Athens a City Break ‘Bargain’ in Europe for UK Travelers

Athens is once again among the 10 best value cities for travel in Europe this year, according to the UK’s annual Post Office City Costs Barometer for 2023.

The barometer identifies the European cities offering the best value for money in terms of travel accommodation and food prices.

Athens is ranked 4^th among 35 cities surveyed. The European city offering the best value is Lisbon, followed by Vilnius, and Krakow. Following Athens are Riga, Porto, Zagreb, Budapest, Warsaw and Lille.

Source: UK Post Office Travel Money.

According to the barometer, which looks at costs for two nights in a three-star hotel, a three-course meal for two with house wine, drinks, sightseeing and transport, UK travelers seeking a low-cost holiday are advised to visit Athens where the average cost for all of these comes to 262 pounds (around 307 euros). The Greek capital also came second offering cheaper accommodation options at an average 128 pounds and second again offering good prices for a dinner for two going for an average of 40.64 pounds.

The UK’s Post Office, the country largest provider of holiday money, said British tourists planning a city holiday should select their destinations carefully or pay up to 76 percent more than last year due to the weaker pound and surging hotel prices.

Source: UK Post Office Travel Money.

Other key takeaways of the Post Office Barometer for 2023 include:

– barometer prices have increased in all 35 cities surveyed this year

– two-night hotel stays have risen by over 50 percent in 27 of the 35 cities under review

– the biggest rises in accommodation since over 2022 were reported in Madrid, up by 139 percent from 161 pounds to 385 pounds and in Berlin, up by 121 percent from 168 pounds to 372 pounds

-price hikes for meals, drinks, transport and sightseeing are far lower than those for hotel stays. Indicatively, costs for these activities increased by 10 percent or less in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Dublin, Dubrovnik, Florence, Madrid, Paris, Riga and Venice, and even dropped in Stockholm (-14.7 percent), Bruges (-4.9 percent), Krakow (-3.2 percent) and Lisbon (-1.5 percent)

– 40 percent of Britons planning trips abroad will take a city break.

Athens, Greece.

“This year’s rise in prices makes it even more important for holidaymakers to do their homework before booking a city break. The increased price of accommodation could add hundreds of pounds to the overall cost of a holiday so travelers need to budget carefully for this,” said Head of Travel Money at Post Office Laura Plunkett.

She goes on to advise UK travelers to check costs for meals, drinks and sightseeing before booking, “as these are items that most city break tourists will incur. There are wide variations in costs between cities and people who are prepared to swap destination can make their pounds stretch much further by choosing a cheaper capital”.

Last year, Athens ranked Number 1 overall at an average of 207.18 UK pounds for accommodation, food, transport and sightseeing.