Mark Stücklin
If you measure a city by the price of a pint, a pack of smokes, and a Friday night out, Spain still holds its own — though not without a few surprises along the way.
Deutsche Bank’s Mapping the World’s Prices 2025 doesn’t just compare salaries, rents and mortgage costs — it also ranks cities by the cost of simple pleasures and guilty indulgences: beer, cigarettes, wine, cocktails, fast food, and cinema tickets.
So where do Spain’s big cities land in the global hedonism index? The short answer: cheaper than Paris or London, but not exactly a bargain anymore.
Beer and wine: still decent value
Let’s start with the classics. A draught beer in a standard bar in Madrid or Barcelona costs around €3–€3.50, while a bottle of table wine in the supermarket sets you back around €4. That’s far less than the €6–€8 pints seen in London, Amsterdam, or Zurich, and less than half what you’d pay for a bottle in a US or Nordic grocery store.
In fact, when it comes to wine, Spain ranks among the most affordable places in Europe, with a good bottle available for less than what you’d pay for a glass in many other capitals.
Cocktails: the new luxury
Fancy something stronger? Ordering a cocktail in a bar in Madrid or Barcelona now costs about €12, which might raise eyebrows. That’s still cheaper than New York or Singapore, where prices top €20 in many places, but it’s a reminder that going out for drinks is no longer the casual, low-cost affair it once was — especially in trendier areas.
Fast food and a film: not what it used to be
A Big Mac meal will now cost you close to €9, and two cinema tickets in Spain’s cities will run to €18–€20, placing Spain mid-table internationally. Cheaper than most of Western Europe, but far from the ultra-affordable days of the early 2000s.
Smoking: expensive and falling out of fashion
One of the biggest jumps in price comes in cigarettes, with a typical pack now around €5.50–€6 in Spain — still cheaper than in France or the UK (where prices now exceed €12), but rising steadily as taxation increases and smoking becomes more socially and politically marginalised.
The takeaway
Spain remains a relatively affordable place to enjoy life’s little pleasures — but the gap is narrowing.
- Wine is still a bargain.
- Beer is no longer shockingly cheap, but still reasonable.
- Cocktails and cinema? Less so.
- Cigarettes? Rising cost, falling popularity.
In short, Spain still delivers good value for fun, especially for foreign residents and tourists. But for locals on Spanish salaries, even fun is feeling a bit more expensive these days.
