Krakow voted best city break destination for third year in a row

Paris and Rome fail to make top 10

Krakow has been named the best city break destination in Europe for the third consecutive year, according to a Which? survey.

The consumer champion based its 2019 rankings on responses from 4,704 respondents, who rated 43 European cities they’d visited on food and drink, accommodation, tourist attractions, shopping, ease of getting around, value for money and lack of crowds.

The Polish city received an overall score of 93 per cent and was the only destination to garner a five-star rating for value for money, thanks to an average hotel rate of £59 and beer costing around £2.

One respondent said of the city: “Inexpensive restaurants are plentiful so book only accommodation and eat out at your leisure.”

Visitors recommended the traditional markets and the salt mines where visitors can see an underground cathedral carved out of salt.

Some of the most famous cities failed to perform, with Paris coming in 30th place and Rome scoring 27th, with just one star in the “lack of crowds” category.

Spain took two bites out of the top 10, with Seville and Valencia coming second and third place respectively.

Berlin was fourth, awarded with five stars for accommodation, tourist attractions and ease of getting around, while Amsterdam rounded out the top five.

The worst rated city was Alicante. Although average air fares and hotel rates were lower than other cities in the list, Alicante didn’t receive more than three stars for any of the categories and had an overall score of 72 per cent.

Rory Boland, Which? Travel editor, said: “With a palace on every corner and a plate of pierogi and a pint of pilsner costing under £10, it’s no wonder Krakow continues to top our survey.

“To those holidaymakers still stuck on Amsterdam, Paris and other classic European destinations, try Poland for your next trip to find food, hotels and sightseeing that’s just as good but at half the price.”

Top 10 cities

1. Krakow, Poland: 93 per cent
2. Seville, Spain: 90 per cent
3. Valencia, Spain: 89 per cent
4. Berlin, Germany: 88 per cent
5. Amsterdam, Netherlands: 86 per cent
6. Budapest, Hungary: 86 per cent
7. Munich, Germany: 86 per cent
8. Venice, Italy: 86 per cent
9. Verona, Italy: 86 per cent
10. Bordeaux, France: 85 per cent 

Bottom 10 cities

1. Valletta, Malta: 78 per cent
2. Cologne, Germany: 77 per cent
3. Dublin, Ireland: 77 per cent
4. Dubrovnik, Croatia: 76 per cent
5. Naples, Italy: 75 per cent
6. Palma, Mallorca: 75 per cent
7. Reykjavik, Iceland: 74 per cent
8. Brussels, Belgium: 73 per cent
9. Milan, Italy: 73 per cent
10. Alicante, Spain: 72 per cent