Bratislava...is it still a bargain?

A new survey has found that Bratislava might not be the cheapo get-away that it once was, after it zoomed from 45th most expensive city in the world to 31st.

The poll by finance company Mercer, looked at 143 cities across all continents and compared the cost of 200 items, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. The news may not be much of a surprise considering that Slovakia adopted the Euro as its national currency from 1st January this year. Inevitably this has lead to an increase in prices and coupled with the weaker dollar and pound against the Euro and Eastern European currencies means everything is that little more pricey.

But don't be disheartened. There are still plenty of bargains to be snapped up and special deals to be had if you know where to look. For a start investing in the city card, available from tourist offices, Click here from 5 euros a day gives you free city centre travel, free museum entrance, lots of discounts and a free guide book. Wander around the city centre at lunch time and keep an eye out for special lunch deals at 5 euros a head. And don't forget with less tourists travelling right now, that means more empty rooms, so don't be afraid to try and negotiate a deal with a hotel - you could get four nights for three or breakfast thrown in.