The cost of fun: 20 global cities ranked by entertainment expense

Sofia is the most cost-effective city for British travellers, according to a new study into hotel rates, restaurant, bar and taxi prices.

The Bulgarian capital was the most affordable of 49 cities that featured in the study, carried out by the website TripAdvisor.

A night out in the city, including one night at a four-star hotel, a short taxi ride and cocktails and dinner for two, was found to cost £104 on average.

Hanoi and Warsaw were second and third cheapest cities to feature, with a similar night out setting travellers back £115 and £123, respectively.

Oslo topped the list of most expensive cities, with one night costing £381, nearly four times as much as in Sofia. The Norwegian capital was followed by Zurich and Stockholm, with an evening out in both cities costing around £343.

London was the seventh most expensive city in the study, with a total cost of £296, but showed a significant improvement on last year’s cost comparison, when it was named as the costliest city. New York and Paris were named the fifth and sixth costliest destinations for Britons.

European cities dominated the rankings for the dearest destinations, with six out of the top ten, while Asian cities claimed four spots among the world’s cheapest destinations, with Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, joining Hanoi. Total costs in the three capitals ranging from £132 and £145.

The most expensive taxis were to be found in London, with an average trip costing just over £27, nearly twenty times more than the same journey in Kuala Lumpur (£1.39).

A night at a four-star hotel in Zurich was found to cost nearly the same as three nights in Warsaw, while dinner for two in Taipei was the equivalent of two cocktails in Seoul.

“The list shows that Asia is the most affordable continent, while Europe is the most expensive, but some European cities – like Sofia, Warsaw and Budapest – are bucking this trend,” said Angus Struthers, a spokesperson for TripAdvisor.