If you're budgeting a city break in Europe, your transport costs just got harder to predict. A new Greenpeace study comparing monthly and annual public transport tickets across 30 European capitals has found fares rose in 14 of them between 2023 and now – in some cases dramatically.
London tops the monthly ticket league at €162, ahead of Amsterdam (€107) and Paris (€77) – three of the continent's most visited cities, and three of the most expensive for getting around. But the biggest surges since 2023 happened elsewhere: Nicosia saw prices jump 67%, Amsterdam 55%, Madrid 50% and Bratislava 32%. Berlin (up 29%) and Vienna (26%) also saw steep climbs, while Copenhagen, Bucharest, Vilnius, Brussels and London all rose at least 10%.
A big culprit is tax. Public transport tickets across the EU carry an average VAT of 11%, and seven countries have raised that tax since 2023. Greenpeace is pushing governments to introduce affordable 'climate tickets' – cheap universal passes that would cut emissions and reduce fossil fuel dependence at the same time.
There's good news for four capitals, though. Dublin's long-term ticket prices have fallen 42.5% since 2023, the sharpest drop anywhere. Oslo is down 11.5%, Bern 6.6% and Budapest 5.8%, while 12 other capitals held prices steady. Spain and Slovenia also introduced nationwide public transport tickets in that period.
For the best overall deal on long-term passes – considering affordability, regional coverage and discounts for vulnerable groups – Tallinn, Luxembourg City and Valletta share first place. Prague, Rome, Athens, Sofia and Vienna round out the top eight. At the other end, Finland, Greece and Norway rank worst for affordability and availability, and all charge above-average VAT on tickets.
Why does this matter if you're visiting for a weekend rather than a month? Monthly and annual pass prices are a decent proxy for how much a city expects you to pay just to move around, and the trend line tells you where costs are heading. In places like Madrid and Amsterdam, rising pass prices usually mean single tickets and day passes are creeping up too. In Dublin, Tallinn, Luxembourg City or Valletta, you can explore extensively without transport eating into your food and sightseeing budget. Luxembourg and Malta even offer free or near-free public transport nationwide, which is hard to beat for a short trip.
The practical takeaway: check pass options before you book. Some capitals offer tourist-friendly short-term tickets that effectively work like the monthly passes in this study, and the gap between cities is now so wide – €162 in London versus a fraction of that in the Baltics – that transport can genuinely shape where your money goes on a city break. If affordability is a priority, the ranking gives you a shortlist of capitals where getting around is still a bargain.