And Australia's most expensive night out destination award goes to Perth, which, according to TripAdvisor's TripIndex 2012, would charge $430.83 for two people just to spend a night at a four-star hotel, tour the city on a round-trip via taxi, get to enjoy cocktails at a five-star hotel bar and enjoy dinner with wine.

Brisbane came in second at $408.70, followed by Canberra at $389.54. Number four was Sydney at $389.27, then Melbourne at $379.07.

TripAdvisor's TripIndex 2012 assessed Australia's 10 largest destinations from the months of June through to the end of August, and how much it would cost two travellers for a night's accommodation in a hotel room, dinner, drinks and a taxi ride.

"Perth's premium hotel prices are the primary reason for the city's costly position," TripAdvisor director account management Grant Colquhoun said.

If there is a most expensive tag, there is also its direct opposite, the most affordable. Wollongong, located south of Sydney, was found to offer the best bargains for a night out at $339.84.

Meanwhile, on a global scale, Sydney ranked ninth in the list of most expensive cities in the world, at $400.76. London was top lead, at $531.09. In last year's TripIndex, Sydney ranked 24th.

Behind London were Oslo, Zurich, Paris, Stockholm, New York City, Moscow, Copenhagen, Sydney and Singapore which came in at 10th place.

In the 2011 TripIndex, Paris was named the most expensive city, followed by Zurich and London.

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