Prague is the new Paris

Prague is the new Paris, while the East is the new West, if a new survey is anything to go by.

Eastern Europe is a more appealing destination for leisure travel than Western Europe, according to a travel website's survey of its users.

Seeing the Black Madonna in Czestochowa, Poland, travelling down the beautiful Adriatic coast in Croatia, and viewing Prague at night from St Charles Bridge are among the factors making Eastern Europe so attractive, say visitors to TripAdvisor.com.

Thirty-nine per cent thought Eastern Europe was more "authentic" than Western Europe, while 25 per cent thought it was more affordable and 15 per cent said it was more beautiful.

The Czech capital Prague topped the list of favourite Eastern European cities, followed by Budapest, in Hungary, St. Petersburg, Russia and Krakow, Poland.

St Petersburg's Hermitage Museum topped the list of must see-sites, followed by Prague's Charles Bridge and the old towns of Dubrovnik, Tallin and Old Bohemia in Budapest.

Less well-known attractions recommended by TripAdvisor users included the Sand Dunes of Nida, Lithunia, and the Tatra Mountains and salt mines in Poland.

Nearly seventy per cent of those surveyed had already visited Eastern Europe, and 52 per cent were planning a trip.