The 20 cheapest city breaks in Europe, from Vilinus to Prague

Sofia in Bulgaria ranked the cheapest city for a pint

Wednesday 21 August 2019 09:00 EDT

Lithuania's capital boasts the Unesco World Heritage-listed Vilnius Old Town, beautiful botanical gardens, craft brewery tours, street food markets and open-air concerts. (istock)

Your support helps us to tell the story

Support Now

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Vilnius has been ranked the cheapest city break, costing just over £100 per person for a two-night break.

In a new ranking by TravelSupermarket, the Lithuanian capital was ranked the cheapest city break this autumn, alongside Bucharest, Hamburg, Belfast and Turin.

The Best Value Index ranked the median price of a package (including flights and accommodation), a three course meal at an average restaurant and a pint in 50 short-haul city destinations from the UK during this autumn/winter.

A two-night break in Vilnius cost just £111.23 per person, according to TravelSupermarket, followed by Bucharest (£115.39) and Hamburg (£151.98).

Other city breaks for under £180 per person included Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia and Budapest.

At the other end of the spectrum, a city break to Dubrovnik was found to be the most expensive, costing £334.52 per person for two nights. Reykjavik and Istanbul followed, costing £293.99 and £279.01 respectively.

Elsewhere, the site ranked European cities by the cheapest pint of beer. Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital, came top with a pint costing just £1.17; followed by Porto (£1.39); and Budapest (£1.43).

TravelSupermarket also ranked British travellers’ most popular city breaks. Amsterdam came out top, followed by Krakow, Barcelona, Rome and Dublin to make up the top five.

“At the moment, a poor return of euros for sterling makes exchange rates an important consideration but the cost of living in a destination is equally important,” says Emma Coulthurst, travel commentator for TravelSupermarket.

“Cities to consider for value this year include the usual suspects in Eastern Europe such as Sofia and Krakow but also destinations such as Porto and Lisbon in Portugal, Valencia in Spain where food and drink costs are a lot lower than in the UK and Berlin and Hamburg in Germany.

“And don’t forget Belfast, which is just a quick, reasonably priced hop away.”