Christmas shopping in Paris or Prague, skiing in Switzerland or Austria, enjoying the stormy coast in Denmark or the Netherlands. All those are great activities for the Christmas season. Whether you want to get in the mood in the run-up to Christmas, as a little break during the holidays or as a gift voucher under the Christmas tree, a visit to a neighboring country is a nice activity.

But where is a visit particularly inexpensive and where do you have to dig deeper into your pockets? And are there differences in product groups that are particularly popular during the Christmas season? 

To answer these questions, data from the Federal Statistical Office provides an insight into the price levels of neighboring countries by product group, based on the purchasing power parities determined by Eurostat at the last available date.

Switzerland stands out in particular: here, the price level for all product groups shown, from food and beverages to hotels and restaurants, is significantly higher than in Germany. It is lowest in Poland, followed by the Czech Republic. In Poland, leisure activities in particular are inexpensive (-34% cheaper than in Germany). Depending on the product groups, there are some major differences between the countries - for example, hotels and restaurants are cheap in the Czech Republic (-35%), but clothing and shoes are the third most expensive of the neighboring countries surveyed (+16%), after Switzerland (+40%) and Denmark (+29%). The differences within the product groups are also significant in some cases, which is particularly evident in hotels and restaurants: these are 35% cheaper in the Czech Republic than in Germany, but 54% more expensive in Switzerland.

If you travel to Austria, you will hardly notice any price differences compared to Germany - however, alcoholic drinks are slightly cheaper there (-4%) and therefore the cheapest in a comparison of neighboring countries. Prices in France are also very similar to those in Germany. However, you have to dig deeper into your pockets for alcoholic drinks there (+12%). They are the most expensive after Switzerland (+61%), but in Denmark (+58%). Denmark is generally the second most expensive neighboring country after Switzerland when all selected categories are considered together, followed by Luxembourg and Belgium.

Wherever you go, Germany is a wonderful place to spend the Christmas season and it's cheaper than in several neighboring countries. With this in mind: have a Merry Christmas!

Other figures can be found here.