The ultimate city break

With travel restrictions easing and holidays back on the table, many of us are desperate for some fun in the sun. But with the getaway that people desperately need comes a cost, and given the current cost of living crisis, now seems the perfect time to look for something cheap-yet-cheerful.

Whether you fancy sipping cocktails in a city square or spending your time immersed in the culture, the personal finance experts at money.co.uk have crunched the numbers to discover where in Europe you can get the full city break experience without it costing the earth.

If you want to spread the costs of your city break, remember you can apply for 0% purchase credit card to split the payments for up to 24 months.

The cheapest city break destinations

As so many European cities regularly sit on the top of bucket lists of travel enthusiasts around the world, you’re probably not alone in struggling to choose where you want to visit first. 

City breaks can come with a hefty price tag, so our personal finance experts have analysed various data points to discover which European cities you can visit on a budget. Our experts accounted for typical city break activities such as for the cost of an Airbnb for a night, a glass of wine, visiting the top-rated tourist attraction, the cheapest meal at the top-rated restaurant, and a 24-hour transport pass as part of the analysis. 

The cheapest European city break destinations

The analysis reveals that Istanbul is the cheapest European city break destination, costing a minimum of just over £68. On average, a one night stay in a city that famously straddles two continents (Europe and Asia) will cost you just £51.38 for accommodation. You can see Dolmabahce Palace, which is the city’s top-rated attraction, for less than £6.50 and that even includes a guided tour. You can also opt to see the best sights from the comfort of local transportation with the reassurance that you can stay within your budget, as a 24-hour pass is just 71p. 

Claiming the silver medal in the cheapest city breaks rankings is Greece’s Thessaloniki where the average cost for one night in an Airbnb is £62.25. Despite being an ancient city, which tourists can see from the ruins of Roman Emperor Galerius’ 4th-century palace, much of the city was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1917 and was rebuilt in a far more modern style. This mix of architecture makes it a place worth visiting and tourists can learn more for just £6.66 by visiting the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki. If all the Greek history is too much to take in, you can take the edge off with a glass of wine costing just £3.27. 

The third cheapest city break is Germany’s capital, Berlin, where the cost of a city break starts at £87.25. An Airbnb for one night is £62.83 on average, a 24-hour bus pass is considerably more than the cities in first and second place coming in at £7.42, but it balances out as the top-rated attraction is free of charge and the cheapest main meal at its top-rated restaurant is just £4.19. 

Porto and Naples complete the top five, costing £94.52 and £92.35 respectively. The country featuring the most in the top 20 list is Italy; Naples (in southern Italy) is fifth, whilst Bologna (north of the country) is eighth with a total minimum cost of just under £116.70. Florence and Milan sit outside the top 10 list claiming 13th and 14th positions, and the Italian capital, Rome, is 16th with a total cost of £140.26. 

20 cheapest European city break destinations

The most expensive European city break destinations

On the other end of the scale, the research found that Dublin comes out as the most expensive place to take a city break. It has the highest average cost for an Airbnb, coming in at nearly £252.88 a night. The Irish city also claims the crown as the most expensive European city for a glass of white wine and one of the most expensive top-rated attractions, bringing its total cost to nearly £300. 

Prague is second on the list with a one-night stay costing £210 on average, bringing the total spend to £232.98. This is followed by three UK cities; Edinburgh is third with the minimum costs of visiting the Scottish city coming to a total of £229.35, Manchester is the fourth most expensive city break in Europe, and London (famed for being expensive) is sixth. The United Kingdom features on the top 12 list once more with Bristol in 12th place, where the minimum cost of a one-night getaway is over £149.74. 

Outside of the top five is Zurich in fifth place, Amsterdam in seventh, Copenhagen in eighth, Oslo in ninth, and Seville - where city breaks start at £153.25 - is 11th on the most expensive city break list. 

12 most expensive European city break destinations

The cities with the cheapest Airbnbs

As accommodation is often the most costly part of a city break, the financial experts at money.co.uk also analysed the average cost of a one-night stay at an Airbnb in each European city. This revealed that Istanbul is the cheapest place to rest your head, costing £51.38 on average, followed by Thessaloniki and then Berlin. 

Vienna is the fourth cheapest city to stay in an Airbnb with an average nightly cost of just under £69.54, beating Spain’s Valencia by just one penny making it the fifth cheapest on the list. 

Top 10 cities with the cheapest Airbnb costs

The cities with the most expensive Airbnbs

On the other end of the scale, we have the cities with the most expensive Airbnbs. The research found that Dublin has the highest average cost, coming in at £252.88 per night. This could be due to the demand of people wanting to visit such a beautiful city, but it could also be a knock-on effect of the rising cost of rent, as *The Irish Times reported that the average rent in Dublin is now at €2,000 a month. 

Prague is second on the list with a one-night stay costing £210 on average, followed by three UK cities; Edinburgh’s average Airbnb cost is £190 a night making it the third most expensive in Europe, Manchester is fourth, and London (famed for being expensive) is fifth. The United Kingdom features on the top 15 list once more with Bristol in 13th place, where the average cost of a one-night getaway is £111. 

Top 10 cities with the highest Airbnb costs

The cities with the most Airbnbs per capita

Two Portuguese cities take the top spots for having the most Airbnb listings per 100,000 people in the city. Porto is the city with the most Airbnbs per 100,000 residents in the city, with a population of just under 250,000 and with 10,748 listings, which means there are over 4,300 Airbnbs for every 100,000 people. Lisbon is second on the list with 3,578 Airbnbs listings for every 100,000 people in the city. 

The third city on the list is Florence, the capital of Italy’s Tuscany region, where you will find 2,940 Airbnbs per 100,000 people. Considering the city has a population of just under 350,000, it’s estimated that 16 million tourists flock to see its many masterpieces of Renaissance art and architecture every single year. 

Following Florence is Paris, which has a population of over 2.1 million and the research reveals that the French capital has 2,303 Airbnbs per 100,000 residents (meaning there are 49,255 listings in total). The fifth European city on the list with a high ratio of Airbnbs to residents is Athens in Greece, where there are 1,457 listings for every 100,000 people. 

Also boasting over 1,000 listings per 100,000 residents is Milan which ranks in sixth position, Edinburgh in seventh, Geneva in eighth, and Rome in ninth; whilst Barcelona rounds off the top 10 list with 968 Airbnbs on offer per 100,000 people thanks to its population of 1.62 million. 

Top 15 cities with the most Airbnbs per capita

The cities with the most unique Airbnb listings

If you are really looking for an unforgettable experience, Airbnb gives you the opportunity to search for ‘unique’ types of accommodation ranging from cosy tree houses decorated with fairy lights to sprawling castles complete with shining armour (knights not guaranteed). The research reveals that it is Amsterdam offering guests the highest number of these one-of-a-kind stays with 9.4% of its 5,597 listings being considered as ‘unique.’ From analysing the listings it is clear that lots of them are floating homes or canal boats, giving tourists the chance to take in the stunning scenery of the canals that Amsterdam is so famous for. 

Bristol, located in the southwest of the United Kingdom, is second on the list with nearly 5.6% of all of its 1,631 Airbnb’s being unique. Amongst the most interesting are tiny houses that are fueled purely by the sun and wind, cosy shepherd huts with a log burning fires and a woodland yurt that sits just a five-minute drive from the city centre. 

Two Italian cities occupy third and fourth place, of Bologna’s listings 4.75% offer a unique experience, whilst 3.92% of Naples does. Geneva is fifth with 3.52% of the 2,157 Airbnb listings having a quirky edge, with castles, treehouses and private yachts being amongst the most impressive. 

Stockholm is sixth on the top 10 list, whilst Italy makes yet another appearance in seventh with 1.17% of Rome’s 24,627 Airbnb offerings being unique, followed by Thessaloniki in eighth. Belgium’s Antwerp is ninth and Valencia is Spain completes the top 10 cities with the most unique Airbnb listings.

Top 10 Cities for unique Airbnb listings

If you have already opened up Airbnb in another tab and you’re thinking of booking your next European city break, remember that you can spread the costs of your trip with a 0% purchase credit card.