In every big city a card is offered to tourists and in the advertising they all look good value. Yet a city card sometimes reduces the budget considerably and sometimes simply stays in your pocket and brings no gain at all. The difference can be seen in advance with a calculation that takes a few minutes. Below I have written that calculation and how to decide.
What a city card covers
Although the name is the same, the content changes from city to city and that is the point most often confused. Some cards cover only the transport, some only the museums and some both. In some cases the card does not give entry at all but only a discount, which is an entirely different thing.
| Transport card | Metro and bus free, museums not included |
| Museum pass | Entries included, transport paid separately |
| Combined card | Both at one price, the most expensive option |
| Discount card | Gives no entry, only a percentage reduction |
When buying, look particularly at one thing: what hour it starts from. Most cards count the period from first use, but with some the day ends at midnight, that is, a two-day card bought in the evening actually works for a day and a half. That difference changes the price entirely.
How to calculate whether it pays
The calculation is simple and takes five minutes. First write the list of places you will genuinely go into, then collect the entry price of each from the official site and add the daily transport cost on top. If the figure you get is higher than the price of the card, the card pays.
Be honest with yourself while writing the list. Cramming three museums into one day saying “it is included anyway” because you bought the card is not a real plan; two points a day is a normal pace. In practice a three-day card proves itself if you visit at least two paid places a day.
Read more: How to work out a travel budget: five lines and real figures
When a city card is money lost
The first case is a short trip. On a two-night visit half the time passes on the journey and in the hotel, so there is no chance to fill the card. The second case is walkable cities: in places with a small old centre, for instance, there is almost no need for transport.
The third case is free days. In many European cities the museums are free to everyone on a certain day of the month and on that day the card is entirely pointless. The fourth case is your main interest not being on the card: some famous sites always stay outside the list. As an example, the conditions of city cards are set out in detail on Vienna’s official tourism site.
Reasons to buy it other than money
Some cards give the right to skip the queue and in the summer months that becomes more important than the money. The difference between standing in a queue for an hour and having the card is often worth more than the price. Check too that the queue really is different from the ticket office queue; in some places the two are the same. If you are not buying a card, taking timed tickets separately for one or two of the most famous sites solves the same queue problem.
The second gain is the plan. Someone who buys a card writes down in advance what they will see, and that helps them go round the city more tidily. If you are going on a tour, most of the entries are included in the price anyway, so when comparing ready tour programmes there may be no need to buy a card separately.
In brief
Buy the card according to your own list rather than its advertising: add up the entries, add the transport, then compare. Check what hour the period starts from, take the free days into account, and value the possibility of skipping the queue separately. To build the route and the budget together, fill in the application form.
Note: the coverage and price of cards vary by city, so read the official list before buying.
