The English post office 2024 survey of best value city breaks 2024 shows Vilnius has reclaimed its crown as the best-value city in Europe. Its costs are more than 10pc lower than runner-up Lisbon and less than half those of 18 other cities as the cost of a weekend in Belfast was more expensive than Dublin for the first time.
Second placed Lisbon in Portugal is still the best-value Western European city. Despite a 26pc rise in the average cost of three-star accommodation, prices remain good for meals, drinks and other tourist commodities
Lille in France has leapt up seven places to third, helped by a fall in accommodation costs
Amsterdam is the most expensive in the survey at £668. That’s despite the Dutch city recording an 8.3pc fall in prices, the ninth-largest drop of all those surveyed
Belfast and Edinburgh both saw year-on-year prices rises of around 12pc. In London they’ve fallen by 6.5pc
Top 10 best value city breaks
The overall cost of a city break was calculated based on 12 typical items for such a trip. These included a range of drinks, an evening meal for two with a bottle house wine, two nights’ three-star weekend accommodation, sightseeing and city transport.
- 1 Vilnius €266.22
- 2 Lisbon €296.26
- 3 Lille €312.59
- 4 Krakow €313.26
- 5 Athens €325.28
- 6 Riga €334.11
- 7 Budapest €349.53
- 8 Bratislava €354.72
- 9 Prague €357.45
- 10 Warsaw €358.56
The 10 most expensive European cities
Using local prices for the same items, these cities worked out to be the 10 most expensive in this year’s barometer:
- 1 Amsterdam €752.91
- 2 Belfast €706.12
- 3 Edinburgh €677.39
- 4 Helsinki €660.38
- 5 Venice €655.85
- 6 Dublin €652.25
- 7 Copenhagen €649.08
- 8 Oslo €635.25
- 9 Geneva €626.63
- 10 Vienna €619.18
Lowest-priced accommodation
- 1 Lille €146.86
- 2 Vilnius €146.86
- 3 Krakow €149.66
- 4 Athens €157.68
- 5 Lisbon €171.00
Most expensive accommodation
- 1 Amsterdam €523.53
- 2 Belfast €498.57
- 3 Dublin €481.52
- 4 Edinburgh €476.05
- 5 Venice €426.49
Lowest price meals
- Lisbon, Portugal €41.14
- Athens, Greece €56.76
- Vilnius, Lithuania €67.11
- Porto, Portugal €69.20
- Berlin, Germany €71.03
Highest price meals
- Oslo, Norway €162.85
- Copenhagen, Denmark €159.22
- Vienna, Austria €141.94
- Geneva, Switzerland €134.72
- Helsinki, Finland €127.28
Dublin
- Cup of coffee (regular filter) – café/bar €3.08
- Bottle of beer/lager (330ml local brand) – café/bar €6.46
- Coca-Cola/Pepsi (330ml bottle/can) – café/bar €2.19
- Glass of wine (175ml house) – café/bar €7.21
- 3-course evening meal for 2 inc. house wine €93.57
- Return airport bus or train transfer €8.95
- 48-hour travel card €15.90
- Sightseeing city bus tour €28.79
- Top tourist heritage attraction €7.92
- 2 nights’ 3* accommodation (weekend) for 2 €542.80
Belfast
- Cup of coffee (regular filter) – café/bar €4.47
- Bottle of beer/lager (330ml local brand) – café/bar €5.84
- Coca-Cola/Pepsi (330ml bottle/can) – café/bar €3.09
- Glass of wine (175ml house) – café/bar €7.85
- 3-course evening meal for 2 inc. house wine €125.60
- Return airport bus or train transfer €5.41
- 48-hour travel card €13.74
- Sightseeing city bus tour €22.89
- Top tourist heritage attraction €28.65
- 2 nights’ 3* accommodation (weekend) for 2 €495.65
See more:
https://www.postoffice.co.uk/travel-money/city-costs-barometer
