August Honeymoon: Prague/Vienna vs. Stockholm/Copenhagen vs. Barcelona
 

We are starting to plan a honeymoon for about a week-10 days in early August and trying to decide between three great areas: (1) Prague & Vienna (2) Stockholm & Copenhagen and (3) Barcelona. Thoughts?

The weather would be much better in Stockholm but more expensive. The rest are going to be hot and crowded.

Depends on your interest:
Vienna and Prague - museums, churches, Old Europe feel
( could be hot)
S/C - more relaxing, cooler, probably less crowded.

Barcelona - the worst time of year to visit a beautiful city

We were in Stockholm and Copenhagen in August and it was very rainy. June-July might be a better time to visit those cities. Both cities were fantastic and Stockholm definitely exceeded our expectations, very hip and happening. Try to get to Sodermalm, away from Gamlastan.

barcelona has some of the best food i've ever had, and perhaps if you can push up the honeymoon (to october for example) it would be more comfortable there. i was there in november and people we still on the beach in a bathing suit!
for our honeymoon we went to amsterdam/paris. i know stockholm is very, very, very expensive, so perhaps i can suggest amsterdam/copenhagen if that is your interest. i had such a wonderful time.
good luck!

Well, Stockholm and Copenhagen will be the most expensive option. The weather, though, is always iffy in both cities, and August is about the only time of year where you might see truly intense rain storms. Still, the average temps are not that different from Prague or Vienna, but I believe Prague and Vienna are more prone to heat waves.

Barcelona is a great city, but it would be hot. Still, the average high is only in the low 80s, so not ridiculously hot. Also, this gives you the chance to experience the beach culture there. But site-seeing might be a bit uncomfortable in the heat of the day. Good, affordable food and some nice hotels.

The one benefit to Stockholm and Copenhagen would be that, with July being the big holiday month in those countries, you won't see a lot of closures of businesses. Not sure what the situation would be in the other countries.

Malostranska Residence
Malostranské náměstí 24, Prague 1

or more $ VERY special and Romantic

The Golden Well www.goldenwell.cz

good prices on hotel discount sites.

Vienna also nice places...for something special

Venice 5 star on the Grand Canal for a few nights.

www.casagredohotel.com perhaps or the Danieli both quite

romantic and special.

Congrats!

Here are my thoughts, having been to Prague/Vienna once (in October 2010) and Stockholm/Copenhagen once (in June 2007) and Barcelona four times(2004, 2006, 2009, 2010). If I were, you I would choose Stockholm/Copenhagen/Scandinavia and here is why.

Stockholm and Copenhagen should be lovely at that time of year (as it was in June). Interestingly (at least this was the case in 2007), summer weekends are considered "low season" and you can get some really good deals - we got a deal at the Nordic Light Hotel for $200 per night and it included a breakfast that is the best I have ever had anywhere (and was available til noon and filled us up until dinnertime). You also get the advantage of the long long summer days and the festivals. There's also an option of taking a night boat to Tallinn in Estonia for a change of pace - they are pretty affordable (as is Tallinn). I didn't find Scandinavia all that more expensive than Barcelona or Vienna - plus the quality of everything is so high there. We didn't spend a lot of time in Copenhagen on that trip (and it was rainy then) but I bet it will be nice in August. Scandinavia in general is not overly -touristy - Stockholm is our favorite city in Europe for this reason - gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous, lots of history, culture, great food, nice people, plus there are so many options outside of the city. We barely scratched the surface and would love to return some day.

Barcelona is wonderful but may be extremely hot and humid in August to be enjoyable. You will want to head outside the city but because the entire country vacations at that time, all the refreshing places will be $$$$ and booked up far in advance. Barcelona itself is worth 4 days max - you will have to head elsewhere (and should, as Barcelona feels a bit like a disneyland for grownups). If you do choose Barcelona, I recommend the B-hotel http://www.b-hotel.com/(well-located and well priced - check their website for deals; I paid 70 euro for a night in April 2009 and it was heavenly) and trips to the Catalonian wine country (accessible by car and even commuter rail) and maybe even Banyuls sur Mer in southern France (a local train there runs around 10 euro - we stayed here in October 2010 http://www.hotels.com/ho288424/les-e...ur-mer-france/ - the euro was not so high then and it was off-season. We were the only non-French people there.

We went to Pragur & Vienna this past October - both cities were enchanting (I expected Prague to be so but Vienna's elegance and refinement surprised me). I would skip it for a long, honeymoon type experience because Prague especially is jam-packed with tourists and although it is supposed to be "cheaper," for quality accomodations and food I did not find it appreciably cheaper than Barcelona (I went to Barcelona in Sept 2010 and Prague in Oct 2010). I am pretty sure summer is high season and rates are higher than what we paid. If you are looking into this area for the summertime, I would suggest maybe Budapest or Croatia - have not been to either place but have heard that you get more bang for your buck there).

ttt

The very romantic Stochholm skjærgård/archipelago: http://www.visitsweden.com/sweden/Re...m-archipelago/

Perhaps stay in the charming Old Town/Gamla Stan: http://www.visitsweden.com/sweden/Re...holm/Old-Town/

The emblematic Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen: http://www.tivoli.dk/en/

Noma in Copenhagen is again ranked the world's best restaurant: http://noma.dk/
http://www.theworlds50best.com/list/1-50-winners/noma

When in Copenhagen, I always have a couple of traditional smørrebrød in excellent and genuine Tivolihallen: http://www.tivolihallen.dk/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...n_Zealand.html

And perhaps stay a couple of nights just outside Copenhagen in idyllic Dragør. Typical Danish laid-back atmosphere by the sea. Attended a fantastic wedding here a couple of years ago: http://dragoerlive.dk/site/index.php?sprog_id=3

This thread is more than 3 years old. I thnk the honeymoon is long over.

Maybe it was this wedding I attended in Dragør...

The honeymoon is usually over after the first year.!!! :)