Eastern Europe’s lesser-visited gems dominate Post Office Travel Money’s latest expanded City Costs Barometer for value, it has been revealed.
Vilnius and Belgrade head a list of emerging cities where costs are lower than in more established eastern favourites such as Budapest, Krakow and Tallinn. Porto is the only city in Western Europe to rank among the 10 cheapest places for a bargain break. The 2019 report also found prices have fallen in two-thirds of cities surveyed.
Lithuanian capital Vilnius narrowly beat Belgrade to take the top spot in the 2019 City Costs Barometer. At £147.35, the total cost of 12 typical spending items – including a range of drinks, an evening meal for two with wine, two nights’ three-star weekend accommodation, sightseeing charges and city transport – was down 11.1% year-on-year. Prices in Serbian capital Belgrade, one of 10 cities first surveyed last August for the Post Office Unsung Cities Report, were £4 higher at £151.57 – a rise of 1.9%.
The only other top 10 city where prices have risen since last spring is Riga (up 3.4% to £179, seventh in the table), although accommodation in the Latvian capital remains the cheapest in Europe at £67 for a two-night stay for two people sharing a room.
