One of Europe’s best value Christmas markets is less than two hours from the UK
A Christmas market just a two-hour train ride from the UK is one of the cheapest for a festive break in Europe.
Lille in northern France has a lovely Christmas market that is surprisingly good value. If you're planning of making a weekend of it, hopping on the Eurostar and whizzing from London takes just an hour and a half, and will set two people back £532 return with two nights in a B&B included, according to the latest research from the Post Office.
The price of four cups of coffee, two three-course meals for two with a bottle of wine, four glasses of seasonal grog and bits of festive cake, as well as airport transfers, remains steady compared to last year at £207.
The city's market runs from the last week of November to the end of December. Kids are likely to enjoy a pony ride around the stalls and the Friday night concerts under Lille's shimmering lights. The Ferris wheel offers stunning views of the city and the huge Christmas tree. You can wander through the nearby Old Town and admire the colourful Flemish facades.
The market is tucked in Lille's historic centre b (Getty Images)The Lille Christmas market is located right in the centre of the city, with about 90 stalls on Place Rihour. It's only a ten-minute walk from the station.
All the places you can fly to for less than a tenner including Italy and Spain
Each year the Post Office sends its festive fair research elves off to different parts of the Continent to monitor the price of a bit of stolen and the merriness levels. Some Christmas markets have seen their prices shoot up in the past, high inflation 12 months. The cost of an outing in Krakow, Poland for example, has increased by 15%.
In the UK, some seasonable shoppers have blanched at the cost of a sausage at Manchester's market - the rrp have now risen to £8 per pork object. While no market is immune from global economic forces, some have been less impacted by others.
The sorry state of the krona in Sweden means the market there is 25% cheaper for Brits than it was in 2022. A browse around the stalls in Prague will set you back 13% less than last year, while Budapest's market is now 4% cheaper.
The Post Office Travel Money Christmas Markets Barometer found that overall, Latvia’s capital Riga is the cheapest on the scene, or at least of the 12 European cities looked at for the fifth consecutive annual report.
It is 46% cheaper than Vienna, the most expensive city. The price tag of £506 for a two-night Riga break for two people – comprising return flights, B&B, accommodation, airport-city centre transfers, two evening meals for two with wine, coffee and festive drinks and snacks at the Christmas market – is marginally lower than last year (down 1%) and almost 10% cheaper than Stockholm, its closest competitor.
Riga’s win is the result of low cost flights and competitively priced accommodation rather than prices on the ground because the city was ranked only sixth cheapest for meals and drinks.
By comparison, Krakow (£756) is far cheaper on the ground, with meals and drinks for two days costing just £144 compared with £199 in Riga. However, a scarcity of pre-Christmas flights has made the cost of travel far more expensive this year. As a result, barometer costs are up by nearly 16% and the Polish city has dropped to eighth place in the barometer table from third a year ago.
At just under £600, Stockholm is a surprise runner-up in this year’s barometer. Although meals and drinks remain expensive compared to its Eastern European competitors, a 9.4% rise in sterling’s value against the Swedish kronor has helped reduce prices for these items.
10 best value Christmas markets
The study looked at the price of four cups of coffee, two three-course meals for two with a bottle of wine, two return airport transfers, four glasses of festive drink, four Christmas cake pieces, two nights in a B&B and flights/Eurostar for two.
- Riga, Latvia: £505
- Stockholm, Sweden: £559
- Croatia, Zagreb: £559
- Prague, Czechia: £640
- Tallinn, Estonia: £663
- Budapest, Hungary: £713
- Lille, France: £739
- Krakow, Poland: £755
- Berlin, Germany: £768
- Salzburg, Austria: £846
You can find out more on postoffice.co.uk/travel-money/christmas-markets.
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