A city break this autumn 2009 really is value for money with hotel rates falling rapidly this year due to the economic crisis. The online hotel reservation service hotel.info, with more than 210,000 hotels worldwide, has analysed the hotel room rates offered through its web site for the third quarter of 2009 as part of its price-savings ranking process, and has drawn up a chart of the city destinations in Europe that offer the greatest savings on room rates since the start of the economic downturn.

Warini Munshi, Managing Director at hotel.info, explained, "There are currently great savings to be made, especially in city breaks. But intending travellers should hurry - our price barometer indicates that some destinations are already forecasting an upward trend, with hotel room rates starting to rise again in some cities."

In many European cities, the difference in room rates between Q3 this year and last year is more than ten percent. At the top of the table is the Russian capital Moscow, which has experienced a fall of more than a quarter. However, other cities such as Prague, Madrid and Amsterdam show savings of between 16 and 17% of the prices paid at this time last year. With Copenhagen, Istanbul, Barcelona, Florence and Oslo also featuring in hotel.info's top tips for attractive European city destinations currently offering cheaper hotel room rates, there are plenty of opportunities for breaks at lower cost than last autumn. In Germany the Rhenish metropolis of Cologne is currently offering the biggest savings with prices more than 10% down year on year.