That is SO Not Budget Friendly!
The Sunday Telegraph, a UK newspaper recently surveyed a bunch of popular tourist attractions around the world to see which city was the most expensive for travelers. I know this will come as a big surprise to some of you but LONDON turned out to be the biggest pound snatching town.
The paper looked at the cost of visiting 9 of each city’s most popular attractions plus the price of an open-top bus ride in London and 10 other cities around the world. In Europe, they also examined Dublin, Edinburgh, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Cardiff and Berlin. The price for all of the surveyed London attractions was 163 GBP MORE than the price for the second most expensive city on the list, Paris. If a family of four visiting London wants to see Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, Madame Tussard’s Wax Museum, take a ride on the London Eye, do London’s Original Sightseeing Tour, plus see 5 other popular attractions, they’ll need to cough up 586 GBP. In Dublin, the least expensive city surveyed, can see a family of 4 spending 180 GBP and experiencing Dublin Castle, Dublin Zoo, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, a bus tour plus 6 other activities.
Another interesting fact uncovered by the survey was the difference in prices levied by the same company in different cities. For example, a trip to Madame Tussard’s in London costs 85 GBP for a family of 4, while gazing at the wax sculptures in Berlin is only 51 GBP for the same family.
Now some might say there’s no comparison between the Tower of London and Dublin Castle, or it could be your dream to visit Buckingham Palace, no matter the cost. And that’s great – budget accordingly and all your travel fantasies can come true. But let’s think about FREE attractions in nearly every city, that often offer a more authentic experience than the overcrowded “gems” the tourist folks like to promote. Why does it cost 12 GBP to visit Westminster Abbey, yet it is free to visit Notre Dame?
What has been one of your best free experiences in Europe – and which one was your most expensive, but so totally worth it?
You can see the full article here.
Photo Credit: kiki99@Flickr
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