It's Getting Expensive: The 11 European Capitals with the Most Expensive Public Transport Tickets

Spring is finally just around the corner, and there's hardly anything better than a cool city trip to one of Europe's exciting capitals. When planning the next trip, it's always important to clarify how to get around once you arrive. Especially in cities, it's not worth renting a car. A public transit ticket is often much more sensible, even though there will always be someone complaining that the tickets are unnecessarily expensive.

To find out where travelers rightfully complain about public transport prices, the travel experts at Travelcircus took a closer look at the ticket prices of all European capitals in relation to the size of each city. They identified the 11 capitals that have the relatively most expensive public transport tickets and the worst value for money - with some surprising results.

For our analysis, we examined the fares for public transport in all European capitals. Only adult ticket prices were relevant. To provide a clearer overview and easier comparability, we only looked at ticket prices within each city. If there were different prices for online tickets and tickets from machines/drivers, we selected the latter. The following ticket types were analyzed:

All prices were converted to € for easier comparison (as of: 04/05/2023).

To give all cities a fair chance, the ticket prices were related to the area of the city. This resulted in prices per km² for each ticket category. Subsequently, points from 1 (cheapest price) to 5 (most expensive price) were assigned for each ticket category. A maximum of 10 points could be achieved.

Cities that only have single tickets, cities in crisis areas, and city-states or microstates were excluded because they would otherwise have a significant disadvantage due to their small size. Furthermore, Valletta was excluded since there is no public transport within the city, and the city is very small with an area of only 1 km².

One thing is clear: Complaints will always arise! Even if there aren't always good reasons regarding public transport ticket prices in Europe's capitals. Particularly in Eastern Europe, ticket prices are really affordable; and when you relate the ticket price to the size of each city, Rome, Berlin, and London are surprisingly inexpensive as well.

However, we wondered which European capitals truly have the worst value for money regarding public transport tickets and where tourists really have a reason to complain - the results hold a few surprises!

Finland and all its beautiful Scandinavian countries are known to be among the more expensive holiday regions. So, it's not surprising that public transport ticket prices in Helsinki are not excessively cheap. A single ride costs €3.10, and a day pass costs €9.00. In relation to the city size of 213.8 km², that's €0.0145/km² for a single ride and €0.0421/km² for a day pass.

Public transport in Helsinki is very well-developed; there are trams, buses, a metro, and a train service. Night buses operate at night, making it easy to get home after a night out. If you take a trip to the fortress island of Suomenlinna, you can take the ferry, which is also part of public transport and does not require an additional ticket.

A city trip to Amsterdam is always a good idea. The Dutch capital is only 5.5 km² larger than Helsinki but has very similar ticket prices. The day pass also costs €9.00, while a single ticket is €3.40, which is €0.30 more expensive than in Helsinki, equating to €0.0155/km². Anyone staying in Amsterdam for several days should purchase a 2- to 7-day ticket, which is cheaper than buying multiple 24-hour tickets.

However, if you have a hotel in the city center, you probably won't need a ticket as the city is wonderful to explore on foot. If your hotel is further away, you should either have a ticket or do as the Dutch do and ride a bike from point A to point B.

Rank 9 in our ranking goes to Reykjavik, where ticket prices are quite a bit higher than in many other cities. A single ticket costs 550 kr. (about €3.68). With an area of 273 km², that translates to about €0.0135/km². Thus, Reykjavik is indeed somewhat cheaper than Amsterdam and Helsinki. However, a day pass costs €0.0540/km² or approximately €14.74 (2,200 kr.), making it considerably more expensive.

Those traveling to Iceland often don't stay just in the capital. While it has much to offer, the island's main attractions, such as the Blue Lagoon, waterfalls, or the Black Beach, are located further away, making it worthwhile to rent a car in Iceland.

Nicosia is probably one of those cities that surprisingly ranks among the more expensive capitals. €2.00 for a single ticket and €6.50 for a day pass don't sound too expensive at first; but in relation to the city size of 111 km², it's indeed more expensive than in much larger cities like Amsterdam.

While a day ticket in Amsterdam costs €0.0410/km², the price in Nicosia is €0.0586/km². Interestingly, Nicosia is the only divided capital in the world (one part belongs to Cyprus, and the other to the Turkish region of Northern Cyprus), offering its visitors the chance to explore two cultures in one trip. The border runs right through the beautiful old town. Anyone wanting to explore other parts of Cyprus, such as Paphos or the Rock of Aphrodite, can do so either by renting a car or taking intercity buses.

Cool Guinness, leprechauns, lively live music, and plenty of joie de vivre - the Irish capital is an absolute dream destination for many travelers. The popular nightlife district Temple Bar, the famous Trinity College, and many other attractions like St. Patrick's Cathedral are easily accessible on foot.

However, if you want to see the suburbs of Dublin, which covers 117.8 km², or maybe even the beach, you should opt for the bus or tram. A single ride is relatively cheap at €2.00, while the day pass at €8.00 or €0.0679/km² is slightly more expensive.

Stockholm's subway stations are known to be true works of art. If that's not a reason to explore the Swedish capital via public transport, I don't know what is! However, the tickets are not particularly cheap. A day pass costs a staggering 165 SEK (about €14.64) or €0.0779/km². But when considering the ticket as a combo ticket for art and public transport, the price becomes almost justifiable, right?

Single tickets cost 39 SEK (about €3.46) and are valid for buses, trams, the subway, and commuter ferries. By the way, tickets should definitely be purchased at the machine first.

Beautiful Lisbon undoubtedly ranks among Europe's more affordable travel destinations. So, it's almost surprising that the city ranks 5th for the most expensive public transport tickets. A single ticket costs €1.65, and a day pass costs €6.60, which doesn't seem expensive at all.

However, since Lisbon has a relatively small area of 84.7 km², the fares per km² are somewhat higher: €0.0195/km² and €0.0779/km² - the day pass is thus as expensive as in Stockholm, where the ticket costs about €14.64.

By the way, riding the iconic tram line 28 doesn't incur any extra charge. The regular ticket suffices, and a ride on line 28 is definitely an adventurous must-do in Lisbon!

Rank 4 goes to a city where many might have thought it has the highest ticket prices. We're talking about Paris. A holiday in the City of Love is definitely a costly affair.

A day pass for public transport costs €8.45, which is actually still quite inexpensive. In Berlin, for example, tickets cost more. However, Paris is significantly smaller than Berlin with an area of only 105.4 km². As such, the day ticket in Paris costs €0.0802/km² - 8 times as much as in Berlin. One definite advantage of Paris is the ability to explore the entire city comfortably by bus and metro.

Our 3rd rank clearly belongs to one of the surprises of this ranking. Because let's face it, who would have thought that the Greek capital Athens ranks among the cities with the most expensive ticket prices? Probably hardly anyone.

Athens owes its high negative points to its small city size. With an area of only 38.96 km², it is much smaller than most other European capitals. In relation to the city size, a day pass in Athens costs €0.1052/km², and a single ticket costs €0.0308/km².

The pure ticket prices are indeed the lowest among the top 11, with €1.20 for a single ride and €4.50 for a day pass. But since the city is relatively small, ticket users here get less for their money than, for example, in Amsterdam, Berlin, or London.

Rank 2 goes to a city that is well-known for being a bit pricier: Copenhagen. Denmark's beautiful capital is a popular destination for travelers from all over the world and has much to offer. If you're in the mood for tasty cinnamon rolls, interesting museums, colorful houses, and a delightful Scandinavian vibe, Copenhagen is the place to be.

To get from one spot to another in the 86.2 km² city, it's best to either rent a bike or use public transport. Alongside buses and trains, there are also popular harbor buses - small ferries that allow you to explore Copenhagen from the water.

In Copenhagen, it's definitely worth buying a day ticket. This costs 80 kr. (about €10.74) and is valid for 24 hours. That's €0.1246/km², placing Copenhagen among the most expensive capitals in Europe. A single ticket costs 24 kr. (about €3.22). It's valid for a single journey only.

Brussels is definitely the European capital with the most expensive public transport tickets in relation to city size! A single ticket costs €2.40, and a day pass costs €8.40. While that doesn't sound too bad, given how small Brussels is, public transport users indeed get very little for their money.

Due to its small size of just 32.61 km², Brussels has by far the worst value for money when it comes to ticket prices. A single ticket costs a whopping €0.0736/km², which is almost double the price in second-place Copenhagen. The day pass is also significantly more expensive at €0.2576/km² compared to all other cities. In Sofia, for example, a day pass is already available for €0.0042/m² - in Brussels, it's more than 61 times as expensive as in Sofia!

Despite the relatively expensive public transport tickets, Belgium's beautiful capital is definitely worth a visit. How about exploring the famous Atomium, visiting the Magritte Museum, and taking a stroll through the lovely city center? Anyone interested in politics, comics, beer, or truly delicious chocolate is precisely in the right place in Brussels.

Our ranking clearly shows: Expensive doesn't equal bad! For example, tickets are indeed costly in London, but when considering the vast size of the city and how much you can actually travel with the tickets, the ticket prices seem much less dramatic.

It's quite the opposite for smaller cities like Athens and Brussels. There, while the basic prices may be somewhat lower, there's also less to experience or discover - the value for money is significantly poorer, and here, complaints about prices are certainly justified. Berlin has just raised its ticket prices but thanks to its impressive city size, it only ranks 20th in the ranking. So, there's actually little reason to complain about bus and train prices in Berlin!