Warsaw Cheapest City For Culture Vultures

The Polish capital of Warsaw is the cheapest city to visit if you are a culture vulture according to a study released by the UK post office. The Cost of Culture Survey 2008 looked at how costs compare between European cities popular for arts and entertainment leisure breaks such as London, Barcelona as well as the city of New York. 
It’s not a surprise to many that despite free entry to many tourist venues, London town is one of the priciest places with a night at the ballet and tourist attractions such as Buckingham Palace proving to be substantially more expensive than comparable venues in cities in Poland and Czech Republic. Prices within the eurozone vary hugely, but Lisbon and Amsterdam proved to offer the best value overall.

“As the euro-zone continues to expand, we have seen more new cities appear on the tourist map, particularly in Eastern Europe and many of the former Eastern Block countries” says Chintan Mahida, Nubricks resident property blogger.

The likes of Hungary, Poland and Czech Republic have attracted the lions share of budget airline routes making travel to the region fairly cheap by comparison to other European cities and their appeal as relatively undiscovered destinations adds to the appeal culturally. Cut-price cultural excursions with costs often a fraction of those in London and Barcelona for a trip to a museum or an evening of theatre are increasingly becoming a huge tourist draw. The rising popularity of the former eastern block countries as perfect locations for cheap stag and hen weekends has meant these countries colourful and interesting historical venues have taken something of a backseat. “Warsaw in particular fairs very well on the cultural cost charts for travel, accommodation and tours, a fact that has not escaped the attention of seasoned property investors.” comments Chintan.

As cities begin to enjoy wider appeal to a variety of travel clientele, the more varied the accommodation requirements of both the tourist industry and expats. This is helped by the fact that compared to countries such as the UK, the cost of living in Poland is substantial lower as highlighted in the annual Mercer Cost of Living Survey despite it rising of late.

So called weekend city breaks are now a massive niche within the tourism market and one which lesser well developed countries have been only too quick to appreciate. Attracting city visitors can contribute significantly economically but also from both a tourism and investment perspective appealing to big business, highlighting local industry and enticing future tourism visits.

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