Extra day in Vienna or Prague?
Oct 31st, 2004, 06:19 PM
#3
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Thanks for your suggestion DAX. Actually, I will be flying into Budapest and will be spending 3 nights there before I leave for Prague. Hopefully, by the time I get to Prague, I will no longer be suffering from jetlag.
Nov 1st, 2004, 04:17 AM
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Since you've given us absolutely NO information about your interests, etc., then I'd say Ira's suggestion fits the bill. Just don't whine later about "being told" to spend the extra time in the "wrong" place.
Nov 1st, 2004, 04:21 AM
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It is just my opinion that Prague is more interesting than Vienna. I would definitely spend more time there. I am sure there are others who prefer Vienna. In addition, your dollar will go much farther in Prague.
Nov 1st, 2004, 04:35 AM
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Thanks for the chuckle TopMan! Actually, I am interested in just about everything -museums, cultural events, scenery, wandering and exploring, getting to know the locals, etc. See what I mean? That's why it is always difficult for me to make a decision like this. Especially when I have to decide between two such wonderful destinations.
Kristine, thanks for your suggestion!
Kristine, thanks for your suggestion!
Nov 2nd, 2004, 04:26 PM
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When are you in Budapest and what are you planning for that period? Any Budapest advice needed?
I was there twice this year and my spouse was there as recently as a month ago...I was also twice in Vienna this year but feel others are (even) more informed than I could be. Prague remains on my to-do list, alas -- perhaps for February,2005.
I was there twice this year and my spouse was there as recently as a month ago...I was also twice in Vienna this year but feel others are (even) more informed than I could be. Prague remains on my to-do list, alas -- perhaps for February,2005.
Nov 2nd, 2004, 05:24 PM
#10
I was in both cities a few weeks ago, and now that I've had time to reflect, I think I'd vote for Prague. While there was plenty to do in Vienna, I would've liked another day in Prague to kick back, sit in cafes, hear more music, spend more time at the castle, whereas I didn't have the same feeling in Vienna. I feel that Vienna has a more big city feel, and Prague was smaller and more comfortable for me, so if that is what you're looking for, go for Prague.
Nov 3rd, 2004, 05:25 AM
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amyb, thank you. That is exactly the information I am looking for! Prague sounds wonderful.
tedgale, I will be in Budapest the end of August. I would love to read all of your tips and suggestions for Budapest and Vienna. Thank you so much for the offer to share! It seems like you might even get to Prague before I do!
tedgale, I will be in Budapest the end of August. I would love to read all of your tips and suggestions for Budapest and Vienna. Thank you so much for the offer to share! It seems like you might even get to Prague before I do!
Nov 6th, 2004, 07:01 PM
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Just got in this evening from a business trip to Vancouver -- now THERE'S a dream destination!
First a Budapest guidebook recommendation:
DK Eyewitness Guide: Budapest
Publ.: Dorling Kindersley
www.dk.com
This superb guide is scarcely more than 200 pages of text but chock full of info -- plus high-quality colour photos that make souvenir postcards or photos quite redundant. Excellent maps and index.
RE: hotels -- we have tried and been most satisfied with the K+K Opera (see www.kkhotels.com), the Marriott Executive suites and the Intercontinental. All very central in Pest.
(Buda is favoured by some posters here but it is too far from the centre of things for my taste.)
Rental apartments are another option; numerous websites offer flats -- some single units, others in conventional apt-hotels aimed at the business traveller.
Starlight suites (Starlight Suiten) is one such -- it is an Austrian chain at whose Vienna flagship we have stayed and which we liked quite a lot.
For real luxury in hotel accommodation, there is nothing to match the newly opened (July 2004) Four Seasons in the Gresham Palace, just at the Pest end of the landmark Szenchenyi Chain Bridge. It also has an excellent main restaurant with flawless service and fine food.
Favourite restaurants are:
1. Central Kavehaz (old-style cafe near the river and the Erzebet bridge, with fine, robust cooking)
2. Muzeum cafe, near the National Museum
3. Karolyi restaurant (in an old "palace", the Karolyi Palota -- in summer there is terrace dining in the garden, which backs onto the beautiful gardens of an adjacent square)
4. Abszint -- on Andrassy, as I recall -- looks like a glitzy hangout for tourists and Eurotrash but it is not; Untouristy and quite a hit with the locals in fact
Budapest is in a constant state of change as money pours in from abroad and restoration of the city's almost limitless architectural heritage proceeds. I believe the Dreschler Palace opposite the Opera is becoming a luxury hotel, as is the New York Palace, home of the New York Kavehaz (cafe), a riot of neo-Baroque glitz.
The latter was all scaffolding this spring, for example.
So no guidebook will have all the latest news info on this fast-evolving city. Best to check the latest on city-specific websites -- for example, the on-line edition of the English language Budapest Sun for restaurant news.
Before you go: Read the novel "Prague" (author -- uh, don't remember but it was a hit; check Amazon, I guess) all of which is set not in Prague but Budapest in the early 90s.
See the ralph Fiennes film "Sunshine" -- lousy, mawkish Istvan Szabo film but there are many, many familiar Budapest sites: The fencing competition is set in the Museum of Applied Arts; other scenes were filmed in the Parliament and Ethnographic Museum (formerly the Supreme Court) etc.
For specific inquiries, I can be contacted at [email protected]. And when my spouse gets back from Burkina Faso, West Africa next week, you will have access to 2 advisors not 1.
BTW: August will be HOT, HOT, HOT!
First a Budapest guidebook recommendation:
DK Eyewitness Guide: Budapest
Publ.: Dorling Kindersley
www.dk.com
This superb guide is scarcely more than 200 pages of text but chock full of info -- plus high-quality colour photos that make souvenir postcards or photos quite redundant. Excellent maps and index.
RE: hotels -- we have tried and been most satisfied with the K+K Opera (see www.kkhotels.com), the Marriott Executive suites and the Intercontinental. All very central in Pest.
(Buda is favoured by some posters here but it is too far from the centre of things for my taste.)
Rental apartments are another option; numerous websites offer flats -- some single units, others in conventional apt-hotels aimed at the business traveller.
Starlight suites (Starlight Suiten) is one such -- it is an Austrian chain at whose Vienna flagship we have stayed and which we liked quite a lot.
For real luxury in hotel accommodation, there is nothing to match the newly opened (July 2004) Four Seasons in the Gresham Palace, just at the Pest end of the landmark Szenchenyi Chain Bridge. It also has an excellent main restaurant with flawless service and fine food.
Favourite restaurants are:
1. Central Kavehaz (old-style cafe near the river and the Erzebet bridge, with fine, robust cooking)
2. Muzeum cafe, near the National Museum
3. Karolyi restaurant (in an old "palace", the Karolyi Palota -- in summer there is terrace dining in the garden, which backs onto the beautiful gardens of an adjacent square)
4. Abszint -- on Andrassy, as I recall -- looks like a glitzy hangout for tourists and Eurotrash but it is not; Untouristy and quite a hit with the locals in fact
Budapest is in a constant state of change as money pours in from abroad and restoration of the city's almost limitless architectural heritage proceeds. I believe the Dreschler Palace opposite the Opera is becoming a luxury hotel, as is the New York Palace, home of the New York Kavehaz (cafe), a riot of neo-Baroque glitz.
The latter was all scaffolding this spring, for example.
So no guidebook will have all the latest news info on this fast-evolving city. Best to check the latest on city-specific websites -- for example, the on-line edition of the English language Budapest Sun for restaurant news.
Before you go: Read the novel "Prague" (author -- uh, don't remember but it was a hit; check Amazon, I guess) all of which is set not in Prague but Budapest in the early 90s.
See the ralph Fiennes film "Sunshine" -- lousy, mawkish Istvan Szabo film but there are many, many familiar Budapest sites: The fencing competition is set in the Museum of Applied Arts; other scenes were filmed in the Parliament and Ethnographic Museum (formerly the Supreme Court) etc.
For specific inquiries, I can be contacted at [email protected]. And when my spouse gets back from Burkina Faso, West Africa next week, you will have access to 2 advisors not 1.
BTW: August will be HOT, HOT, HOT!
Nov 6th, 2004, 09:11 PM
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If you haven't decided yet, I would suggest the extra time be sent in Prague. I much preferred it to Vienna. I just felt more at home there and as someone else mentioned, it is less expensive. I didn't read all the above posts so if I am repeating a suggestion I apologize--the Mucha Museum is wonderful, particularly if you are a fan of art deco. It is small, in an interesting old house and I absolutely loved it. Liked the food better, just the whole feel of the city.
