Zurich and Geneva the most expensive places to eat out in Europe, study finds
By Jan de Boer
While Switzerland may be home to some fantastic restaurants, those wishing to indulge in all the Swiss culinary scene has to offer have to pay a pretty hefty price. According to a new survey, the alpine nation and its largest cities are the most expensive places to dine out in all of Europe.
Meals out in Switzerland the priciest in Europe
To create the list, the travel portal Ferrygogo analysed dining costs at an "average restaurant" in nations and cities across Europe, to see which ones offer the most value for money. They found that on average, a three-course meal for two on the continent costs 56 euros or around 53,10 Swiss francs.
The top of the ranking was occupied by a familiar face: the most expensive restaurant meals in Europe are in Switzerland. The study found that a three-course meal in the alpine nation costs 113,49 euros or 107,14 francs for two people.
This makes Switzerland the most expensive by far, being 13 euros pricier than Denmark in second and over 80 euros more expensive than the cheapest countries in Europe, those being Ukraine (22,77 euros) and North Macedonia (24,33).
Zurich and Geneva restaurants are the joint most expensive
The difference is even more stark when analysing cities, with Zurich rated as the joint-most expensive in Europe for restaurants. In what may sound surprisingly cheap for some who live in the Swiss metropolis, an average three-course meal for two was calculated to cost 123,62 euros or around 117 francs.
Geneva rounded out the top two ahead of the Icelandic capital Reykjavik (114,02 euros) with the same average cost as Zurich. The two Swiss cities were far ahead of other major European tourist destinations, with Skopje in North Macedonia (26,01 euros), the Bulgarian capital Sofia (40,90 euros) and the Portuguese city of Porto (44,50 euros) being rated as the cheapest.
10 most expensive places to dine out in Europe
In all, here are the 10 most expensive nations in Europe when it comes to restaurants (in euros for a three-course menu for two):
- 1. Switzerland (113,49)
- 2. Denmark (100)
- 3. Norway (87,49)
- =4. Luxembourg (80)
- =4. Belgium (80)
- =4. Ireland (80)
- =4. Finland (80)
- 8. United Kingdom (71)
- 9. Sweden (70,40)
- =10. The Netherlands (70)
- =10. Malta (70)
For more information, and to see which cities were the priciest, check out the official study.
Thumb image credit: Roman Babakin / Shutterstock.com
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Jan studied History at the University of York and Broadcast Journalism at the University of Sheffield. Though born in York, Jan has lived most of his life in Zurich and has worked as a journalist, writer and editor since 2016.
While he has plunged head-first back into life in Switzerland since returning to the country in 2020, he still enjoys a taste of home at pub quizzes and karaoke nights.Read more