If you’re looking for the best Christmas market to visit this month then the good news is Hoppa has done the research for you and worked out the cheapest place to get into the Christmas spirit.
The airport transfer specialists have been analysing dozens of European winter getaway destinations, looking at the average cost of accommodation, reading the Tripadvisor reviews and adding up the price of a pint.
And the European spot that is the most cheap and cheerful this Christmas is…Prague! I must say I have to agree with them as I was lucky enough to travel to the picturesque city of Prague two years ago in the run up to Christmas and it probably is the most Chrismassy place I’ve been to.
With its stunning buildings, cobblestone streets, and historic Old Town Square, Prague is a pretty great place to visit all year round – especially in December when the Christmas lights are twinkling and locals are chanting traditional Czech carols.
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It has an iconic Gothic Church, a 20-Metre Christmas tree and is circled by dozens of wooden chalets selling everything from Trdelník (chimney cake) to Czech Marionettes (hand painted ornaments) and puppets.
And alongside a very good-looking Christmas market, you can expect to find a rather impressive 4,811 attractions to keep you amused. Scoring 7.5 out of 10, the average cost of a 3-star hotel in Prague is just £74 and the average cost of a pint is £2.17 according to secretldn.com
There are also some great restaurants where you can sit down and enjoy very reasonably priced food and drink while you people watch. You can expect to pay around 250-400 CZK (approx. £8 to £14) for a dinner with drinks, with street food being even cheaper.
And there’s so much choice – from classic dishes like Goulash, Svíčková (beef in cream sauce) or Vepřo knedlo zelo (pork, dumplings, sauerkraut) to mulled wine and roasted nuts.
In fact, the Christmas market is so picture-perfect, it’s been named the most photographed Christmas market in Europe, according to various media outlets and Prague City Tourism.
There’s still plenty of time to visit – the market runs annually from late November through early January, transforming the square into a fairy-tale scene dominated by the soaring Gothic towers of Týn Church and the Astronomical Clock.
One of the best things is that it might only be a two-hour flight from the UK but once your feet firmly land in the Old Town Square, you feel like you’ve stepped into the past. And you can get there for as little as £27 return (if you book it far enough in advance) leaving plenty leftover for a few £2 pints of Czech lager.
The 10 most affordable European winter getaway destinations:
- Prague, Czech Republic
- Bansko, Bulgaria
- Sofia, Bulgaria
- Budapest, Hungary
- Tallinn, Estonia
- Kraków, Poland
- Tirana, Albania
- Belgrade, Serbia
- Bratislava, Slovakia
- Vilnius, Lithuania
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