Prague, Vienna, Budapest in early September
Aug 27th, 2012, 03:34 PM
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Prague, Vienna, Budapest in early September
My husband and I will be in Prague, Vienna, and Budapest in early September, 3 days in each city. Looking for MUST SEE places, experiences, off the beaten path ideas, and little gems I might not have come across in the standard research I have done. Side trips or great spots along the Danube? Opera or classical concert in Vienna or Prague? We are looking forward to getting away from our 3 young children and experiencing the culture, history, and architecture that is so different from our home in Kansas! Prefer active journeys over sedentary ones, and always on the look out for a great meal and delicious cocktails. Thank you!
Aug 27th, 2012, 05:59 PM
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If you are interested in seeing just a portion of the Vienna Opera, you can buy standing room only tickets then leave quietly when you have seen enough. Here is a good primer on how to get the SRO tickets (which are very cheap - around 3 euros). One caveat - you will both have to stand in line; they won't sell you more than one ticket per person.
http://likelyimpossibilities.blogspo...g-room-at.html
This was a good compromise for us when we visited Vienna. We didn't want to spend lots of money on opera tickets, and I wasn't particularly interested in watching 3 hours of opera. It may be tacky to leave before it is over, but if you very quietly leave no one will be the wiser. And, according to Rick Steves, this is done all the time.
http://likelyimpossibilities.blogspo...g-room-at.html
This was a good compromise for us when we visited Vienna. We didn't want to spend lots of money on opera tickets, and I wasn't particularly interested in watching 3 hours of opera. It may be tacky to leave before it is over, but if you very quietly leave no one will be the wiser. And, according to Rick Steves, this is done all the time.
Aug 27th, 2012, 08:41 PM
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<<I highly recommend a night or two in Cesky Krumlov!>>
That is daft considering the OP only has 3 nights in each city and those three-night stays are far too short for Prague and Budapest.
No such thing as a must see - that's context dependent upon who you are.
Take an evening cruise in Budapest. Climb one of the Charles Bridge towers in Prague for the panoramic views. Note that you'll be hard-pressed to find a good spot along the Danube in Prague . . .
That is daft considering the OP only has 3 nights in each city and those three-night stays are far too short for Prague and Budapest.
No such thing as a must see - that's context dependent upon who you are.
Take an evening cruise in Budapest. Climb one of the Charles Bridge towers in Prague for the panoramic views. Note that you'll be hard-pressed to find a good spot along the Danube in Prague . . .
Aug 27th, 2012, 11:09 PM
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BigRuss, I agree. 
Do a David Cerny walking tour in Prague. Self guided and a great way to see the city. David Cerny exemplifies the spirit of Prague perfectly. Irreverent, naughty and activist. Here is a good article with descriptions of the locations of his statues. http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/201...gue-city-break
You can have a great meal at SaSaZu, which again is not in the old town.
Maybe a day trip to Kutna Hora to see the Bone Chapel and do a tour of the silver mines (def miss if you are claustrophobic!)
Plan on doing a lot of walking as the beer here is just too delicious to miss and you will want to sample a lot. A good place to do this is The Beer Museum. Tocena is the word for draft and you will see it everywhere. I would recommend staying away from the Pilsner Urquell, Krusovice, Gambrinus and Staropramen as those are now mass produced. Try some of the others like Klasterni Pivovar (Strahov Monastery by the Prague Castle). In fact, it seems like monasteries always have good beer. Another one we like is the Brevnov Monastery restaurant Klasterni Senk. Good Czech food and excellent food and def off the beaten track!
When in Budapest, do a Tokaj tasting. The Hilton on the Buda side used to have an excellent one.
Do a David Cerny walking tour in Prague. Self guided and a great way to see the city. David Cerny exemplifies the spirit of Prague perfectly. Irreverent, naughty and activist. Here is a good article with descriptions of the locations of his statues. http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/201...gue-city-break
You can have a great meal at SaSaZu, which again is not in the old town.
Maybe a day trip to Kutna Hora to see the Bone Chapel and do a tour of the silver mines (def miss if you are claustrophobic!)
Plan on doing a lot of walking as the beer here is just too delicious to miss and you will want to sample a lot. A good place to do this is The Beer Museum. Tocena is the word for draft and you will see it everywhere. I would recommend staying away from the Pilsner Urquell, Krusovice, Gambrinus and Staropramen as those are now mass produced. Try some of the others like Klasterni Pivovar (Strahov Monastery by the Prague Castle). In fact, it seems like monasteries always have good beer. Another one we like is the Brevnov Monastery restaurant Klasterni Senk. Good Czech food and excellent food and def off the beaten track!
When in Budapest, do a Tokaj tasting. The Hilton on the Buda side used to have an excellent one.
Aug 27th, 2012, 11:32 PM
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Along the Danube..
Budapest:
Szentendre - picture perfect (and touristy) town not far upstream. Half an hour or so by train, or by excursion boat.
Esztergom and Danube bend - great day trip by boat (don't know if they still use the hydrofoils) but takes a huge bite out of your time budget. As said, a full day.
Vienna:
Klosterneuburg - just 10kms or so upstream. Impressive monastery (with a great winery, sample and/or buy a bottle), two major museums in same town. Check the Essl museum's website. They used to offer a free bus shuttle from central Vienna. From the museum, the monastery is just a short walk away. So you get the day trip for free - transport-wise
Wachau valley - Melk abbey and surroundings, a great day trip, but again, you need one full day of the only three you have in Vienna.
Not necessarily "Danube-related":
Budapest:
One cute little less than half-day trip into the surrounding green hills is by cog wheel train (part of public transit) from near Moskva ter (you need to take the tram from there for 2,3 stops to the cog wheel train).
On the hilltop you walk a few hundred meters to the hilltop terminus of the children or pioneer railway. It's not necessarily for children only but run by kids (every larger city in Eastern Europe had a kids-run pioneer railway in the old days). No worries, safety-related works are done or supervised by adults.
The pioneer railway will take you back downhill to a terminus of the regular tram.
Any hotel concierge in Budapest will know this and can give you the necessary information how to get there if you want.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyermekvasút
http://www.gyermekvasut.hu/english/chrw_home.php
Vienna
Take tram/bus from central Vienna to Kahlenberg (mountain). Enjoy the panoramic view over Vienna and the whole basin.
Cobenzl cafe/restaurant is somewhat halfway up the mountain and esp. the rotunda-style cafe is like a timewarp back into the 1950s.
Hike / walk back to Vienna's outer district of Grinzing through the woods and vineyards and sample some of the grapes/ wine.
Budapest:
Szentendre - picture perfect (and touristy) town not far upstream. Half an hour or so by train, or by excursion boat.
Esztergom and Danube bend - great day trip by boat (don't know if they still use the hydrofoils) but takes a huge bite out of your time budget. As said, a full day.
Vienna:
Klosterneuburg - just 10kms or so upstream. Impressive monastery (with a great winery, sample and/or buy a bottle), two major museums in same town. Check the Essl museum's website. They used to offer a free bus shuttle from central Vienna. From the museum, the monastery is just a short walk away. So you get the day trip for free - transport-wise
Wachau valley - Melk abbey and surroundings, a great day trip, but again, you need one full day of the only three you have in Vienna.
Not necessarily "Danube-related":
Budapest:
One cute little less than half-day trip into the surrounding green hills is by cog wheel train (part of public transit) from near Moskva ter (you need to take the tram from there for 2,3 stops to the cog wheel train).
On the hilltop you walk a few hundred meters to the hilltop terminus of the children or pioneer railway. It's not necessarily for children only but run by kids (every larger city in Eastern Europe had a kids-run pioneer railway in the old days). No worries, safety-related works are done or supervised by adults.
The pioneer railway will take you back downhill to a terminus of the regular tram.
Any hotel concierge in Budapest will know this and can give you the necessary information how to get there if you want.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyermekvasút
http://www.gyermekvasut.hu/english/chrw_home.php
Vienna
Take tram/bus from central Vienna to Kahlenberg (mountain). Enjoy the panoramic view over Vienna and the whole basin.
Cobenzl cafe/restaurant is somewhat halfway up the mountain and esp. the rotunda-style cafe is like a timewarp back into the 1950s.
Hike / walk back to Vienna's outer district of Grinzing through the woods and vineyards and sample some of the grapes/ wine.
Aug 28th, 2012, 06:07 AM
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Budapest - have dinner at Rosenstein near the Keleti train station. Wonderful food at reasonable price. You should probably take a taxi from center city.
Don't miss the thermal baths in Budapest, we did the Szechenyi Baths, highly recommend it.
Don't miss the thermal baths in Budapest, we did the Szechenyi Baths, highly recommend it.
Aug 31st, 2012, 07:41 AM
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These guys ...
http://www.pragueonsegway.com/
... had terrific reviews on tripadvisor, and they weren't wrong. We did a just-after-dawn tour to avoid traffic, but they have an evening tour and a longer, three-hour tour.
http://www.pragueonsegway.com/
... had terrific reviews on tripadvisor, and they weren't wrong. We did a just-after-dawn tour to avoid traffic, but they have an evening tour and a longer, three-hour tour.
Aug 31st, 2012, 08:18 AM
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The baths in Hungary are fine places where hairy Hungarian men and women get steamed up like lobsters. You have three days in each destination so your time is limited. You make the call.
One of the biggest problems with the thread is that you haven't said what you want to learn about. In three days in Budapest, you can visit the Castle and Heroes Square for Magyar history, the KGB museum and/or Szoborpark for life under the Reds, and the Dohany Utca area for Hungarian Jewish history and still need time to visit St Istvan's and Parliament and Deak Ter, etc.
Similarly, in Prague there are various museums of various artifacts, a Communism museum in the same building as a casino, the whole Josefov area, the Castle, the Vyserhad district, the various "U" buildings and areas named for certain features (U Golem, U Zlatych Nuzek, etc), and an easy day trip to Terezin that will alter your perspectives in life.
So, what piques your interest other than wandering and absorbing?
One of the biggest problems with the thread is that you haven't said what you want to learn about. In three days in Budapest, you can visit the Castle and Heroes Square for Magyar history, the KGB museum and/or Szoborpark for life under the Reds, and the Dohany Utca area for Hungarian Jewish history and still need time to visit St Istvan's and Parliament and Deak Ter, etc.
Similarly, in Prague there are various museums of various artifacts, a Communism museum in the same building as a casino, the whole Josefov area, the Castle, the Vyserhad district, the various "U" buildings and areas named for certain features (U Golem, U Zlatych Nuzek, etc), and an easy day trip to Terezin that will alter your perspectives in life.
So, what piques your interest other than wandering and absorbing?
Aug 31st, 2012, 05:25 PM
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For Prague, I second the Vysehrad district, one of our favorites. It's where Prague was born, up on a hill, overlooking the Vlatava River. What's there? A beautiful church, a magnificent national cemetery, fortress ruins, & great views of Prague. The best part? It's much less crowded than Old Town & the Castle district.
Aug 31st, 2012, 06:08 PM
#14
You are going to have to be organized if you are 3 days in each city.
Research what YOUR interests are and what you would like to see.
Yes, in Budapest you want to do Buda Castle and Heroes Square ,as has been mentioned, but these places are miles apart.
In all places it takes time to get from point A to point B, so perhaps getting a good guide in each place for a day would be nice.
If you do your research for Prague you can see a lot of places by just walking...but again you have to know where the places are...or else you will
end up just wandering around and looking at a lot of lovely architectural places without knowing much about them...
which in reality isn't that bad either, but it is more fun knowing in advance.
I could give you a list of places in each city but that would be my choice of places and not yours.
Research what YOUR interests are and what you would like to see.
Yes, in Budapest you want to do Buda Castle and Heroes Square ,as has been mentioned, but these places are miles apart.
In all places it takes time to get from point A to point B, so perhaps getting a good guide in each place for a day would be nice.
If you do your research for Prague you can see a lot of places by just walking...but again you have to know where the places are...or else you will
end up just wandering around and looking at a lot of lovely architectural places without knowing much about them...
which in reality isn't that bad either, but it is more fun knowing in advance.
I could give you a list of places in each city but that would be my choice of places and not yours.
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