If you’re planning a wedding, birthday, stag or hen night, then you’ll want to know which is the cheapest European city to party in.
A new study by Post Office Travel Money shows the cost of an evening out on a short break can vary vastly – depending whether it is in Barcelona’s Ramblas, Dublin’s Temple Bar or the old towns of Eastern Europe.
The City Costs Drinks Barometer of 10 popular destinations found there is no beating Budapest (above) for the price of drinks, with Prague and Riga also eclipsing the cities surveyed in Western Europe.
Prices for 10 drinks, ranging from beer, wine and champagne to cocktails, were surveyed in popular tourist haunts. Budapest’s total of £19.76 was less than half the price charged for a basket of drinks in seven of the other 10 cities surveyed. Prague (£25.91) and Riga (£34.03) were runners up to Budapest in the survey.
In Western Europe Amsterdam (above) is likely to prove the cheapest option for a celebration break. At £41.27 for the 10 drinks, it was over 13 per cent cheaper than Paris (£47.59), the number one city break destination and a popular choice for young women.
Party capital Ibiza (£43.11) also scored well in the Post Office survey. However, the size of the bar bill depends what you drink. A gin and tonic (£6.69) was more expensive in Ibiza Town than in any of the other cities surveyed and a cocktail (£7.43) was among the highest priced.
The two most expensive cities surveyed were Dublin and Barcelona. At £53.42, the in-vogue Spanish city presents a polarised picture. It was the most expensive for four drinks including cocktails (£7.45) and Southern Comfort (£11.17). However, stick to beer or lager (both £2.23), wine (£2.61 a glass) or champagne (£3.91 a glass) and the prices charged were among the cheapest in the survey.
The opposite was true of Dublin (above, £55.65), priciest in the survey and the most expensive for five drinks: beer, lager, wine, champagne and dry martini. A glass of champagne costs £8.92, around four times as much as in Budapest or Prague.
Andrew Brown of Post Office Travel Money said: “The city break is now the king of holidays, especially among under-35s. Fifty per cent of them took a city break last year and one of the key reasons is the surging value of sterling, which is making European cities very cheap.
“Over the past three years we have seen a huge increase in the numbers of younger people ordering their travel money online and coming into our branches to change large amounts of money into foreign currency for city break trips.
“This has led to big increases in sales of currency for the best value cities. For example, we have seen growth of 163 per cent in sales of the Hungarian forint since 2010 on the back of cheap prices in Budapest and the rising value of sterling.”
“However, air fares to Eastern Europe may cost more than to cities closer to home so it will pay to do some homework and calculate the cost of flights, accommodation and drinks before booking!”
Here’s a guide to what a tipple will cost you city by city:
| BUDAPEST | PRAGUE | RIGA | AMSTERDAM | IBIZA | |
| Bottle of beer (330ml) | £1.06 | £1.97 | £2.01 | £2.16 | £2.60 |
| Bottle of lager (330ml) | £0.88 | £1.55 | £2.90 | £3.20 | £2.97 |
| Glass of white wine (175 ml) | £0.91 | £1.41 | £3.38 | £2.45 | £3.35 |
| Glass of champagne (125ml) | £1.68 | £2.25 | £3.35 | £5.58 | £3.72 |
| Southern Comfort (50ml) | £1.99 | £2.25 | £2.38 | £3.35 | £2.97 |
| Cocktail (i.e. Mojito, Cosmopolitan, Margarita) | £3.78 | £3.38 | £5.58 | £6.99 | £7.43 |
| Gin & Tonic | £2.65 | £3.24 | £3.35 | £4.68 | £6.69 |
| Rum & Coke | £2.65 | £2.96 | £4.46 | £4.68 | £5.20 |
| Scotch & Soda | £2.27 | £3.38 | £4.46 | £5.58 | £4.46 |
| Dry Martini | £1.89 | £3.52 | £2.16 | £2.60 | £3.72 |
| TOTAL | £19.76 | £25.91 | £34.03 | £41.27 | £43.11 |
| BERLIN | TALLINN | PARIS | BARCELONA | DUBLIN | |
| Bottle of beer (330ml) | £2.38 | £2.31 | £2.97 | £2.23 | £3.72 |
| Bottle of lager (330ml) | £2.60 | £2.31 | £2.60 | £2.23 | £4.24 |
| Glass of white wine (175 ml) | £2.60 | £2.90 | £3.72 | £2.61 | £4.83 |
| Glass of champagne (125ml) | £7.43 | £7.45 | £5.58 | £3.91 | £8.92 |
| Southern Comfort (50ml) | £3.90 | £5.96 | £4.46 | £11.17 | £4.01 |
| Cocktail (i.e. Mojito, Cosmopolitan, Margarita) | £5.58 | £5.96 | £6.32 | £7.45 | £5.17 |
| Gin & Tonic | £4.65 | £5.96 | £5.58 | £5.21 | £5.06 |
| Rum & Coke | £4.83 | £4.47 | £5.58 | £6.70 | £6.32 |
| Scotch & Soda | £3.72 | £4.47 | £5.58 | £6.70 | £5.95 |
| Dry Martini | £6.69 | £4.47 | £5.20 | £5.21 | £7.43 |
| TOTAL | £44.38 | £46.26 | £47.59 | £53.42 | £55.65 |
