Four cities: Berlin - 'No rounds, no arm-wrestling over bills'

COSTS
Transport to a lively nocturnal location €2.70 for a two-hour public-transport ticket, valid on trains, trams, buses and ferries. Babysitter €6 an hour for a bored teenager or €10 an hour for a pro who also cleans.

Cinema
€8 or €9 – or €6 on Kinotag, or Cinema Day, which is a Monday or Tuesday. Theatre From as little as €10 at a state-subsidised house to as much as €120 for a musical in a private theatre. Dinner €10 or €12 for a main course in a workaday place; €25 to €30 for a main in a fancy one. Four drinks €20 to €25.

Late-night snack
€3 for a vegetable kebab or Currywurst with chips. Nightclub entry €10 or €12. Taxi home €3.40 flat fee plus €1.58 per kilometre, so about €16 for a 10km trip. There is a €4 flat fee for a two-kilometre short hop. COMMENTS Going out in Berlin is usually a low-key affair. People rarely get tarted up. Those who do are invariably British and Irish tourists. You can stay out as late or as early as you want. There is no closing time, so bars stay open as long as it's worth their while. Clubs don't get going until well after midnight, so Berlin is definitely the home of the disco nap. And drink prices don't increase as the night wears on.

What is a typical night out in Germany?
The pub is not inevitable. Smoking is still possible. People can go to a restaurant and stay the night there without having to "give the table back" by a set time. Everyone pays their own bill, and even large groups expect the table server to provide itemised bills for each person.

Is any aspect of nightlife particularly good value in Germany?
Drinks are not vastly overpriced here. If you stick to wine and beer, and a moderate place, you can have three or four drinks for €20 with change. Drinks in Ireland are poor value and mean – the 100ml eye dropper of tonic water is an Irish speciality. Is any aspect of nightlife particularly poor value? Asking for a jug of tap water is frowned on. Going out in Berlin can be poor value from a social perspective: as people expect a seat when they go somewhere, they tend to sit with their friends, and groups don't mix. So you can return home from a night out in Berlin knowing exactly as many people as you did when you left home.

How do consumer costs in general compare between Germany and Ireland?
Germany varies wildly pricewise but is generally cheaper than Ireland for the basics: food, clothes, rent, travel. Berlin is cheaper than Dublin but could get more expensive after this month's introduction of an €8.50-an-hour minimum wage.

Where would you rather have a night out, Germany or Ireland?
Germany. No rounds pressure. No arm-wrestling over bills. Lower tolerance of drunkenness. All-night public transport at weekends.