City Breaks Price Index: A Detailed Look at Europe’s Capitals

City Breaks Price Index

For our city breaks ranking, we took into consideration a wide range of data in order to come up with a ranking as close to an actual traveller’s reality as possible. Breakfast is had in the hotel and the trip to the city centre and back is covered by two single bus tickets. For lunch, we thought of a cheapish and quick option, which is why the local price of a meal at McDonald’s was used. A take-away cappuccino serves as an afternoon pick-me-up. Since the average tourist also wants to see and experience things, the entrance fee for the respective city’s Top 2 sights and attractions according to Tripadvisor was taken into account. We even used the data if the attractions were free of charge. This way, a city like London, where many popular museums don’t cost extra, could get some well-deserved bonus points and the average price per day dropped. In addition, we used average prices for a night in a double room in a 3-star hotel, a cheapish dinner as well as local beer prices. Below you’ll find a more detailed look at these three categories. Click here to go directly to our individual rankings:

Hotel Price Index: This is how much you’ll have to spend on one night in a double room

Mostly, the prices for one night in a hotel are in correspondence with the overall ranking. With prices between £30.50 and £206.40, the difference is quite significant, though.

RankingCapital cityHotel (3 stars)Overall ranking
1Kiev (Ukraine)£30.501
2Skopje (North Macedonia)£33.202
3Bucharest (Romania)£35.903
4Riga (Latvia)£36.808
5Ankara (Turkey)£36.8010
6Sofia (Bulgaria)£37.704
7Tirana (Albania)£37.709
8Minsk (Belarus)£38.605
9Belgrade (Serbia)£39.507
10Chișinău (Moldowa)£39.5011
11Andorra la Vella (Andorra)£39.5012
12Podgorica (Montenegro)£41.306
13Vilnius (Lithuania)£43.1014
14Budapest (Hungary)£44.9013
15Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina)£48.5016
16Zagreb (Croatia)£50.3017
17Prag (Czech Republic)£51.2015
18Moscow (Russia)£51.2019
19Warsaw (Poland)£54.7018
20Bratislava (Slovakia)£57.4020
21Tallinn (Estonia)£60.1022
22Athens (Greece)£63.7023
23Berlin (Germany)£66.4021
24Vienna (Austria)£73.6026
25Lisbon (Portugal)£73.6027
26Madrid (Spain)£74.5025
27Ljubljana (Slovenia)£76.3024
28Brussels (Belgium)£81.7028
29Rome (Italy)£84.4030
30Helsinki (Finland)£88.0029
31Stockholm (Sweden)£97.8032
32London (UK)£106.8031
33Oslo (Norway)£110.4035
34Valletta (Malta)£116.7033
35Paris (France)£123.0036
36Luxembourg (Luxembourg)£123.8034
37Dublin (Ireland)£131.9037
38Amsterdam (Netherlands)£132.8038
39Bern (Switzerland)£148.1039
40Reykjavik (Iceland)£196.5040
41Copenhagen (Denmark)£206.4041

Dinner Price Index: This is how much you’ll have to pay for dinner in an average restaurant

Eating out doesn’t have to be expensive. In Prague, Sarajevo, Bratislava or Warsaw – although rather mid-table in the overall ranking – an average meal is only about £5.

RankingCapital cityAffordable MealOverall ranking
1Podgorica (Montenegro)£2.956
2Chișinău (Moldowa)£3.0911
3Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina)£3.2116
4Kiev (Ukraine)£3.641
5Skopje (Macedonia)£3.642
6Ankara (Turkey)£3.9710
7Tirana (Albania)£4.199
8Budapest (Hungary)£4.3813
9Prague (Czech Republic)£4.4415
10Sofia (Bulgaria)£4.594
11Belgrade (Serbia)£4.787
12Minsk (Belarus)£4.825
13Bucharest (Romania)£4.913
14Bratislava (Slovakia)£4.9420
15Warsaw (Poland)£5.3418
16Riga (Latvia)£5.388
17Zagreb (Croatia)£5.4417
18Vilnius (Lithuania)£6.2814
19Berlin (Germany)£7.1821
20Tallinn (Estonia)£7.1822
21Ljubljana (Slovenia)£7.1824
22Lisbon (Portugal)£7.1827
23Moscow (Russia)£8.4319
24Andorra la Vella (Andorra)£8.9712
25Madrid (Spain)£8.9725
26Vienna (Austria)£8.9726
27Stockholm (Sweden)£9.1932
28Athens (Greece)£10.7723
29Helsinki (Finland)£10.7729
30Paris (France)£12.5636
31Brussels (Belgium)£13.4628
32Rome (Italy)£13.4630
33Valletta (Malta)£13.4633
34Dublin (Ireland)£13.4637
35Amsterdam (Netherlands)£13.4638
36Luxembourg (Luxembourg)£14.3634
37Copenhagen (Denmark)£14.4741
38Bern (Switzerland)£14.8639
39London (UK)£15.4831
40Oslo (Norway)£16.0035
41Reykjavik (Iceland)£17.8140

Beer Price Index: This is how much a pint of beer will cost you

With less than 50p for a pint, Kiev is the undisputed number one when it comes to beer prices. In Lisbon, Bratislava and Moscow, however, the cold refreshment is also surprisingly affordable.

RankingCapital cityPint of BeerOverall ranking
1Kiev (Ukraine)£0.461
2Tirana (Albania)£0.779
3Minsk (Belarus)£0.805
4Sofia (Bulgaria)£0.921
5Moscow (Russia)£0.9919
6Podgorica (Montenegro)£1.106
7Budapest (Hungary)£1.1713
8Bucharest (Romania)£1.183
9Prague (Czech Republic)£1.1915
10Belgrade (Serbia)£1.217
11Chișinău (Moldova)£1.3311
12Andorra la Vella (Andorra)£1.3512
13Bratislava (Slovakia)£1.3520
14Lisbon (Portugal)£1.3527
15Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina)£1.3716
16Skopje (Macedonia)£1.452
17Riga (Latvia)£1.718
18Warsaw (Poland)£1.7118
19Zagreb (Croatia)£1.8117
20Vilnius (Lithuania)£2.2414
21Ljubljana (Slovenia)£2.2424
22Ankara (Turkey)£2.2710
23Berlin (Germany)£2.6921
24Tallinn (Estonia)£2.6922
25Madrid (Spain)£2.6925
26Valletta (Malta)£2.6933
27Athens (Greece)£3.1423
28Vienna (Austria)£3.2326
29Brussels (Belgium)£3.5928
30Rome (Italy)£4.0430
31Amsterdam (Netherlands)£4.0438
32Luxembourg (Luxembourg)£4.4934
33Dublin (Ireland)£4.4937
34London (UK)£4.6531
35Bern (Switzerland)£4.9339
36Helsinki (Finland)£5.3829
37Paris (France)£5.3836
38Copenhagen (Denmark)£5.4341
39Stockholm (Sweden)£5.5132
40Oslo (Norway)£7.5335
41Reykjavik (Iceland)£8.9140