Revealed: the cheapest cities for a cultural break this autumn

Couples, or indeed friends, after a cultural getaway could do worse than heading to Prague this autumn, with the city ranked as the cheapest destination in Europe for a more refined weekend away.

New research published this week placed the Czech capital as the best value city break as calculated by the cost of six cultural activities - trips  museum, an art gallery, a heritage attraction, a dance performance, opera, and a classic concert. Its sample cost came to £93.58 for the six, while Barcelona at the other end of the scale cost £313.12.

What’s more is, according to the Post Office, which analysed prices in 16 cultural cities, the overall cost of the cultural highlights in Prague is down 26 per cent on last year.

This season, the Czech National Ballet will perform Valmont at the Estates Theatre and Rossini’s Le Comte Ory is on at the Brno National Theatre in the city. Prague also boasts the Museum of Cubism, perhaps better known as the House at the Black Madonna, and the Prague Castle.

Second in the ranking was Warsaw, where visitors in October could see performances of Chopin - the city’s most famous son - by the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra for just £16.94. The Polish capital’s total cultural cost was £93.97.

In third was the Hungarian capital, Budapest, with an overall cost of £111.58, and home to the survey’s cheapest dance: £9.91 to see The Taming of the Shrew performed by the Ballet Pécs at the Müpa.

The ranking, released as peak city break season approaches, highlights the gulf in cost between east and west, with Madrid (£300.23), London (£282.30) and Paris (£287.34) all among the most expensive, and three times the cost of the cheapest. A ticket to see the Barber of Seville at the English National Opera, London, at £96.50, costs more than an entire weekend’s worth at Prague.

The Post Office said the cost of the cultural basket in the English capital has risen 10 per cent since last year.

Berlin, in sixth place, behind Moscow (4th) and Stockholm (5th), was the cheapest in the Eurozone, with an overall cost of £204.46.

“Culture vultures looking for good value can save hundreds of pounds by doing their homework before booking and swapping expensive cities for cheaper ones,” said Andrew Brown from the Post Office.

“There are ways to keep the cost of culture down. Buy tickets direct from a theatre or opera house rather than via a ticket agency to avoid commission, seek advice on cheaper seats that still offer good views and check for free entry days to museums or gallery or times when prices are reduced.”