Have you considered looking at an "open jaw" flight so that you can fly from Toronto to Vienna but home from another location such as Budapest? It would save you some days if you don't have to backtrack and you could begin your vacation in Vienna and then move on. Also we spent 4 days in Budapest and could have easily spent more time there. there was so much to see and do in a short time. We took a 2 hour city bus tour our first day to orient ourselves and then used public transportation. We also purchased a Budapest card which gave us discounts etc. If you are interested in the Budapest Market Central Hall make sure you check for days that it is open, we missed out on it because it was closed for a National Holiday when we were there.

Thank you, Snowflake. Yes, I've looked at an open jaw ticket but it seems more of a hassle than to take the train which I really enjoy. Any more than 1 connecting city stresses me out. I will continue searching for flights, maybe I can get something from my part of Canada to an Eastern US city and fly directly to Budapest from there? It's still 10 months away, so I can research lots.

thanks for the info on the Budapest card and the Market Central Hall

Anyone else have any suggestions for better fits during that time frame (late September, early October)? Duration would be 12-14 days.

Have you been to Prague? We spent 4 days there, took a bus to Cesky Krumlov and spent the night and then used a shuttle to Linz and then took the train from there to Budapest. We were there in mid October and we had beautiful weather.

Just this year we did a day trip to Bratislava from Vienna. It's only a 45 minute train journey and there is a special rail ticket expressly for this journey. Granted we didn't see the castle (we had a little person in tow), but we did do a small tour in one of the Oldtimer buses around the old town, walked around and had a meal. I was not so wowed - I would not have wanted to spend more than a day there. I however did get to Brno and Prague. I had a bit more time for Brno, which has a more vibrant centre, and Prague is a jewel, if totally overrun with tourists (which I admit I don't like so much). But there is plenty to keep you busy in Vienna; you've got the right amount of time there as there is just so much you can see. Enjoy!

Lavandula

Thank you for the replies! I need to do further research about Prague, ease of flying into it or how well it fits with Vienna.

I also heard from another source that Bratislava is not worth 2 nights for most people. I know everyone's different though.

Hopefully soon we can finalize plans... I've always gotten great advice from fellow Fodorites, thank you

I'd suggest doing a LOT of research on Bratislava.

We drove into the town, not knowing where the castle was, and never found it, nor anything inviting. Granted, we might have just taken a left when a right would have led us to Alice's wonderland. The left turn, however, took us into vintage Soviet architectural delights.

If Paris were a 10, I'd rank Prague an 8+, London an 8, Munich a 7, Bratislava a 3.

tomboy, thank you for the info! I seem to change my mind every day... now we are looking at flying into Vienna and out of Munich.............. still in the very early stages, just a rough idea when (late September, early October) and between 12 to 14 days.

Thanks again! And if I were traveling alone, I'd go back to Paris, to me it's a 10+

Everyone's different.

I happen to like Bratislava, mainly because it ties in with all that Central European history.

The castle is right there, up on the hilltop.

There's a tourist office off the main square. We took a tour it offered and enjoyed the tour. We went to the castle by ourselves and it's big and sort of empty, so we felt like we were rattling around and never did see everything. We did enjoy the views and the gardens as well as some of the museum exhibits.

I'll agree that two nights may be one night too many.

Everywhere else it's busy, busy, busy with tourists - Bratislava, not so much. That in itself is worthwhile the small detour - to enjoy a classic European city with hordes of others.

Munich airport is one fantastic airport. Good choice to fly into or out of.

we flew into prague and then took a bus to Cesky Krumlov as did snowflake above. from c.k. we took a shuttle (8 people-- leaves from near town square) to vienna. it was really simple. would recommend c.k. if you are in prague. a lovely town.