Dublin Is Best Bargain For Holidaymakers Who Turn Into Culture Vultures On A City Break

Dublin leapfrogs Eastern European capitals to rate cheapest for a highbrow break

Prices rise 12.5 per cent in London – still the most expensive European cultural capital surveyed

Transatlantic travellers will pay most of all – New York cultural attractions cost over £200 more than London

Growing numbers of UK tourists are turning into culture vultures when they head off on trips abroad, according to a succession of surveys on holiday habits¹. Now the latest Post Office Travel Money Cost of Culture report² has revealed that Dublin is the city where culture costs the least. The Irish capital was found to be much cheaper than Warsaw, Budapest and Prague, the Eastern European cities that set the pace for a culture-cramming break a year ago.

Based on six cultural attractions - visits to Ireland’s National Museum, National Gallery and Trinity College to see the Old Library and Book of Kells as well as ballet, opera and musical nights out - Dublin’s cultural barometer basket weighed in at just over £76, more than 25 per cent cheaper than a year ago. Not only does this make the city the best value of 17 cultural capitals surveyed by the Post Office but also less than half the price of 10 competitors, including London. Dublin’s six cultural highlights cost less than one ticket in London for The Barber of Seville (£115, London Coliseum) or Romeo & Juliet (£115, Royal Opera House).

London remains Europe’s most expensive city for culture after registering a 12.5 per cent rise in the Cost of Culture basket to £287.50 compared with last year. Paris is almost as expensive at £247.64 but prices in both cities are far lower than in New York, where transatlantic travellers can expect to pay £491.73. In New York a category 2 ticket for the Metropolitan Opera (Otello) will set UK visitors back £212 while the New York City Ballet (Balanchine) costs over £177.

Budapest has retained its position as second cheapest in the survey at £91.31 for the six cultural highlights, although prices are up 13.6 per cent compared with a year ago. For holidaymakers who prefer the idea of mixing sunshine with a city break, Lisbon looks to be best value. The Portuguese capital scored with the third cheapest barometer cost of £94.41.

Despite the increased value of sterling, which gives UK visitors 13 per cent more Polish zloty for their pounds³, Warsaw, last year’s best bargain, has fallen to fourth place because performance prices have mushroomed 51 per cent to £105.10 in 12 months. Fifth-placed Prague has seen a 20 per cent increase to £111.52.

Andrew Brown of Post Office Travel Money said: “Last year we were advising holidaymakers to head east to Warsaw, Budapest and Prague for the lowest-priced highbrow break. Now Dublin has leapfrogged all three and looks a great bargain, especially as flights to the Irish capital are shorter and such good value too.”

However, the Post Office points out that the price you pay will depend on your taste in culture. For example, entry to the most popular museum, gallery and heritage site is free in Copenhagen, which is 10^th placed in the overall barometer at a total price of £154.20, but these attractions cost over £35 in Amsterdam. And while there is free entry to the British Museum and National Gallery in London, the Tower of London rated as the most expensive heritage site at £24.50 – over twice the price of every other site surveyed.

The report found that the cheapest European cities for ballet, opera and music events cost a sixth of those in the most expensive cities⁴. A ticket for Lisbon’s National Ballet Company (Pedro e Ines) will cost £18.16 compared with £115 for the Royal Ballet’s Romeo & Juliet in London. Similarly, holidaymakers will pay £21.34 a ticket for the Polish National Opera’s production of the Merchant of Venice compared with around £130 for Madam Butterfly at the Paris Opera. In Budapest a programme of Strauss by the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra costs £10.47 but a Warsaw National Philharmonic classical concert is £52.10.

Andrew Brown said: “Every city we surveyed boasts world-class cultural attractions but the prices for these vary dramatically. This means culture vultures looking for good value can save hundreds of pounds by doing their homework before booking and swap expensive cities for cheaper ones.”

Currencies for cities featured in the Cost of Culture report are available at the Post Office, with over 10,000 branches offering euro over the counter. More than 70 currencies can be pre-ordered at over 11,500 Post Office branches or online at postoffice.co.uk/travel for next day branch or home delivery.

ENDS

For more information, please contact:

Emma Coulthurst Post Office Press Office 020 7012 3456

emma.coulthurst@postoffice.co.uk

Christine Ball CBPR 01798 874177 / 07976 285997 cball@cballpr.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

¹ Surveys conducted by Homestay.com; Moneycorp; Opinion Matters for NewcastleGateshead and Post Office Travel Truths.

² The Post Office Cost of Culture Report lists six cultural highlights in each featured city, providing prices researched on official websites. For music, opera and ballet performances, prices relate to category 2 seats for performances taking place between 1 and 9 October 2015. Where no performances are scheduled within that timeframe, recent or forthcoming ones have been used instead. A table showing the full breakdown of cultural attractions is provided on a separate sheet.

POST OFFICE COST OF CULTURE CITY PRICE GUIDE

Source: Post Office®. Data relates to online exchange rates on 11 August 2015. Brussels, Copenhagen, Lisbon, New York and Stockholm were not surveyed in 2014.³ Post Office exchange rates for Cost of Culture currencies, August 2015 compared with August 2014:

⁴ Post Office charts showing the best value cities and the most expensive ones for each category surveyed.BEST VALUE IN CULTURAL CAPITALS

MOST EXPENSIVE CULTURAL ATTRACTIONS