qzseattle

Hello,

We are trying to narrow down possible destinations in Europe sometime in May. Now the choice is between Paris and Vienna. We only have time to visit one of them. I underrstand comparing two cities doesnt always make sense, every city has its pros and cons and each city is unique in its own way. It would help however to know how these two cities differ from each other.

Our main objective is spending a couple of days in historic/central parts of the town, just strolling around for the sights and sounds of the city. We will not be doing museums, art galleries, etc. Our interest is in architecture and some shopping.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

annhig

ooh, there's a difficult one.

both have fabulous architecture and great shops. Vienna has to my mind the solidity of a great capital city, with magnificent buildings.

paris OTOH is somewhat more diverse but certainly has its own magnificence.

WHat would swing it for me is that there can hardly be a better time of year to visit Paris than the late spring. and if you don't go much for museums, Vienna has perhaps slightly less to offer, whereas there is loads to do in Paris without going anywhere near a museum.

so that's one vote for Paris.

qwovadis

en.parisinfo.com

Far prettier and more walkable than

euroindustrial Vienna pretty centrally otherwise

euroinsustrial anf blocky for me.

Usually find great hotel deals like Meridiens

from $80/nt bidding Priceline www.betterbidding.com or

www.hotel-collegedefrance.com former Templar Headquarters

cute little hotel at a good price central more intimate.

Happy deciding,

qubed

I would also recommend Paris instead of Vienna.

I think Vienna is a beautiful 1-2 day city - It is clean, beautiful architecture etc. However, the diversity and culture is somewhat limited compared to Paris, I personally feel. I believe Paris has much more to offer at the end of the day vs. Vienna.

kenav

quovadis - No sentences?

TDudette

Paris!

mamcalice

Paris for sure. It is at its most beautiful in the spring and has endless places to walk and visit without going to museums. And, as for the shopping, there is no place better.

mamcalice

Paris for sure. It is at its most beautiful in the spring and has endless places to walk and visit without going to museums. And, as for the shopping, there is no place better.

mamcalice

Paris for sure. It is at its most beautiful in the spring and has endless places to walk and visit without going to museums. And, as for the shopping, there is no place better.

tomboy

Architecture? I found Budapest architecture intriguing, more than Vienna. If you've ever been to Paris (which has nice buildings), and are considering Vienna, look into Budapest. I don't think the name is Art Deco, but someone there told me there were 10,000 multistory building erected in the 1890s there. Interesting design, color. You have to get out of the city center to see it. We stayed in what in the US would be called an inner city neighborhood, somewhat like the Lincoln Park area of Chicago.

qzseattle

Thanks everyone. We are leaning towards Paris. By the way, I read yahoo travel reviews and most people thought Vienna was a bit boring but more elegant, sophisticated and cleaner than Paris which some people called noisy, rude and dirty. I have not been to Paris but I have been to central London which I found fascinating, noisy/dirty or not, even though architecture in central London is not considered as grand as in Paris. The Regent street in London is my favorite street and I am told one can find more of that in Paris. So thats good enough for me

By the way, as far as architecture is concerned, I should have mentioned that we are more interested in more historical buildings in neo-classical, baroque, gothic style etc. We particularly do not like modernist stuff and the so-called communist blocks.

tomboy

From what I saw driving into Budapest, and taking trams around the town, there were no "communist blocks" in sight. Anywhere. No doubt they existed on the periphery of the city, but there were none in evidence in Budapest proper. I think the period of architecture is called Art Noveau.
http://www.budapest.com/city_guide/c...ecture.en.html