Budapest vs. Prague
 

Many posters ask: Which is better, Prague or Budapest? Or: if I visit Prague do I still need to visit Budapest?

There is no *right* answer of course.

But I thought it might be useful to assemble a series of comparisons and contrasts, as a reference for neophytes, to help them judge.

A colleague once brilliantly said: Prague is Mozart, Budapest is Beethoven. By which she meant that one is gentle and exquisite and the other majestic if bombastic.

{Wish I could find a more locally relevant composer than Beethoven. Actually, I thought of Verdi -- a virile mid-century nationalist.)

So here are my initial comparisons and antitheses:

1. Both are defined and divided by a large river. Both have extensive park-space and undeveloped central woodland, because of their hilly setting.

2. Both have an upper town dominated by a huge castle complex and a flattish lower town housing the business, cultural and entertainment infrastructure.

3. Budapest was an imperial capital and it shows. Prague was a sizeable provincial city until 1919 (and briefly in the 16th C.)

4. Budapest is an international city. Prague is a (justly renowned) international tourist destination. (At this point, brickbats start flying, I know). Prague is clean and Budapest is not, though it is catching up.

5. Prague, physically untouched by war, is 15th-16th-17th-18th and 19th century. Budapest, despite Roman remains, really mushroomed from 1850 to 1914. So one has the harmony of accretion, the other the uniformity of a planned capital.

6. Both have significant early 20th C. Art Nouveau/Secessionist/nostalgic Nationalist architecture. Budapest has more and better. Prague has a bit of Cubist building, though.

7. Both have more museums than you could visit in 1 trip. Budapest has the Esterhazy collection, one of the treasures of central Europe (7 major El Grecos!) Both have multiple opera venues whose seasons are long and varied. Prague has more small concert venues and a prouder musical tradition.

8. Prague has many fine Baroque churches -- Budapest has 2 or 3. Prague has many grand private palaces, Budapest fewer and later ones.

9. Both have metro systems that posters here extol but few other tourists use. Both have good rail connections -- 3 large stations in Budapest, 1 in Prague. Both have glitzy modern airports that keep growing but are still quite easy to use.

10. Prague has a Four Seasons, some upmarket chain hotels and many small hotels de charme . Budapest has a stunning Four Seasons (Gresham Palace) and the full chain spectrum, with many upmarket hotels. It is decidedly short on small hotels de charme.

11. No-one ever made a culinary pilgrimage to Prague. Nor to Budapest, perhaps -- but you can dine delightfully every evening, which would be a stretch in Prague.

12. Czech and Magyar are impenetrable languages. But there is a chance you could learn to pronounce Czech words. English is spoken in both cities, to about the same degree.

13.In both, you will have the experience of being unable to make yourself understood when you need to be. In both, you will find a way to communicate, via mime and pidgin, at some small cost to your dignity.

14. Hotels are pricier in Prague but everything else is about the same. Waiters and service staff are friendlier in Budapest.

I'll stop here to allow others to add, rebut or comment.

I do not normally top my own posts.

But as this issue is one that recurs ALL the time, I am topping to invite the observations and rebuttals of others.

ttt for tedgale--- as we are leaving for Prague in a few week for a first visit before our usual May Italy trip and as food is one of the reasons for travel I am getting worried about the food in Prague so would love to hear more info on Prague. THanks

Tedgale, what a knowledgable and helpful post. The latest Wine Spectator has a nice article on Budapest and draws some comparisons with Prague also. I generally agree with your wisdom except for the matter of food. On that I can reassure minellac that I, at least, found the food in Prague to be quite good and not all duck and dumplings either. That is, however, what I had at Voyanuv Dvur, a hotel restaurant in Mala Strana. It was done well and the restaurant was pink table cloth and candles lovely. Circle Line Brasserie near St. Nicolas Church in Mala Strana provided us a nice French dining experience. Ryhi trh, in the old town, provided excellent fish and seafood--and Ray Orbison and Johnny Ray on the sound track. Pravda and Barock across the street from each other (I think Pariz street) were trendy continental and very good. Kampa Park on Kampa Island was apparently good enough for Hilary Clinton and Michael Douglas whose pictures hang there. The rack of lamb with artichoke bottoms stuffed with mushrooms was terrific. Reykjevik, provided seafood in cream sauce, lamb chops with potatoes and celery root in a blue cheese sauce. I found all of these places not only providing food that was respectable, but very good and as good or better than that I had in Budapest.
So with this reassurance to minellac and one small quibble I say thanks to you, tedgale, for crafting such a useful comparison between two oft compared cities. I trust this will get consulted often--and hopefully added to along the way.

Thank you, tedgale and Julie, for the information.

We're planning our October trip which will include Prague, so I'll be very interested in reading any further replies, also.

Byrd

Just a small point -- not to take away from the excellent information tedgale has provided -- there are at least two train stations in Prague.

1. Glad to hear about the good Prague restaurants -- I had very middling experiences, despite research.

2. I was aware of only one *large* station but I am confident you are correct.

BTW: Budapest also has the HEV, a separate surface railway of commuter trains that go 20 or so miles outside the city, in various directions. They link with the metro system at various spots.

I think there is too much bad food in Prague (and it's scary to think that the food there is the best in the country)
but as others have mentioned, good food can be found. My favorite is Restaurant David in Mala Strana, and last year I had two spectacular meals (worthy of any capital city) in the Allegro restaurant
in the Four Seasons Hotel. Last week we also had a good meal at Le Cafe Colonial in Old Town (Josefov).

Not a travel comparison perhaps -- but anyone visiting Budapest for the first time would do well to read "Prague: A Novel" by Arthur Phillips, Random House.

This highly reviewed novel tells the story of a group of NA expatriates in Budapest, following the fall of the Iron Curtain.

The descriptions of Budapest life are excellent.

The title comes from the fact that for these young people, *Prague* represents a distant dream of glamour, beauty and easy assimilation into western ways -- the unvisited Nirvana where everything will be better and life more fulfilling.

Actually if you want to judge for yourself the grandeur of the 2 cities and their surroundings, try to find a copy of this abundantly illustrated 1994 volume:

MITTEL EUROPA: LIVING IN STYLE IN VIENNA, PRAGUE, BUDAPEST AND THE LANDS OF THE DANUBE.
Slesin, Suzanne & Stafford Cliff & Daniel Rozensztroch.

I wouldn't categorize the food in Prague as "bad", nor would I say that it is the "best in the country". The best pizza I've had in the Czech Rep was in Brandys nad Labem at "Felicita", and the best pasta was in Cesky Krumlov at an Italian restuarant hidden in a little alley. I've never been to any of the restaurants on this forum that people recommend as having good food, and I've always been able to find a decent meal in the Czech Republic. I know this will sound sad, but I had worse food in Rome (I didn't do any research at all & just showed up there to play a music festival. I got burned by the prices, and the more I paid, the worse the food was..!)

We were in Prague and Budapest this month and although I wrote a lot of restaurant suggestions down, we went to very few. We like to find the little local places and we found good ones in both cities, and that's part of the fun exploring new countries.

In Prague we did go to Kogo Restaurant, which is in the old town. It was very nice. We had a small meal at the downstairs restaurant at their opera house. It has a lot of charm and we wanted to go back again, but ran out of time.

In Budapest, our best meals were at a litltle place around the corner from the Posta museum, called Pesti Vendelgo. It had a half dozen tables and was very good. Our B & B host recommended the Gellert Brasserie and that was wonderful. Meals were quite reasonable in both cities and rarely costs more than $40 for two with a glass of wine. I didn't think the food was half as good at the more expensive places we tried, but then we wanted typical local food.