Fodor's To Europe!
Central Europe by Train
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Fly into: Budapest
Fly out of: Warsaw
Total Duration: 10 days
This itinerary gives the flavor of Central Europe. There's plenty to see, including castles in Bratislava and Krakow, bathhouses in Budapest, and libraries in Warsaw. It's best and most easily undertaken by train.
- Architecture
- Shopping
- Nightlife
- Great Train Ride
- History
This Trip's Top Experiences:
Days 1-3
stevenallan/iStockPhoto
1 Budapest
Bathhouses and Bridges
- Things can get steamy at one of the city's many bathhouses; try the recently renovated Rudás or traditional Gellért
- The shopping can't be beat on Vaci utca or Andrássy út
- See the renaissance delights on Castle Hill, a UNESCO Heritage Site
Days 4-5
Klearchos Kapoutsis/flickr
2 Slovakia
Mountains and Castles
- It's hard not to love Bratislava's 9th-century castle, though this particular one was rebuilt after a fire in 1811
- The Hall of Mirrors in the Bratislava's Primates' Palace is as trippy today as it was three hundred years ago
- Go hiking in the High Tatras, Slovakia's famed mountain range
Days 6-7
Krzysztof Slusarczyk/shutterstock
3 Krakow
Poland's Magical City
- Walk around the Main Market Square, Europe's largest medieval marketplace
- The Czartoryski Museum holds famed works from Leonardo and Rembrandt
- Visit the 16th-century Royal Castle, a Romanesque structure that barely escaped destruction in 1945
Days 8-10
Marcin Jurczuk/shutterstock
4 Warsaw
Poland, Past and Future
- The University Library isn't just for scholars—its spacious rooftop garden makes it worth the trip
- Take a stroll in Lazienki Park along the Vistula escarpment and see if you can spot a peacock
- Explore the former Jewish Quarter, home of the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II, and now the site of the Jewish Museum
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