Cheapest alcohol in Europe

With further and further expansion of the EU, and a closer relationship with our neighbours throughout Europe, it's now easy to find places to go that can offer you drinks at much cheaper prices than you're likely to find in the UK.

Most of the countries to offer cheaper alcohol are the emerging economies found in Eastern Europe. For example, the UK's average drink price is one and a half times higher than the average across the whole of the EU (Ireland's is nearly double), whilst drinks in Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovenia and Lithuania will cost you less than three quarters the EU average (i.e. about half the price of the UK or Ireland). However, many places in some of the more established tourist destinations still serve a range of drinks at prices much cheaper than those at home.

Spain comes to mind first, and - dodgy sangria aside - it's still possible to get drunk at some of the island resorts (Ibiza, Magaluf, Palma Nova etc) for the same price as your taxi fare back home. Spanish cities can be cheap too - Barcelona has some of the cheapest drinks of any Western European major city when you stay away from the obvious tourist bars (i.e. around Las Ramblas). However, for city breaks with cheap booze, Prague has been a popular destination for a few years now, with bottles of wine available for under £2 - and outstanding architecture as your backdrop, with regular cheap flights increasingly available. A newer popular destination is Riga in Latvia, which has almost doubled in popularity since 2004, although Riga Old Town is not particularly cheap - check out the newer bars and clubs aimed specifically at overseas visitors.