Short answer: Exeter is one of the cheapest city days in the South West because so much of the good stuff is free — the Red Coat tours, the Custom House centre, the Guildhall garden, the cathedral green and the canal path. Park and ride, the 40p ferry and one proper meal still leaves change from £50.
Park and ride in rather than paying city-centre rates. Walk down to the Quay, take the hand-pulled ferry across the river and back for 40p each way, then follow Riverside Valley Park along the water for as long as you fancy.
Back into town for a free Red Coat tour. They run several routes and cover the history properly — it is the best value hour in the city and people are regularly surprised it is not a paid tour.
The cathedral green costs nothing to sit on. Going inside the cathedral does carry an admission charge, so if you are keeping to a budget, that is the one to decide on deliberately rather than drift into.
Istanbul Restaurant brings out free breads and dips and is open 11am to 11pm daily, which makes it good value and flexible. Babylon is the highest rated in the city and does generous portions, open midday to 11pm. For a cheaper route, the Guildhall family garden lets you bring your own food in, and the quay has benches.
The two things that quietly eat a budget here are city-centre parking and paid attractions. Park and ride fixes the first. For the second, be honest about which one you actually want: the Underground Passages are the distinctive Exeter one and worth the ticket, but doing the cathedral, the passages and a museum café in one day is how £50 becomes £90.
Exeter is the Devon day out least affected by weather, which is why it earns its place on a budget. The Guildhall garden, the museum and the covered shopping areas mean a wet day costs no more than a dry one.
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