Travellers looking for a bargain city break in Europe should look east, according to the latest Post Office Travel Report.
The research found that Latvian capital Riga ranked as the best value destination for Brits, but also revealed that despite the pound being dicey, there’s still plenty of places where you’ll get a decent bang for your buck.
Of 38 European cities that feature in the annual City Costs Barometer, Riga topped the list, with another Baltic States destination, Vilnius, coming second and Warsaw taking the third spot.
Aside from two Portuguese cities, Lisbon, which ranked fifth, and Porto, which came ninth, and French hotspot Lille, sixth, all of the other destinations were in Eastern Europe.
Podgorica in Montenegro came fourth, while Polish cities Gdansk and Krakow placed seventh and eighth, with Croatian capital Zagreb in tenth.
It’s the first time in a decade that Riga has taken the top spot – it came sixth in 2024, with the Post Office barometer finding that prices have fallen in half of the cities surveyed.
The study found that, based on the cost of 12 tourist items including accommodation, meals and drinks, city transport and entry to cultural attractions, Riga proved the best value, with the price at £253 – 15 per cent down on the same costs last year.
How do prices in Riga and runner-up Vilnius compare to those in more expensive destinations?
For the first time in over a decade, Riga in Latvia has topped the Post Office Travel Report’s list of best value European cities
In Western Europe, Lisbon (pictured) and Porto were deemed the cheapest cities for a holiday by the annual report, which looks at the cost of 12 tourist items on its barometer
Costs are 60 per cent lower than in Oslo (£636) and Copenhagen (£629), which were the most expensive cities surveyed.
Also worth considering for a break that won’t burn a hole in your wallet is Poland, which had three cities in this year’s top 10.
Costs in Warsaw were £277, which saw the Polish capital move up from 10th to third place with a price fall of 13.2 per cent, mainly as a result of a £39 fall in accommodation costs (£131 for two nights compared with £170 a year ago).
Meanwhile, tourist favourite Krakow fared a little worse, but still made the top ten, dropping from fourth to eighth place because of a 7.7 per cent price increase, with costs at £300.
In seventh position was Gdansk, which featured in the barometer for the first time, and was found to have a £297 cost for the barometer items.
If sun is high on your wish-list, then heading to Portugal is wise move, with costs also lower than in many warmer counterpart cities.
Although prices are up 10.8 per cent in Lisbon – the capital of Portugal had costs of £292, it’s still the highest ranking city in Western Europe when it comes to value.
Laura Plunkett, Head of Travel Money at Post Office, said of the latest findings: ‘Although city break holidaymakers need to keep a watchful eye on exchange rates, the real challenge will be the cost of accommodation in the cities Britons are considering.
Although prices are up 10.8 per cent in Lisbon – the capital of Portugal had costs of £292, it’s still the highest ranking city in Western Europe when it comes to value
Runner-up was Vilnius in Lithuania, which was just one pound behind Riga in terms of the cost of the barometer’s items at £240
‘Successive City Costs Barometers have found big swings in hotel costs depending on how many rooms are available in peak months. This year is no different and rising – or falling – hotel prices can have a big impact on city break costs.
‘For example, Vilnius lost its top spot in the latest chart because the cost of accommodation has risen by over nine per cent since last year, while it has fallen over 20 per cent in Riga in the same period.
When the cost of two nights’ accommodation is excluded, Vilnius remains cheaper for British visitors at around £111 compared with nearly £130 in Riga.’
How do closer-to-home cities fare on the list? Welsh capital Cardiff came in at 17, with £375 costs, while London was 26th at £523 and Edinburgh 36th with £602 for the items.
