France is the most expensive of the “Big Four” tourist destinations in Europe this summer.

Compared with Turkey, Greece and Spain, France is the costliest by far, with the highest prices in seven out of 11 key categories used to measure holiday costs, including the price of three-course meals, mineral water, car hire and beer, according to Post Office research.

French service stations also registered the highest annual percentage increase for unleaded fuel - 32 per cent - to £1.24 a litre.

On top of this, the cost of tickets to “top heritage sites”, such as the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and Palace of Versailles, is highest, making France “significantly less family-friendly than Italy, Greece or Spain when it comes to a day out”.

Overall, the country was 61 per cent pricier than Turkey, 58 per cent more than Spain and 13 per cent higher than Greece - with car hire particularly costly at £115 a week, compared with £57 in Spain.

The Post Office sought information from tourist boards on prices of items including cans of Coke, postcards with stamps to the UK, and bottles of Heineken. It also checked costs from Avis and Europcar hire-car firms and prices for entry to dozens of attractions.

A spokeswoman said that she was “surprised to find such a marked difference in France this year”.

However, Martyn Sumners of the Association of British Tour Operators in France said: “Labelling France as ‘significantly less family-friendly' is practically libellous.” He said that it was misleading to include hire-car costs since many people took their own vehicle.

The French tourist board questioned whether like-for-like costs had been compared.

The Post Office said that the price for a family of four visiting the Eiffel Tower was £31.58, while a visit to Ephesus in Turkey was £17.72, the Acropolis in Athens £20.27, and the Alhambra in Spain also £20.27.

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