I visited Europe’s cheapest and most expensive cities – here’s what you get for £400

Accommodation 

For my three nights in Pristina, I was able to afford a stay in the city’s best hotel, the aptly named Hotel Pristina. It is in the city centre, with excellent views, and boasts a gym, an indoor pool and big, airy bedrooms. Just £150 for three nights in five-star digs? Sweet.

Geneva was another story. For a few days it looked like I was going to end up sleeping in a hostel dorm, thanks to my budget. Hotel rooms – with dismal ratings – were £150 a night, minimum. However, at the last moment I found an Airbnb “studio”. It turned out to be a tiny, spartan room at the top of five floors (no lift, eek), but it was clean, central-ish, and it wasn’t a dorm. £200 for two nights. 

Food and drink

In Pristina you’re hard pushed to spend serious money on food. I found restaurants with dishes for less than £1. The city has an extroverted hybrid of Viennese and Turkish café culture, with coffee and cake in one of its many popular cafés costing around £2-3, and vibrant nightlife. The eastern feel of Muslim-yet-secular Pristina is evident in the local cuisine. It’s great if you like kebabs.

It is also a good place to eat if you like heat: they put chillis on everything. Expect to pay £5 -20 for a meal including booze. A pizza on my second night was a dizzying £9 with some decent local red wine, but it was the trendiest pizza place in the city, and it had stacks of chillis on it.