Budapest – The cheapest cultural paradise in Europe

Budapest is famous for offering valuable cultural programs. The beauty of the Hungarian capital attracts tourists from all around the world, and most of them find the city extremely beneficial in terms of the budget. 

According to the Cost of Culture Report from the Post Office Travel Money, Budapest offers the most valuable cultural activities out of the 18 analysed cities, The Telegraph reports. Six different activities were examined, e.g. opera, theatre, museums, galleries, heritage sites, etc. The research was launched the second time this year, and Budapest was found to be the cheapest again.

Photo: www.facebook.com/NemzetiMúzeum

It costs only 86 USD to visit the world-famous Matthias Church, the National Gallery, the Hungarian National Museum, performances in the National Concert Hall, and the Erkel Theatre.

Compared to the prices of Milan (463 USD) or Madrid (528 USD) for the same kind of programmes, this price is extremely low. Eastern European cities stand out in low prices for cultural activities, e.g. Prague (125 USD) and Warsaw (129 USD).

Photo: www.facebook.com/Operaház

The total price for the mentioned six cultural activities in each city is listed below:

• Budapest (86 USD)
• Prague (125 USD)
• Warsaw (129 USD)
• Stockholm (195 USD)
• Moscow (198 USD)
• Dublin (212 USD)
• Brussels (214 USD)
• Berlin (263 USD)
• Rome (265 USD)
• Paris (296 USD)
• Amsterdam (311 USD)
• Barcelona (337 USD)
• Copenhagen (338 USD)
• London (354 USD)
• Vienna (355 USD)
• Milan (463 USD)
• New York (513 USD)
• Madrid (528 USD)

“With the wide variation in prices we found this year, it will really pay to do some homework on local costs before making a decision. Prices fluctuate from year to year, especially for opera, ballet and music concerts, where they can rise or fall dramatically depending on who is performing and the stature of the venue,” 

Nick Boden from the Post Office Travel Money reported.

The total price of the six programmes dropped in Moscow by 30% – thanks to the new stage of Bolshoi Ballet. The price for a National Philharmonic concert also decreased by half in Tchaikovsky Hall. The same phenomenon can be observed in Berlin – the overall price lowered by 17%. Dublin is still the best destination from the aspect of prices in the Eurozone – even if the prices have risen by 24% since last year. It is still half the amount of the prices in Milan and Madrid where costs of opera, ballet, and classical music increased by 30% this year.

London’s British Museum and National Gallery are free to visit

Take a look at some of the best cultural programmes of the analysed cities:

• Dublin’s National Museum of Ireland (Free)
• London’s British Museum and National Gallery (Free)
• Warsaw’s Warsaw Rising Museum (7 USD)
• Stockholm’s Moderna Museet (Free)
• Copenhagen’s The Little Mermaid Statue (Free)
• Brussels’ Grand Place (Free)
• Paris’s Notre Dame (Free)
• Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate (Free)
• Budapest’s Hungarian National Ballet (22 USD)
• Prague’s Czech National Ballet (31 USD)
• Barcelona’s Gran Gala Flamenco (38 USD)
• Rome’s Sadlers Wells (38 USD)
• Budapest’s Hungarian Opera (22 USD)
• Warsaw’s Polish National Opera (38 USD)
• Budapest’s Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra (16 USD)
• Moscow’s National Philharmonic Orchestra (20 USD)

You can further read about the city of Budapest here. You can also read an interesting article about the future of the Hungarian capital here.

Source: telegraph.co.uk