Food and drink
National dishes, hotel breakfast prices and calories across Europe
What to order, how heavy it is, and whether the hotel breakfast is worth paying for. With calories from the UK food composition tables and prices from official statistics.
The short version
Eating out costs very different amounts across Europe: in 2024, restaurant and hotel prices in Switzerland were 171% of the EU average, while in Hungary they were 72%. Signature dishes differ just as much in energy: a quiche Lorraine has about 358 kcal per 100 g, while Belgian mussels in white wine or Provençal ratatouille have about 82. A hotel breakfast typically adds €7 to €18 per person, as of October 2026. In Italy, Spain and France, a coffee and pastry at a café counter usually costs far less, but a big buffet can still be good value if it replaces lunch or if children eat free.
Who is this guide for?
Travellers planning a food budget, anyone deciding whether to book a room with or without breakfast, and anyone keeping an eye on calories on holiday. Calorie figures are per 100 g, from the UK government's food composition dataset (CoFID). Real portions and recipes vary, so treat them as a guide, not a label.
Which dishes should I try, and how heavy are they?
Every country has more than one candidate for "national dish". These are well-known signature dishes that you will find on menus across each country.
Per 100 g hides portion size. A restaurant schnitzel with chips can easily weigh 400 g, which at roughly 213 and 214 kcal per 100 g lands near 850 kcal. A 300 g bowl of goulash soup is about 320 kcal. Dishes that look light, such as moussaka at 128 kcal per 100 g, add up when the portion is large and bread comes with it.
Spain's paella and Poland's pierogi are left out because CoFID has no entry for them, and we did not want to mix databases in one chart.
Where is eating out cheapest and most expensive?
Eurostat compares the price of the same basket of restaurant meals and hotel stays in each country with the EU average (100). The 2024 figures, published in 2025, are the latest available as of October 2026.
What does a hotel breakfast cost in 2026?
There is no Europe-wide survey of hotel breakfast prices, so here are documented prices from hotel chains, as of October 2026. Most chains set the price hotel by hotel.
- Premier Inn (UK): full breakfast from £10.99 and continental from £9.99 per person, with up to two under-16s eating free per paying adult.
- Motel One (Germany): €17.90 per person per day at the Würzburg hotel, according to a booking form for June 2026.
- ibis budget (France): local tourism listings for 2026 show breakfast from €6.60 at Lyon Eurexpo, and €8.50 in season or €13 off season at Sisteron, where off-season breakfast is served at the neighbouring ibis.
Compare that with the café counter. In Italy, an espresso at the bar averaged €1.29 in August 2026, according to the consumer group Assoutenti, and a cappuccino costs about €1.55 to €1.60, according to the Italian hospitality federation Fipe (2025). In Spain, a café con leche costs €1.60 to €1.90 in Logroño (January 2026), and Time Out puts coffee with toast or a pastry in Madrid at about €3.75.
Hotel breakfast or eat out: which is better value?
| Option | Typical price | Availability | Flexibility | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hotel buffet | €7 to €18, or £10 to £11 in the UK | Most chain and mid-range hotels | Often cheaper prebooked; usually cannot be refunded once eaten or skipped | Eat as much as you like; kids sometimes free; no searching | Fixed hours; costly for a light eater |
| Café or bar counter | €2 to €4 in Italy and Spain | Everywhere in southern Europe | Pay only when you eat | Cheap, local, fast | Small: coffee and one pastry or toast |
| Bakery takeaway | Priced per item; varies by country | Every town in France, Germany, Austria | Pay only when you eat | Fresh bread and pastries, early opening | Pastries are calorie-dense: a croissant is about 373 kcal per 100 g |
| Supermarket | Lowest per person | Everywhere; Sunday closures in Germany and Austria | Total | Fruit, yoghurt and bread for several days | Needs a fridge; less of a treat |
Who should pick what: book the hotel breakfast if you are a family with children who eat free, if you want a big meal that replaces lunch, or if you are staying in a high-price country such as Switzerland or Norway where eating out costs much more. Skip it in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece, where a café breakfast is cheap and part of the experience. If the hotel price is above about €15, check what a bakery or café next door charges before you add it to the booking.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a hotel breakfast cost in Europe?
As of October 2026, documented chain prices range from €6.60 at an ibis budget in France to €17.90 at Motel One in Würzburg, and from £9.99 for a continental breakfast at Premier Inn in the UK. Prices are usually set hotel by hotel.
Which European country is cheapest for eating out?
Of the countries in this guide, Hungary, Czechia and Portugal had the lowest restaurant and hotel prices in Eurostat's 2024 comparison, at 72, 74 and 76% of the EU average. Switzerland was the most expensive at 171%.
How many calories are in a Wiener schnitzel?
About 213 kcal per 100 g for a homemade breaded schnitzel, according to the UK CoFID dataset. A typical restaurant portion with chips can come to around 850 kcal.
Is a café breakfast in Italy cheaper than a hotel breakfast?
Usually, yes. An espresso averaged €1.29 in Italy in August 2026 and a cappuccino about €1.55 to €1.60, so coffee and a pastry at the bar costs a fraction of a typical hotel buffet.
Where the figures come from
Checked on 15 October 2026. Official sources first; secondary sources are labelled.
- GOV.UK: McCance and Widdowson's Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset (CoFID) 2021
- Eurostat: price level indices, restaurants and hotels (prc_ppp_ind), 2024
- Eurostat Statistics Explained: comparative price levels of consumer goods and services
- Premier Inn: breakfast prices and kids eat free
- Motel One Würzburg: group booking form with breakfast price, June 2026 (German)
- Visiter Lyon: ibis budget Lyon Eurexpo listing (French)
- Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur tourism: ibis budget Sisteron listing (French)
- ANSA: espresso price up a quarter since 2021, Assoutenti data, 18 August 2026
- Il Sole 24 Ore: cappuccino prices, Fipe data (secondary)
- NueveCuatroUno: café con leche prices in Logroño, January 2026 (Spanish, secondary)
- Time Out Madrid: prices in Madrid (Spanish, secondary)