The Cheapest Cities in Europe to Visit in 2026—and the Most Expensive

International airfares are running about 20% higher this year compared with 2025, according to Kayak.

But you can soften that budgetary blow by setting your sights on a destination with relatively low costs for stuff like meals, hotels, activities, and transportation once you get there.

In Europe, that strategy would be the most effective on the eastern side of the continent, as demonstrated in a new comparison of travel costs across 50 European cities.

For its annual City Costs Barometer, the U.K.'s Post Office Travel Money service tallied up the total for a dozen "everyday tourist items" in each of the urban destinations under consideration.

Among the costs researchers added up: a 2-night weekend stay for two people in a 3-star accommodation, a three-course dinner for two (with house wine), a cup of coffee, a bottle of beer, a Coke, a glass of wine, a 2-day public transit card, a sightseeing bus tour, and admission to a top museum and other activities. Sounds good to us.

And the city where all of that came to the lowest total amount: Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the brief visit imagined by Post Office Travel Money would only set you back £248 ($333). Not bad, even if you have a second Coke.

While appreciating Sarajevo's low prices, you'll also likely be charmed by its cobblestoned streets, East-meets-West architectural styles, and impressive natural setting in a valley that's bisected by a river and ringed by mountains.

Sarajevo is one of eight Eastern European cities to make the top 10 most-affordable list. Others in the region include second-place finisher Bucharest, Romania, and, in the third spot, Tirana, Albania.

Last year's cheapness champ, Riga, Latvia, came in sixth in 2026.

Western Europe's only entrants on the affordable end of the spectrum are two cities in France: Lille in seventh place and Strasbourg in ninth.

Western Europe dominates the top 10 most expensive cities ranking, though, with Oslo, Norway, landing in the priciest spot. The 2-day travel costs calculated in the analysis came out to £734 ($986) in Oslo. A single Coke there costs more than six bucks.

The cheapest cities in Europe for travelers

Here are the 10 most affordable options, according to the 2026 City Costs Barometer.

1. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
2. Bucharest, Romania
3. Tirana, Albania
4. Belgrade, Serbia
5. Trenčín, Slovakia
6. Riga, Latvia
7. Lille, France
8. Vilnius, Lithuania
9. Strasbourg, France
10. Podgorica, Montenegro

The most expensive cities in Europe for travelers

And here are the continent's priciest destinations, per the 2026 City Costs Barometer.

1. Oslo, Norway
2. Copenhagen, Denmark
3. Edinburgh, Scotland
4. Geneva, Switzerland
5. Barcelona, Spain
6. Dublin, Ireland
7. Amsterdam, Netherlands
8. Cork, Ireland
9. Venice, Italy
10. Madrid, Spain

To read the full report, go to PostOffice.co.uk.