The 10 most expensive places to stay in Europe

The summer months may be behind us, but there's still time for a quick vacation before winter kicks in.

But, where should you go for a quick weekend break? Well, if you live in Europe there is a whole continent at your finger tips and thankfully, Travelmag has published a survey of hotel prices in Europe's cities that may help make up your mind.

Travelmag investigated 40 European cities to discover the average price for a double-room at a three-star (or higher) hotel during the month of September.The full survey is available here, but CNBC has taken a look at the 10 priciest destinations—so please read on.

—By Luke Graham, special to CNBC, on Thursday September 17, 2015.

Milan in Italy is the most expensive city for hotel rooms this year, according to Paul Joseph from TravelMag. He said that prices had risen 25 percent because of Expo 2015, the global exhibition the city is hosting until the end of October.

"Without that event, Milan would have come 11th in our list," Joseph told CNBC.

If you fancy eating pasta somewhere cheaper, fear not, as other Italian cities are less pricey. Rome was 17th on TravelMag's list, while Naples came near the bottom at No. 31.

The capital of Sweden came in high up the list at No. 2. The Scandinavian city routinely appears in lists of the most expensive places in Europe, due to high prices for food, alcohol and transport.

Prices for hotel rooms in the city in South Germany have risen ahead of Oktoberfest. The folk festival celebrating Bavarian culture (mainly through drinking lots of beer) is held annually in Munich and begins on September 19, running into October.

The capital city of the Netherlands is known for its many canals and important cultural institutions such as the Van Gogh museum, as well as less wholesome pleasures. A report from the Economist Intelligence Unit in 2012 argued that Amsterdam was the second best city in the world in which to live, after Hong Kong.

One of the world's largest financial centers, Zurich is also the biggest city in Switzerland. Tourists can promenade along Lake Zurich or check out the picturesque Old Town.

The Danish capital topped a quality of life survey by Monocle magazine from 2012 to 2014. However, in 2015, Monocle introduced new metrics to its survey, such as the number of public parks and bookstores and ease of opening a business, which saw Copenhagen drop to 10th place.

The romantic but crowded capital of France boasts a number of famous tourist attractions, including the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre—and Disneyland Paris.

Tying with Paris for cost of hotels, the U.K. capital welcomes millions of visitors each year to its heaving midst. The latest official figures show 17.4 million people visited London in 2014.

Norway and its capital of Oslo is a beacon for nature enthusiasts and winter sports fans.

Next February, Oslo will host the X Games, one of the biggest events in action sports, with skateboarding added to the program of snowboarding and skiing competitions.

Another Scandinavian city to appear in the top 10 is Helsinki, the capital of Finland. In Monocle's quality of life survey for 2015, Helsiniki came eighth, beating Munich, Zurich and Copenhagen.