London 'Europe's dirtiest and dearest city', Dublin friendliest

London is far from being dirt cheap after being voted the uncleanest and most expensive European city today.

The UK capital edged out Paris for the unwanted title of dirtiest city in a survey of travellers from the TripAdvisor company.

Paris was also runner-up to London as the most expensive city, but the UK capital fared far better in other categories, being voted the best for nightlife and public parks.

Despite being considered pricey, London was second only to Paris for having the best shopping. The French capital was considered to have the most unfriendly hosts, followed by London and Moscow.

Brussels, despite its beer, chocolate and chips, was voted the most boring European city, followed by Zurich, Oslo, Warsaw and Zagreb.

The cleanest city award went to Zurich, while Dublin was considered to have the most friendly and helpful locals.

Paris, followed by Venice and then Rome were the most romantic cities, while Paris and Rome took the top two places in the best cuisine category.

The survey showed that 65% of respondents were planning to travel to or within Europe in the next 12 months.

Despite the weak dollar, exactly half of American respondents said they intended to visit Europe this year, the same as last year.

September may be the busiest month for travel in Europe this year, as 20% of respondents intend to visit at that time.

As many as 29% said they were most likely to save money on their excursion to or within Europe by going during the off-peak season, while 43% (and 53% of Americans) expected to spend more money on this year’s trip to Europe than on their last visit.

Ian Rumgay, TripAdvisor European communications manager, said: “It may be considered expensive but it seems that London’s still the best for travellers and the canny ones will always find good value.”

He went on: “Public parks are a new category in our survey and London’s top place is a well-deserved testimony to the volume and variety of green space that visitors can enjoy in the city.”

These were the results of the survey of more than 1,100 travellers:

Best Bargain European City: 1. Prague 2. Budapest 3. Lisbon

Most Expensive European City: 1. London 2. Paris 3. Rome, Venice, Oslo, Moscow

European City with the Most Friendly and Helpful Locals: 1. Dublin 2. Amsterdam 3. London

European City with the Best Cuisine: 1. Paris 2. Rome 3. Florence

European City with the Best Shopping: 1. Paris 2. London 3. Rome

European City with the Best Nightlife: 1. London 2. Amsterdam 3. Paris

European City with the Best Public Parks: 1. London 2. Paris 3. Barcelona, Amsterdam, Copenhagen

Most Romantic European City: 1. Paris 2. Venice 3. Rome

European City with the Most Attractive Locals: 1. Rome 2. Paris 3. Stockholm

Cleanest European City: 1. Zurich 2. Copenhagen 3. Stockholm

Dirtiest European City: 1. London 2. Paris 3. Rome, Athens (tie)

European City with the Most Unfriendly Hosts: 1. Paris 2. London 3. Moscow

Most Boring European City: 1. Brussels 2. Zurich, Oslo, Warsaw, Zagreb.