The best winter getaway destinations for 2024 revealed

Prague has claimed the top spot this year, with a score of 44 out of 50 points. Last year it was in second place. Our number one winter getaway destination is ‘The City of a Hundred Spires’, given this nickname because of the incredible skyline created by the city’s architecture. Prague’s Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with some particularly important historic buildings including Prague Castle and the Cathedral of St Vitus.

Prague had the third lowest cost for a week-long stay in a hotel, at £588.66. The Czech capital was also the second most affordable place to rent a car for a week, costing only £44.06 - and the cost for a return flight was the lowest on our list, at only £94.

• Number of ‘cheap’ restaurants: 1024
• Average car rental cost for one week: £44.06
• Average cost of a week-long hotel stay: £588.66
• Average flight cost (from London Heathrow): £94
• Biggest attraction: Prague Castle
• Cost of biggest attraction: £14.93

This year, Krakow has taken the place as the second-best destination for an affordable winter getaway, scoring 37 out of 50 points and moving down from first place. Poland’s second-largest city has plenty to offer tourists in the winter, and as the image above shows, it’s not far away from pretty countryside, with smaller towns like Wieliczka and the Ojcow National Park less than an hour’s drive away.

At only £34.65 to rent a car for a week, this destination scored the best on this front. Also, Rynek Glowny, the city’s most well-known attraction is free to visit - this magnificent square is right at the center of Krakow’s Old Town, the perfect place to soak up the sights of this beautiful city.

• Number of ‘cheap’ restaurants: 522
• Average car rental cost for one week: £34.65
• Average cost of a week-long hotel stay: £479.26
• Average flight cost (from London Heathrow): £133
• Biggest attraction: Rynek Glowny
• Cost of biggest attraction: Free

Berlin is in third place this year, up four places from its position in seventh place last year. The German capital is our next most budget-friendly destination, with a score of 33 out of 50 points. Visiting Berlin in the winter means you can explore this iconic city with far fewer crowds around, making the most of the plethora of galleries and museums it is home to.

Berlin was the city with the second-highest number of affordable restaurants, with 1354 eateries to choose from. The average cost of a return flight from Heathrow was £117, the fourth cheapest on our list.

• Number of ‘cheap’ restaurants: 1354
• Average car rental cost for one week: £174.81
• Average cost of a week-long hotel stay: £673.20
• Average flight cost (from London Heathrow): £117
• Biggest attraction: Reichstag Building
• Cost of biggest attraction: Free

In fourth place we have Budapest, one place higher in the ranking than it landed last year. This year, the Hungarian capital scored 32 out of 50 points. Budapest is a historic city, full of stunning Art Nouveau architecture, and there’s plenty to see and do, from the famous thermal baths to cruising down the River Danube.

Hotel accommodation for a week costs £616.00 on average, making Budapest the fourth cheapest place to stay. The city has 680 affordable restaurants, the fourth highest number in this ranking. Why not try a warming bowl of goulash or perhaps a sweet, cinnamon-covered chimney cake?

• Number of ‘cheap’ restaurants: 680
• Average car rental cost for one week: £78.92
• Average cost of a week-long hotel stay: £616.00
• Average flight cost (from London Heathrow): £120
• Biggest attraction: Hungarian Parliament Building
• Cost of biggest attraction: £25.13

The Estonian capital, Tallinn, has maintained its place in the ranking from last year, landing in sixth place once again with a score of 29 out of 50. This city may be small but it is full of charm and character, and the entire Old Town quarter is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The city’s biggest attraction, the incredible St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, is free to visit. The cathedral is a fantastic example of Neo-Byzantine architecture, with its majestic domes and 174 ft bell tower. Tallinn had the second lowest cost to stay in a hotel for a week, averaging out at £480.66.

• Number of ‘cheap’ restaurants: 175
• Average car rental cost for one week: £71.23
• Average cost of a week-long hotel stay: £480.66
• Average flight cost (from London Heathrow): £135
• Biggest attraction: Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
• Cost of biggest attraction: Free

This year Paris dropped down by three places to arrive at its spot in the 2024 ranking as the seventh best destination for a winter getaway, with a score of 28 out of 50. Last year it was in fourth place. This most romantic of cities has lots to offer travelers in the winter season. As well as lower prices in hotels, you’ll also get much shorter queues in the museums and galleries.

You can still enjoy people-watching outside a cute cafe in winter, as many of them have heat lamps - and with 2526 cheap restaurants, Paris has by far the highest number of places to enjoy a meal at an affordable price of all the cities in our list. Paris is also the second most affordable place to fly to, with a round trip from Heathrow costing only £94.

• Number of ‘cheap’ restaurants: 2526
• Average car rental cost for one week: £174.20
• Average cost of a week-long hotel stay: £1,288.00
• Average flight cost (from London Heathrow): £95
• Biggest attraction: Eiffel Tower
• Cost of biggest attraction: £29.42

In eighth place this year, Vienna has moved up one place in the ranking from its position last year. In our 2024 list, the Austrian capital scored 25 out of 50 points. There are numerous ski resorts near the city, but Vienna has plenty to offer for people who are more interested in city life than hitting the slopes. There are 597 affordable restaurants in the city, and visiting in winter means you can experience the world-famous Christmas markets.

The biggest attraction, Schönbrunn Palace, costs £31.93 to go inside, but the grounds play host to one of the most beautiful Christmas markets in Vienna, which doesn’t cost anything to attend. Vienna was the third cheapest place to rent a car for a week, with the cost averaging £62.99.

• Number of ‘cheap’ restaurants: 597
• Average car rental cost for one week: £62.99
• Average cost of a week-long hotel stay: £762.00
• Average flight cost (from London Heathrow): £132
• Biggest attraction: Schönbrunn Palace
• Cost of biggest attraction: £31.93

In ninth place this year we have Amsterdam, which last year ranked in eighth place. The Dutch capital scored 23 out of 50 points this year. This beautiful city is much quieter in the winter, making a holiday in the cooler months an ideal time to explore the historic streets on foot with far fewer tourists around.

Its biggest attraction is the Rijksmuseum, the national museum of the Netherlands where you can find 8,000 pieces of art and historical artifacts, and get a close-up view of masterpieces by Vermeer and Rembrandt.

• Number of ‘cheap’ restaurants: 647
• Average car rental cost for one week: £157.07
• Average cost of a week-long hotel stay: £1107,73
• Average flight cost (from London Heathrow): £122
• Biggest attraction: Rijksmuseum
• Cost of biggest attraction: £18.91

This year, as it did last year, Copenhagen has ranked in tenth place, with a score of 17 out of 50 points. Denmark is the home of hygge, a word that doesn’t have an exact English translation but conveys a sense of coziness and contentment - isn’t that what everyone wants in the wintertime?

The capital of Denmark transforms in the winter, with canals freezing over and some of the city squares turning into public ice rinks. Try Frederiksberg Runddel, at Frederiksberg Garden. Copenhagen’s biggest attraction, Tivoli Gardens, costs £18.02 to enter, and from 15th November, the amusement park is decorated magnificently for Christmas, with Santa’s Grotto for children and a Christmas market.

• Number of ‘cheap’ restaurants: 294
• Average car rental cost for one week: £158.10
• Average cost of a week-long hotel stay: £1,192
• Average flight cost (from London Heathrow): £221
• Biggest attraction: Tivoli Gardens
• Cost of biggest attraction: £18.02

Looking at the annual results from 2021 until today, it’s interesting to note that this is the first time Prague has secured the top spot on the ranking, dethroning Krakow which has up until now been our number one affordable destination for a winter holiday.

The destination that dropped the most places in the ranking since last year is Paris - last year’s fourth best destination, this year it landed in seventh place.
The country that jumped the most places in the 2024 ranking is Berlin. Last year, the German capital ranked in seventh place, but this year it has moved up to claim the title of our third-best winter destination.

Some of the cities that charge for entry to their biggest attraction have seen price drops, while in others, the cost has increased. Visiting the Eiffel Tower has gone up from £21.52 last year to £29.42 in 2024. In contrast, Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace has dropped its ticket price from £40.53 to £31.93.

We hope that our 2024 report has helped give you an idea of where you might like to go on a winter holiday. As you can see, there are plenty of places where hotel accommodation and flights are cheaper than you might expect, and where the prices have dropped since last year. All of these cities are full of culture and history and would be a wonderful place to spend a week this winter.

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