The most expensive places in the world to drink beer

A cold glass of beer is as much a part of many people's holidays as overpriced souvenirs and eating more than one ice cream a day. However, a new survey has shown that the amount you'll pay for this cold glass varies dramatically around the world.

GoEuro has been looking into drinking habits around the world. First it identified the cities where people spent the most on beer in a typical year. Here Helsinki came out on top, spending the equivalent of $1,542 per person per year. This was followed by Sydney at $1,331 and New York at $1,330.

This wasn't because people in these cities consumed the most beer. In fact Eastern Europe dominated the list of the top five biggest beer drinking cities - with Bucharest leading the way.

Tourist drinkers

For travellers, however, the key statistic was the price of the most expensive beers served in bars. Surprisingly no British city made the top five. The top spot was taken by Hong Kong, where a beer costs $10.86, followed by Geneva at $10.77 and Tel Aviv at $9.53. It means that all of the top five charged the equivalent of more than £5.75 for a beer.
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If you are planning a holiday to Geneva, there's more bad news, because for the last three years the Hotels.com Club Sandwich Index has rated it the most expensive place to eat out too. It found that a burger in a bar or restaurant will set you back $37.80 and a basic club sandwich $30.59. It means that popping out for a beer and a sandwich at lunchtime could cost you more than a slap up meal and a bottle of wine in other countries.

If you're packing your bag for Hong Kong the Hotels.com survey made for sobering treading for you too. Not only is beer more expensive here than anywhere else, but the city was voted the third most expensive for eating out (Paris was at number 2). A burger in the city will cost an average of $30.57 and a cup of coffee an eye-watering $7.39.

If you're planning a trip to any of these cities, it may be a good idea to tweak your eating and drinking habits while you're away. Alternatively, you may want to stock up on duty-free booze on the way over.

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