Cheapest destinations for a cultural holiday

If you fancy a highbrow adventure at a lower cost, go east!

According to research by Post Office Travel Money, half of us are self-proclaimed holiday culture vultures.

For those who are hungry for more of the arts after the Edinburgh Fringe, the rest of the continent has plenty going on over the autumn.

Artistic highlights

The Post Office surveyed 12 cultural capitals and tallied up prices for “cultural baskets”. These include prices for museums, galleries, heritage sites and tickets for music, ballet and opera performances. Here's Warsaw's basket to give you a bit of an idea:

Warsaw Uprising Museum
Zacheta National Gallery of Art
Royal Castle
Polish National Ballet, Teatr Wielki 'Romeo & Juliet' (1,2,5 Oct)
Polish National Opera, Teatr Wielki 'Merchant of Venice' (24 Oct)
National Philarmonic, Philarmonic Concert Hall, Schoenberg (3 Oct)

Warsaw’s collective cultural basket came to under £70 while London’s costs over £256.

It’s not that much more in Budapest (Hungary), where it costs £80 for six cultural highlights including a ticket to the Royal Opera House to see the National Ballet perform The Nutcracker for just £15. Thanks to a 13% rise in the value of Sterling since 2009, tickets for top ballet and opera performances in Warsaw cost just £20.

Compared to a ticket for the English National Opera’s production of Othello at the London Coliseum (£117.50), that's definitely worth the air travel and currency exchange.

Prague also came out of the survey well, with the cultural shopping basket coming to £93 there, again thanks to a significant strengthening of the pound against the Czech Koruna.

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In the Eurozone

Have some Euros left over from your last trip? Try Dublin and Rome as they're the cheapest places to jet for art lovers in the Eurozone.

Prices for cultural attractions in Dublin have reduced by 19% since 2009, bringing its basket down to £102. Sadly, the options are a little more limited in autumn for one-off events. Attractions like the National Gallery and National Museum of Ireland are open year-round which are brilliant visits if you haven't been before.

For much more choice, try Rome (£132). There’s a myriad of events going on and since the last Cost of Culture report, prices have dropped by 36%, the biggest drop of the 12 cities surveyed. Head here for the Vatican Museum and the Colluseum.

Costs in other cultural capitals can be more than three times as much, with Vienna (£223), Amsterdam (£233) and Barcelona (£242) hiking up your travel bill by quite some way.

It’s worth getting out of the UK through as London is even more expensive than Paris. Despite having free museums and galleries all over the city, the cultural basket comes to £256. Generally, if there’s a little less cash in your kitty, you’ll probably want to avoid Paris. It’s a jaw-dropping 90% more expensive than Dublin at £252!

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Important things to remember

Planning city breaks can be a bit hectic, so here’s a quick checklist to see if you’re good to go:

Make sure your travel insurance is valid: You can buy it online up to the day before your departure date. Get a travel insurance quote with lovemoney.com.
Same with your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC): Though not a substitute for travel insurance, these handy little cards get you free or cheaper healthcare in EU countries.
Check your car insurance policy: If you’re planning on using your car abroad, make sure it’s covered in the country that you’re visiting. Many UK car insurance policies cover other places in Europe. Compare car insurance policies with lovemoney.com.
Pre-hire a car: As you can imagine, this will be much cheaper than sorting out a hire car once you get there. It may also help you avoid the temptation of extras like SatNav and damage cover that you don’t need.
Contact your bank if necessary: For security reasons, it’s a good idea to contact your bank before you go. Some banks will block your card if they see it being used in another country. See How to avoid getting your card declined abroad for more.
Don’t exchange your currency at the airport: It’ll be much more expensive. Double-check the going exchange rates to see where you can bag the best deal.

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Are you heading off for a cultural getaway in the near future? Tell us about it in the comments below

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