IT’S GOT VIL POWER
LITHUANIA’S CAPITAL, VILNIUS IS YOUR BEST BET FOR A BARGAIN BREAK IN EUROPE, SAYS
EAST beats west when it comes to bargain city breaks this year.
Seven Eastern European cities landed a place in the top 10 best value destinations, according to the Post Office Travel Money City Costs Barometer, with Lithuanian capital Vilnius regaining its title as the cheapest of all to visit.
Runner-up Lisbon is one of two Western European cities to reach the top five in the table, as Lille leaps to third place. Closer to home, Cardiff is again the cheapest of our four UK capital cities.
Vilnius, which boasts a vast medieval old town, overtook last year’s winner, Lisbon, to top the list for the fourth time, out of 37 cities surveyed for the 17th annual cost comparison.
It comes as Post Office, the UK’S leading foreign currency provider, reports that sterling is stronger than a year ago against all European currencies except the Polish zloty, helping to shrink city-break costs in many countries.
Despite registering a 4.8% price increase since last year, Vilnius came out cheapest. The total cost of 12 typical items – including drinks, meal for two with wine, two nights’ three-star weekend accommodation, sightseeing and city transport – was around £237.
This was more than 10% lower than in runner-up Lisbon and less than half the price of 18 other cities including Amsterdam, the most expensive at £669.
However, when it comes to expenses, the Portuguese capital was the least expensive city in Western Europe. It serves the cheapest drinks – wine £1.95, coffee £1.06, beer £1.86 – and the best-value three-course dinner for two with wine (£36.60).
A 30% fall in accommodation costs from £186 to £131 also helped Lille in France jump to third place.
Less than one-and-a-half hours from London via Eurostar, and host of the basketball and handball events at this summer’s Olympics, Lille saw an overall price fall of 16.5% to £278.
Krakow in Poland was fourth, costing £278.87, while Athens, in Greece took fifth spot, coming in at £289.40.
Laura Plunkett, head of travel money at Post Office, which accounts for one-infour UK foreign exchange transactions, says: “The cost of meals and drinks needs to be added to the spending budget as city breaks rarely include these. They can make a big difference to holiday costs and the low prices we found in Lisbon and Athens make these strong contenders for a bargain break.
“Generally, it’s a win-win situation for British holidaymakers this year because prices are down in many of the European cities we surveyed. However, prices vary significantly across Europe, so it will make sense to do some holiday homework before booking.”
Cardiff (£409, 16th) again offers the best value of UK capitals, coming in at 35% cheaper than Belfast (£629, 36th), the most expensive UK capital this year.
In 35th place with a barometer of £602, we have Edinburgh, which is almost as pricey.