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28 Nov 2023

Best city breaks in Europe

Spain’s third-largest city and a Polish city with bargain hotels are Europe’s best city breaks, according to visitors

Which?Editorial team

In this article

Europe's best cities, as recommended by visitors
Kraków: best for a cheap cultural break
Valencia: best for a cultural and beach break
Stockholm: best for a summer break

Valencia and Kraków were rated better than Europe’s capitals and tourist hotspots such as Venice and Barcelona by visitors in our European city survey. Both received full five-star ratings for their cultural sights and food and drink, and an impressive 92% destination score.

It’s the fourth time Kraków has come out on top. Poland’s second-biggest city also has cheaper hotels than any other destination, with an average room rate of just £65 a night.

Valencia was the only Spanish city in our survey to clinch four stars for value for money with a hotel room costing £113 a night on average - £40 less than in Barcelona.

Stockholm was a close runner-up with a 91% score. The Swedish capital scored four stars for its tourist attractions, food and accommodation, but only two stars for value for money.

Berlin, Seville and Madeira’s capital Funchal were tied third with 89%.

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Europe's best cities, as recommended by visitors

Destination	Average airfare	Average hotel rate	Accommodation	Food and drink	Cultural sights	Shopping	Ease of getting around	Lack of crowds	Value for money	City score
Kraków	£103	£65								92%
Valencia	£115	£113								92%
Stockholm	£121	£122				-				91%
Berlin	£108	£111								89%
Funchal	£170	£108								89%
Seville	£112	£126								89%
Barcelona	£106	£153								87%

Using the table

Star ratings range from one to five. A dash (–) indicates we didn’t receive enough responses to provide a rating.
Cultural sights and tourist attractions Includes range, quality and price of historic buildings, galleries, museums, parks and city tours.
Ease of getting around Includes range of public transport options, ease of understanding transport-related maps/information/ transport ticket pricing systems, ease of walking/travelling between sights.
City score Based on a combination of overall satisfaction and how likely people are to recommend the city as a holiday destination

Kraków: best for a cheap cultural break

Video: Take a tour of Europe's best city

Poland’s second-biggest city has a Unesco-listed old town with elegant buildings and cobbled streets, plus the imposing Wawel Castle. At its heart is Europe’s largest market square, where flower and pretzel stalls are dwarfed by wedding cake-esque Cloth Hall and St Mary’s Basilica with its Gothic steeples.

Kraków has topped our survey for the fourth time in a row thanks to its winning combination of historic charm, cultural interest, great food and excellent value for money. A hotel room is just £65 a night on average, while a three-course meal for two with a bottle of wine costs around £63.

Don't miss: Visit nearby Auschwitz for a moving reminder of the horror that happened there during the war

Check with booking.com to easily compare and find accommodation deals in Krakow.

Booking.com is the top-rated hotel-booking site in our survey and received five stars for its flexibility. Most bookings can be cancelled at short notice without penalty. The only way to be sure you've found the best rate is to call or email the hotel directly.

Valencia: best for a cultural and beach break

Spain’s third-biggest city has 300 days of sunshine a year and miles of sandy beaches as well as a charming historic quarter, fantastic food and great museums. The extraordinary architecture ranges from a 15th-century Gothic silk exchange and Art Nouveau food market to the futuristic City of Arts and Sciences, which has an opera house, planetarium (pictured above) and science museum.

Valencia is the birthplace of paella while the stylish bars and restaurants of the El Carmen district rival Barcelona’s. It was one of only three cities to score four stars for value for money and also landed the top spot in our recent survey of the Mediterranean's best seaside towns.

Don’t miss: Turia Gardens - the former riverbed reinvented as a 9km park meandering through the city is a lovely spot for a picnic.

Check with booking.com to easily compare and find accommodation deals in Valencia.

Stockholm: best for a summer break

The Swedish capital has a labyrinthine old town, Viking bounty and an Abba museum. Amble past colourful merchants’ houses and a Royal Palace in Gamla Stan, then admire modern art in the Moderna Museet or spangly stage outfits in the Abba Museum.

In summer, locals flock to Stockholm’s archipelago of 30,000 islands to swim, kayak, hike and walk. Leafy, car-free Grinda Island is an easy ferry trip - just don’t forget to pack your bathers.

Visitors were impressed by Stockholm’s restaurants and bars, but expect to fork out around £6.50 for a bottle of beer and £95 for a three-course dinner for two with wine.

Don’t miss: The hair-raising exhibits in the Viking galleries in Historiska Museet include pirate plunder and skull fragments.

Check with booking.com to easily compare and find accommodation deals in Stockholm.

Our research

In October 2023, 1,637 Which? members completed an online survey about European cities they’d visited for leisure purposes in the past two years and stayed in for at least one night. The results are based on 2,458 experiences. Comparison site Kayak provided average hotel rates, while Skyscanner supplied the average price of return economy flights from London. Food and drinks costs are from the Post Office’s City Costs Barometer 2023.