Shop around before wining and dining your loved one

MONEY can’t buy you love, but shopping around before pampering a loved one with a romantic weekend break might get you more for your euro — and earn you some brownie points into the bargain.

It would be cheaper for aspiring Romeos or Juliets to whisk their beloved away to London for a St Valentine's weekend treat than Cork, a survey by the Dublin European Consumer Centre (ECC) has revealed.

Taking into account flights, accommodation, all taxes and charges, a meal in a top restaurant, the obligatory bouquet of 12 red roses, and even the sterling difference, it would be €25.50 cheaper to fly to London from Dublin for two nights than fly to Cork.