REVEALED: LITHUANIAN CAPITAL VILNIUS IS THE EUROPEAN CITY WHERE BRITONS' POUNDS WILL STRETCH THE FURTHEST IN 2024, WITH CARDIFF CHEAPEST IN THE UK AND AMSTERDAM PRICIEST OVERALL

The ranking is determined by the Post Office Travel Money's City Costs Barometer
It looked at prices of a range of costs including meals, drinks, attractions and accommodation
READ MORE: Inside the Paris hotel that's VERY handy for the Eurostar and VERY close to Gare Du Nord

Europe's best-value-for-money cities for Britons have been revealed - and the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius is the cheapest.

Second place in the ranking goes to Lisbon in Portugal, while underrated Lille in France comes third.

The most expensive destination is one of the most popular for weekenders. Amsterdam languishes at the bottom in 37th place. Second to last is Belfast where a dinner for two costs £109, while third from bottom, Edinburgh, sees visitors having to pay £5.25 for a bottle of beer.

The findings are courtesy of the 17th annual Post Office Travel Money City Costs Barometer and are based on the costs of 12 'tourism items' across 37 cities. They include two nights in three-star accommodation, return airport transfers, a top museum and a cup of coffee.

In Vilnius, this basket of goods totals £237. Meanwhile, at the other end of the scale, holidaymakers planning a trip to Amsterdam won’t get much change from £669.

The same basket of goods is priced at £263 in second-place Lisbon - last year’s number-one city and the cheapest in Western Europe. A 26 per cent rise in the average cost of three-star accommodation in Lisbon - £152 for two nights compared to £121 in June 2023 - accounts for the higher barometer cost this year.

However, prices for meals, drinks and other tourist commodities remain good value, according to Post Office Travel Money.

Third-place Lille in France - which has a charming old town of cobbled streets and colourful buildings - has jumped seven places up the top ten due to a fall in accommodation prices - now £131 compared to £186 in June 2023.

Eastern European cities fare well in the rankings, with seven placing in the top ten alongside Vilnius, which is less than half the price of 18 other cities.

In fourth comes charming Krakow (£278), overtaking classical Athens (fifth, £289) before the Eastern European cities take firm control of the rest of the top rankings with Riga (sixth, £297) and Budapest (seventh, £310).

Price falls in both Bratislava (5.7 per cent, eighth, £316), and Prague (12.5 per cent, ninth, £318), have guaranteed their entry into the upper echelons.

Finally, tenth place goes to Poland's capital, Warsaw, with goods totalling £319.

The cheapest of the four UK capital cities is Cardiff, sitting in 16th place (£409). It is over a third cheaper than Belfast (36th, £629), the most expensive Irish city this year, and surpasses Dublin (32nd, £578).

Edinburgh is in the same ballpark (35th) with a basket total of £602 thanks to price rises of 12 per cent. Surprisingly, prices in London have fallen 6.5 per cent (£524), placing it 25th on the list.

This year, prices have fallen in 21 of the cities surveyed.

Paris (24th) saw a reduction of 24.9 per cent (£287 compared to £382 last year), Venice (33rd) is down 21.9 per cent (£375 from £480) and Prague is down 21.4 per cent (£196 to £154).

The largest fall in accommodation prices has been in Lille, which saw prices drop 30 per cent from £186 to £131. Past winner Athens registered accommodation costs of £289, while the most expensive is Amsterdam at £462.

Laura Plunkett, Head of Travel Money at Post Office, said: 'It's important to remember that the cost of meals and drinks need to be added to the spending budget as city break holidays rarely include these items.

Over the course of two or three days, these can make a big difference to holiday costs and the low prices we found for meals and drinks in Lisbon and Athens make these cities strong contenders for a bargain break'.

2024-05-10T15:53:21Z dg43tfdfdgfd