Revealed! The cheapest cities for a Christmas market mini-break

Tallinn is the best city for a Christmas shopping break, according to new Post Office Travel Money research.

SEE ALSO: Europe's best Christmas markets 2016

SEE ALSO: Top Christmas market mini-breaks in Europe

The Christmas Markets Barometer found that the Estonian capital is the cheapest of 11 European cities researched for the first time since 2012.

At £538, the price tag for a two-night break for two was a third cheaper than in Stockholm (£801), which was the most expensive in the survey.

Tallinn's barometer total, comprising return flights, B&B accommodation, airport-city centre transfers, two evening meals for two with wine, coffee, festive drinks and also snacks at the Christmas market, is four per cent cheaper than a year ago, despite the weakened pound.

Although sterling is worth 18 per cent less year-on-year against the euro, tourists visiting Tallinn will be quids in because local prices there have fallen 10 per cent and the cost of a two-night package is over 10 per cent.

Runner-up Riga, capital of Latvia, is another bargain option for UK shoppers because its barometer total of £547 is just three per cent higher than 12 months ago.

Andrew Brown of Post Office Travel Money, which accounts for one-in-four of all UK currency transactions, said: "The great value available in these two Baltic capitals helps to dispel the idea that UK tourists will be seriously out of pocket wherever they travel abroad after sterling's slump in value."

Completing the East European 1-2-3 is Prague (£582), which has scored well because of the low cost of eating out in the Czech capital. However, the higher cost of flights and accommodation researched by Post Office Travel Money - over £100 more than for a trip to Riga – has kept Prague well behind the two Baltic State capitals on price.

Budapest (£634) dropped to sixth place in the barometer table, although the city is still cheapest for meals, drinks and transfers at one-third (£89.96) of the cost in Stockholm (£298.69) or Copenhagen (£305.94).

In Western Europe, Munich boasts one of the oldest and most famous Christmas markets and has emerged in this year's report as best value for a festive break at £609.