British cities have fared poorly in a Europe-wide survey, with London having the worst food and Birmingham being the most boring big town.

And although London was rated the most exciting European city, it was also considered the most expensive, according to the poll out today from the TripAdvisor company.

Birmingham also received another unwanted accolade, being voted the second-most unattractive city, with Krakow in Poland the least attractive.

The 2,963 Europeans, including 559 Britons, who were surveyed also considered Liverpool to have the second-worst cuisine among European cities, with Birmingham third worst.

However, London was considered the easiest city to get around and having been voted the dirtiest city in a similar survey last year, the UK capital was considered one of the cleaner cities this year.

London was also rated the third-safest city, with the Swiss cities of Geneva and Zurich taking the top two positions.

Rome was considered to have the best cuisine and the Italian capital was also voted the most attractive and the worst to get around.

The most dangerous city was Istanbul, the cleanest was Zurich, the best value was Lisbon and dirtiest was Athens.

TripAdvisor spokesman Emma O'Boyle said: "Europe's cities all have their highs and lows, but it's great that London has been crowned the most exciting,.

"And with the London Olympics only two years away it's encouraging to see the fundamental issues of safety and transport already scoring highly with visitors."

Sally Chatterjee, CEO of Visit London, said: "We're delighted that London has been voted the most exciting city in Europe.

"Whilst old perceptions remain about British cuisine, they don't reflect the reality which is that London is now home to the best chefs and restaurants on the planet.