Munich named Germany's most expensive city for a date in 2026

Munich has ranked as the most expensive city in Germany to go on a date, ahead of Berlin and Frankfurt, according to the 2026 Cheap Date Index. Out of all European cities compared, Geneva takes the top spot, followed by Zurich in second and Copenhagen and Oslo in joint third.

Geneva is the most expensive place to go on a date

As part of Deutsche Bank Research Institute's Mapping the World’s Prices 2026 report, the Cheap Date Index compares the price of a date in 28 European cities. To measure dating costs, the index adds up the price of a bottle of wine, a pair of jeans, a dress, two cups of coffee, a meal for two, two cinema tickets, two single public transport tickets and a taxi journey lasting 5 kilometres.

Geneva is at the top of the list where all of the above amounts to 407 euros, reports Euronews. Zurich comes in second place at 400 euros. In third place, a date in Copenhagen and Oslo is almost 100 euros cheaper, totalling 323 euros.

Anyone living in Germany and looking to go on a date will spend the most money in Munich at 260 euros, just below the European average of 270 euros. Berlin and Frankfurt follow next, where a cheap date will amount to 254 euros.

Istanbul works out as the cheapest city for a date in Europe, where an evening out costs 168 euros. Rome takes the second-cheapest spot at 195 euros, and Barcelona the third at 213 euros.

High salaries make Swiss dates the best value

The ranking changes when the cost of a date as a share of salary is taken into account. In Zurich, a cheap date eats up just 5,6 percent of the average monthly net salary and in Geneva slightly more at 6,4 percent.

Athens takes top spot when it comes to the amount a date costs as a share of salary, working out at 19,6 percent. Istanbul follows in second place (16,7 percent) and Lisbon in third (16,3 percent).

Frankfurt now fares the best out of the German cities included, where the cost of a date as a share of salary is 7,2 percent, followed by 7,3 percent in Munich and Berlin at 8,8 percent.

Cheap dates are most expensive in these European cities

In all, the most expensive places to go on a cheap date in Europe (price in euros) are:

1. Geneva (407)
2. Zurich (400)
3. = Copenhagen (323), Oslo (323)
4. London (317)
5. Stockholm (310)
6. = Helsinki (296), Luxembourg (296)
7. Dublin (294)
8. Birmingham (290)
9. Paris (279)
10. Milan (278)

This article originally featured on IamExpat Switzerland.