterranean fleet doesn't warrant a visit in its own right, it makes a great starting point to travel along the Côte d'Azur, playground for the rich and fashion-conscious. St Tropez, the French capital of sun, sex and celebrities, is about an hour up the road.
Price £80-£340 (starts 28 March)

Rouen (Normandy)
Buzz, Stansted
The perfect city break for a history lover, Rouen is brimful of sites linked to Joan of Arc, from the tower where she was imprisoned by the English during the Hundred Years' War to the square where she was burnt. The city is one of France's oldest and has been carefully restored to its medieval appearance. About 30 miles to the south is Giverny, the home and gardens of French impressionist Claude Monet, which are open to the public.
Price £38-£300 (starts 31 March)

Tours (Loire valley)
Buzz, Stansted
The gateway to the Loire, Tours is the place to visit if you like wine and chateaux, though you'll need to hire a car to do it. A wine route will lead you to Sancerre, Vouvray and Chinon to see how the local tipples are made. The region, which is not far from Paris, is peppered with chateaux, some of which are now hotels. Visit Blois for its important role in the French wars of religion, Chenonceau for its magnificent setting in the middle of a river and Ussé which inspired the original tale of the Sleeping Beauty.
Price £70-£310 (starts 31 March)

Austria

Graz (south-eastern Austria)
Ryanair, Stansted
Designated a Unesco World Heritage Site, Graz is dominated by the medieval Schlossberg. It's worth the 30-minute hike up to the castle for the fab view of the red city roofs separated by squares, narrow winding streets and the River Mur. Look out for the Uhrturm or clock tower, which is Graz's emblem and has the long hand on the clock face pointing to the hour rather than the short hand. Don't miss the armour and weapons at the armoury
Price from £59.98 (starts 4 April)

Klagenfurt (southern Austria)
Ryanair, Stansted
The big draw here is the Europapark and its Minimundus attraction where everything from the Taj Mahal to St Peter's in Rome is represented in miniature. The park also has a zoo and even a nude sunbathing terrace, used by men and women on different days. Klagenfurt is a good base for visiting the many surrounding castles and stately homes, either by car or bicycle, and it's just 18 miles from Slovenia and 37 miles from Italy.
Price from £59.98 (starts 27 June)

Germany

Friedrichshafen (southern Germany)
Ryanair, Stansted
If you've heard of this German town, chances are it was in connection with the Zeppelin airships, which were first built in Friedrichshafen under Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 1900s. The Zeppelin museum is built around a recreated part of the Hindenburg, the largest ever airship. Friedrichshafen's other main point of interest is its situation on Lake Constance, which makes it an ideal base for lake excursions or cycling tours.
Price from £59.98 (starts 4 April)

Holland

Eindhoven (southern Holland)
Ryanair, Stansted
This is mainly a business route - Philips has a large presence in the modern technologically focused city of Eindhoven, which had to be rebuilt after the war. If you're there, though, it's worth popping in to the first Philips factory to see how light bulbs were made a century ago.
Price from £59.98 (starts 4 April)

Italy

Milan (northern Italy)
Ryanair, Stansted
Want to pick up some Prada, Gucci or Armani at a fraction of UK prices? The shopaholic's dream, sophisticated Milan has a host of fashion stores,though to fit into that perfect size 10, you'll have to ignore all the good food. Just because Milan is the economic powerhouse of Italy doesn't mean there aren't any sights worth seeing - don't miss the cathedral, second in size only to St Peter's in Rome, with stunning views from the roof.
Price from £59.98 (starts 4 April)

Rome
Ryanair, Stansted
Who needs a reason to go to Rome? With its wealth of sights from the Vatican to the Colosseum, Rome doesn't really need an introduction.Throw a coin in the Trevi fountain - it is supposed to guarantee you'll be back.
Price from £59.98 (starts 4 April)

UK

Newquay (Cornwall)
Ryanair, Stansted
Flights down to Newquay will open up Cornwall to weekenders previously put off by the long car and train journeys down from London. Undoubtedly the surf capital of England, you don't have to own a surfboard to go there. There are loads of nearby beaches and the Eden Project is only 45 minutes away. Surfers take note - you have to pay £15 extra for your surf board.
Price from £59.98 (starts 4 April)

Regional departures
In the past, anyone living more than a stone's throw from London had to fork out more to get to the airport than they did buying a bargain air ticket. Now there is a wider choice from the regions as no-frills airlines look to replicate their London success in bases around the country. Expect more routes to be added in the future, too, as they tap into these new markets.

East Midlands routes
Go is launching a clutch of routes from East Midlands this spring. So too is Bmibaby, the new budget arm of bmi British Midland, whose flights all start 23 March.

Heading out to Spain from this month, you can fly to: Alicante (£85-£290 with Go); Murcia (£50-£320 with Bmibaby); Malaga (£75-£290 with Go, £50-£320 with Bmibaby); Barcelona (£50-£320 with Bmibaby); Palma in Mallorca (£50-£320 with Bmibaby).

In the British Isles, Go has flights to Edinburgh (£35-£135) starting 15 March and to Glasgow (£35-£135) starting 22 May, while Bmibaby has flights to Dublin (£38-£280).

Both airlines are starting flights to Prague in March (£85-£270 with Go from 31 March, £50-£320 with Bmibaby). Flights to Faro in Portugal start with Bmibaby in March (£50-£320) and with Go 22 May (£75-£290)

And Bmibaby is also starting flights to Nice in France (£50-£320).

Bristol, Bournemouth and Liverpool
Go has launched flights from Bristol to Prague starting 31 March with a launch offer of £59 return, down from the normal price of £85-£280.

Ryanair has started flights from Bournemouth to Frankfurt, with prices from £59.98. Ryanair is also starting flights from Liverpool to Brussels Charleroi from 27June.

Gatwick flights
More flights from Gatwick this year from EasyJet are a huge bonus to those living in the south of England who found the trek up to the airline's Luton base a bit of a drag.

Getting its hands on more Gatwick slots as the big airlines cut back after 11 September, EasyJet has launched five new routes from the airport. It is also looking to grow further from this new base as more slots become available.

Last month, EasyJet started flights to the Spanish destinations of Barcelona (£50-£240), Palma (£50-£240) and Malaga (£70-£420) as well as Edinburgh (£45-£240) and Zurich (£70-320). The company already had flights to Geneva, Amsterdam and Nice from Gatwick.

Top tips
· To get the cheapest fares, be prepared to travel midweek and book well in advance. Keep an eye out for promotions, which are part of all the airlines' marketing plans. Remember, the nearer it is to the date you want to travel and the less flexible you can be, the more you'll pay.
· Book on the internet for an extra discount - Buzz and EasyJet offer a £5 discount on return fares while bmibaby and Go offer £10 return.
· No-frills fares are more flexible than you may think. EasyJet has a £10 fee per change of either the flight date or the name of the person travelling. Go charges £25 to change dates but tickets aren't transferable and bmibaby, Ryanair and Buzz charge £15. You will, though, have to pay the difference if the ticket on the new travel date costs more.
· Buzz offers some added incentives for passengers - for instance, fly to Bordeaux and you get a free guided city tour and a discounted vineyard tour by showing your boarding pass at the Bordeaux Tourist Board office. In Poitiers, golfers can get a day's free green fees and two-for-one entry to the Futuroscope park.
· EasyJet's European bases mean it's possible to enjoy a twin-centre break, flying for example to Amsterdam, then on to Barcelona and back to London.

Factfile
Bmibaby (0870 264 2229)
Buzz (0870 240 7070)
EasyJet (0870 600 0000)
Go (0870 607 6543)
Ryanair (0870 156 9569)

Further information
· Time Out has a new publication - European Breaks by Budget Airline (£4.99) listing 80 destinations, with hotel, restaurant and bar recommendations.
· Lonely Planet has individual guides to all the countries served by budget airlines.