We’ve published our latest Ferrygogo research for 2026: the average price of a three-course dinner for two in a mid-range restaurant, excluding drinks. It’s a simple benchmark, but it tells you a lot about a destination’s overall price level – and it’s a helpful reality check when you’re planning a European trip.
Across Europe, that same “nice dinner out” ranges from about €20 to €160+ in our dataset. Same idea. Very different bill.
In a nutshell (2026)
- Cheapest country average: Kosovo (about €20 for two)
- Best mainstream “holiday value” picks: Portugal, Spain, Greece (and France as a strong mid-priced all-rounder)
- Most expensive country average: Switzerland (about €107 for two)
- Priciest cities: Lugano & Zug (about €161 for two)
- What we measure: three-course dinner for two, mid-range restaurant, excluding drinks
The big pattern: North-West Europe is still the expensive corner
The top end of the table is dominated by Switzerland and Scandinavia. Switzerland leads the country averages (around €107 for dinner for two), with Denmark, Luxembourg, and Norway also sitting in the high-cost bracket.
City examples underline the same story: Switzerland’s top cities sit in a league of their own, with Lugano and Zug around €161, and Zurich and Geneva also well into “special occasion dinner” territory.
Best “proper holiday” value: Southern Europe still delivers
If you’re looking for that sweet spot: destinations people genuinely want to visit and dining-out prices that don’t sting – Southern Europe stands out again in 2026. Portugal (about €45) and Spain/Greece (about €50) remain strong-value picks for eating out, while France (about €60) sits as a solid mid-priced option with a huge variety.
City-break value: a few standouts
The research also highlights cities where eating out still feels refreshingly doable. Examples include Skopje (about €29) and Sarajevo (about €33). For popular, easy wins, places like Krakow and Gdansk (both about €47) are strong value, while Lisbon/Porto and Seville sit around the €50 mark.
How we measured it
We use the average price of a three-course dinner for two in a mid-range restaurant, excluding drinks, using crowdsourced cost-of-living data (Numbeo). The figures were pulled in mid-January 2026. Treat this as a planning benchmark rather than a quote for a specific restaurant.
See the full tables of country and city prices on Ferrygogo.co.uk – the interactive map is below.
JW, one of the co-founders of FerryGoGo, has a passion for food, drink, and travel. He loves exploring data and the history of the many destinations featured on FerryGoGo, and he's always curious about the population of each place.
