冬季仙境圣诞市场：“高得可笑”的价格让游客感觉被骗了

这项活动将于 2024 年今天开始，通常每年都会有 250 万人参加，但如果您计划参加，我要警告您：您需要有足够的资金。

Christmas is a time for joy, laughter and spending extortionate amounts of money at festive markets.

圣诞节是欢乐、欢笑和在节日市场上大肆挥霍的时刻。

I’ve always loved the festive period and get into the spirit as early as possible. I put my tree up in October, start buying gifts in September, and I’ve been known to start playing festive tunes in the car even earlier. It truly is a magical time of year.

我一直很喜欢节日，并且尽早进入精神状态。我在十月把圣诞树挂起来，在九月开始购买礼物，众所周知，我更早开始在车里播放节日音乐。这确实是一年中神奇的时刻。

So it seemed only natural that I should go to London’s biggest Christmas market – Winter Wonderland – which last year was named as one of the best in the UK.

因此，我去伦敦最大的圣诞市场——冬季仙境——似乎是很自然的事，它去年被评为英国最好的圣诞市场之一。

Coming from a small town in the south of England, I’ve always been surprised by London prices. I knew a jaunt to the Christmas market wouldn’t come cheap but I was not prepared for the dent in my bank account the following morning.

来自英格兰南部的一个小镇，我一直对伦敦的物价感到惊讶。我知道去圣诞市场逛一逛并不便宜，但第二天早上我的银行账户就会被缩水，我却没有做好准备。

The event opens up for 2024 today, and usually sees 2.5 million people every year, but I have a warning if you’re planning on going: you need deep pockets.

这项活动将于 2024 年今天开始，通常每年都会有 250 万人参加，但如果您计划参加，我要警告您：您需要有足够的资金。

By the time I arrived, I’d already spent hundreds. I figured if I was travelling to the festive event people rave about, I should see what they have to offer. The entry fee was £7.50 per person (which is waivered if you spend over £25 on activities beforehand – which I did). For two people, a 45-minute ice-skating ticket cost £34, the Ice Kingdom £26, the Giant Wheel £22 and the ice bar £36. As it was all pre-booked, it was discounted, so on-site it would cost 20 per cent more.

当我到达的时候，我已经花了几百了。我想如果我要去参加人们热衷的节日活动，我应该看看他们能提供什么。入场费为每人 7.5 英镑（如果您事先在活动上花费超过 25 英镑，则可免收门票 - 我就是这么做的）。对于两个人来说，45分钟的滑冰票价为34英镑，冰雪王国26英镑，巨轮22英镑，冰吧36英镑。由于都是提前预订，有折扣，所以现场要贵20%。

It’s not to say the activities weren’t fun but it costs to even get photo evidence of the memories. We were told to put our phones away while skating and in the sculpture walk – not in case we drop and break them, but because all images came with a price tag afterwards. When we took our skates off and headed to the kiosk, it was £25 for digital copies and a few printed ones.

这并不是说这些活动不有趣，但即使是获取记忆的照片证据也是要花钱的。我们被告知在滑冰和雕塑行走时要把手机收起来——不是为了防止手机掉落或摔坏，而是因为所有图像都会在事后贴上价格标签。当我们脱下溜冰鞋前往售货亭时，数字版和一些印刷版的售价为 25 英镑。

Of course these things are optional, but as somebody who loves to keep souvenirs, and has been stood in a queue just to view these pictures for 25 minutes, I felt compelled to pay. When we did that for two attractions, we’d spent £40.

当然这些东西都是可选的，但作为一个喜欢保留纪念品的人，为了看这些照片而排了25分钟的队，我觉得有必要付钱。当我们为两个景点这样做时，我们花了 40 英镑。

The worst part though was the food and drink. Two hot dogs racked up nearly £30 and two chocolate crepes, over £20. One singular, tiny, sugar doughnut was £3. The only thing that seemed reasonable were the hot chocolates, priced between £3.50 and £5. However, being branded a “luxury” seemed far-fetched considering it tasted like the same hot milk and powder I put together at home. It was of course extra if you opted for an added dollop of cream and a sprinkle of a few marshmallows.

最糟糕的部分是食物和饮料。两个热狗价值近30英镑，两个巧克力薄饼价值20多英镑。一个独特的小甜甜圈售价 3 英镑。唯一看起来合理的是热巧克力，价格在 3.5 英镑到 5 英镑之间。然而，考虑到它的味道就像我在家里混合的热牛奶和奶粉一样，被贴上“奢侈品”的标签似乎有些牵强。如果您选择添加一块奶油和一些棉花糖，那当然是额外的。

Looking around, other stalls didn’t seem to be any cheaper. Fish and chips would set you back £14, a baked potato £7, and candy floss £8. It’s not just me who has been disheartened by the prices over the years. People have taken to social media to vent about it. One said prices were “laughably high”, and others have claimed it to be overpriced or extortionate. I can’t help but agree.

环顾四周，其他摊位似乎也没有便宜多少。炸鱼薯条要花 14 英镑，烤土豆要花 7 英镑，棉花糖要花 8 英镑。多年来对价格感到沮丧的不仅仅是我。人们纷纷在社交媒体上发泄此事。一位人士称价格“高得可笑”，另一些人则声称价格过高或敲诈勒索。我忍不住同意。

It’s worth noting I’m not particularly uptight with spending my money but the whole thing seemed excessive for a mediocre experience. The rink holds so many people that the hardest part wasn’t keeping your balance on a thin blade, but actually finding space on the sheet of ice to skate. Walking around involves weaving in and out of thousands of people, only to get stuck between groups or shoved to one side. It’s a much calmer experience in local town rinks which often cost half the price.

值得注意的是，我对花钱并不是特别紧张，但对于平庸的体验来说，整件事似乎有点过分了。溜冰场容纳了很多人，最困难的部分不是用薄冰片保持平衡，而是在冰面上找到可以滑冰的空间。四处走动需要在成千上万的人中穿梭，结果却被困在人群之间或被推到一边。在当地城镇的溜冰场上这是一种更加平静的体验，而且通常只需花费一半的价格。

The event claims to be from “humble beginnings” having grown from an open air market in Hyde Park nearly 20 years ago to the hotspot it is today, but to actually enjoy yourself there the prices seem wildly unfair, especially given the cost of living so many of us are facing. Christmas is already expensive as it is, with presents, food and gatherings, so it is hard to fully enjoy yourself when you’re there unless you’ve fully budgeted for it.

该活动声称是从“卑微的开始”开始的，从近 20 年前海德公园的一个露天市场发展到今天的热点，但要真正在那里享受乐趣，价格似乎非常不公平，特别是考虑到生活成本如此之高。我们很多人都面临着。圣诞节本来就很昂贵，有礼物、食物和聚会，所以除非你有充分的预算，否则很难充分享受圣诞节。

When we headed to the stall that gave out tokens for the rides on offer, we were told it would be £80 for coupons that would give us access to eight rides, or access to the arcade-style games. We instead opted just to pay for one ride – £10 each for a VR experience rollercoaster. When I sat on it, having paid what I thought was a ridiculous amount for the pair of us, I was expecting to be transported into a new world. Yes, animals jumped out and I physically ducked when it looked like I was about to be splashed with water –

当我们前往为所提供的游乐设施发放代币的摊位时，我们被告知优惠券的价格为 80 英镑，可以让我们获得 8 个游乐设施或街机风格的游戏。相反，我们选择只支付一次乘坐费用——每人 10 英镑即可体验 VR 体验过山车。当我坐在上面，支付了我认为对我们俩来说有点荒谬的金额时，我期待着被带入一个新世界。是的，动物跳了出来，当我看起来快要被水溅到时，我身体躲开——