Best value cities for a bargain break
City breaks are the top choice for holidaying Britons, with more than one-in-five planning to travel to a European city in the coming months, according to new research.
Post Office Travel Money’s annual City Costs Barometer found that the best value is in Eastern European cities, which fill nine of the top 10 places in a survey of 40 cities.
Lisbon is the only city in Western Europe to break their stranglehold and rate among the 10 cheapest places for bargain hunters.
Three emerging Eastern European city destinations – Tirana, Katowice and Vilnius – were found to offer better value than more established ones like Prague and Budapest.
At £132 for 12 typical city break items – including a range of drinks, an evening meal for two with wine, two nights’ three-star weekend accommodation, sightseeing and city transport – Albania’s capital, Tirana, is a third of the cost of the five Scandinavian capital cities surveyed, which were most expensive in the survey.
Tirana is also far cheaper than its closest competitors. Runner-up Katowice, in Poland, is 24% more expensive at £164, while prices in the third-placed Lithuanian capital Vilnius are 26% higher at £166.
All three can now be reached direct from the UK on low-cost flights. A return flight in early October can cost as little as £28 per person to Katowice.
However, Eastern European cities do not have a complete stranglehold on value. A year-on-year fall in the average cost of two nights’ accommodation from £80 to £73 has helped Lisbon climb six places up the top 10 into fourth place. Easily the cheapest city in Western Europe at £180 for the barometer basket, prices in the Portuguese capital are less than half those in eurozone favourites Bruges (£370), Amsterdam (£379) and Venice (£382).
Nick Boden, head of Post Office
Travel Money, said: “Sterling is currently stronger against every European currency than a year ago, which has had a positive impact on prices abroad. However, the wide price variations we found means Britons planning city breaks would be wise to do their homework and consider the costs they will incur abroad as well as the exchange rate. Comparing costs for accommodation, food, drink and sightseeing in different cities could save them hundreds of pounds.”
The biggest drop in barometer costs has been in Ljubljana, where prices have plunged by 15% to £230, taking the Slovenian capital to 13th place, its highest ever position.
There have also been big falls for Madrid (down 12.6% to £260, 16th) and Paris (down 9.2% to £340, 28th).