Britons... the cultural elite of Europe: UK Residents spend more time visiting galleries and attending operas than our continental neighbours Britons visit more art galleries than the French, and attend more operas than Italians Almost 40 per cent of Brits have been to the theatre in the last 12 months Eighty per cent had their noses in a book last year By Peter Simpson We may be living in dumbed-down Britain, but it would appear that, on the whole, we're rather more cultured than some of our neighbours in Europe. We attend more operas than the Italians and visit more art galleries than the French, according to a study. The report says Britons are ahead of our neighbours on nine key cultural measures - debunking Europe's view of us as a race addicted to reality TV and celebrity gossip. The report found Britons were more likely to visit art galleries than the French who claim to have the world's best collections According to the Brussels-based Eurobarometer survey of 27,000 people from across the EU, we are far more likely to read a book, far more aware of history and far more keen to enjoy cultural events such as the ballet and the theatre than the average EU citizen. The land that gave the world Shakespeare has one of the largest theatre-going publics in Europe, with 39 per cent of Britons saying they had attended a play in the last 12 months - well above the EU average of 28 per cent. Almost two thirds - 65 per cent - of us have visited a historical monument or site over the last year. That compares with 54 per cent of French and 41 per cent of Italians. France has long prided itself as nation with the best art galleries. But only 37 per cent of French said they had visited a museum or gallery in the past year, compared to 52 per cent of Britons. You are more likely to find more empty auditorium seats in the home of opera, Italy, where only 17 per cent of natives said they had seen been to one in the last year compared to 22 per cent of Britons. We are also more likely to visit our opera houses such as the Royal Opera House in London (pictured) than Italians, while 80 per cent of us read a book last year In austerity blighted Greece, visits to historical monuments have collapsed to under half the EU average, with domestic visitor numbers at such iconic sites as the Parthenon and Acropolis in free-fall. The survey found 80 per cent of Britons had their noses in a book last year. That compares with the EU average of 68 per cent - but only just beats the Germans on 79 per cent. With both countries on the verge of political and economic collapse, only half the populations in Greece and Portugal have picked up a book over the last year. Overall, the survey shows that Britain bucks the European-wide decline in arts and literature "involvement," which is down 24 per cent across the EU over the last five years due to the Eurozone crisis. But the UK has witnessed only a two per cent drop in the number attending or participating in cultural activities, the survey shows.