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For many of us, the first thing that comes to mind when we think of the phrase ‘European vacation’ is ‘how the hell am I going to pay for this?’ Which is fair, considering after airfare, accommodations, food and drink, and touristy shit, you’re going to be shelling out much more than you would in say, Milwaukee.
But, if you do a bit of cursory research beforehand, you can save yourself hundreds without sacrificing an awesome European experience.
City Costs Barometer from Post Office Travel Money examined the total cost of a weekend trip to 36 cities in Europe to find out which cities are the best bang for your buck. The organization used price estimates from Tourist Offices and average accommodation costs from Hotels.com.
Here are three interesting findings:
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- Stockholm, Sweden is 15% cheaper than it was in 2017, and the cheapest of the Nordic capitals.
- Athens, Greece is an incredible value and the cheapest in Western Europe, with by far the lowest meal costs of any city surveyed.
- If you’re ballin on a budget and looking to go on a European vacation, start looking at Eastern Europe–Vilnius, Lithuania (say what up to LaVar Ball) and Riga, Latvia to start.
City Costs Barometer used the following metrics to determine the net average total price of a weekend in each European city, via Business Insider:
Along with the average cost of two nights of accommodation for two adults in a three-star hotel, in order to come up with the total cost, the study looked at the average price of typical tourist items, including: a three-course meal for two with a bottle of house wine, a cup of coffee, a coca-cola, a beer, and a glass of wine, a return bus or train transfer from the airport to the city, a 48-hour city travel card, a sightseeing tour, and a visit to a leading museum, a gallery, and a heritage attraction.
Check out a breakdown of the individual costs here, but below find the top 10 cheapest destination cities to visit in Europe.
10. Lille, France — $294.94
9. Lisbon, Portugal — $294.80
8. Athens, Greece — $282.90
7. Prague, Czech Republic — $282.11
6. Moscow, Russia — $281.80
5. Budapest, Hungary — $259.03
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bg27qw6gW8h/?hl=en&tagged=budapest
4. Warsaw, Poland — $254.83
3. Riga, Latvia — $243.03
2. Vilnius, Lithuania — $233.65
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgJC4e9lknj/?hl=en&tagged=gediminastower
1. Krakow, Poland — $232.62
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bg32yRrgYYi/?hl=en&tagged=krakow
[h/t Business Insider]