Lisa

Hello,

My spouse and I will be going to Eastern Europe for 1 week in May. We've travelled quite a bit to Western Europe, but this will be our first trip to the Eastern side.

That being said, we are really having trouble trying to choose which country to visit first, and would love some input:

1) Hungary
2) Czech
3) Poland

We want to eventually see all three, but since we only have one week this May, which would most people say would be the best introduction to Eastern Europe? All places have interesting history, places of interest, etc.
Thanks!

Lee

Lisa, I have not been to all three, but I would certainly recommend the Czech Republic. It is an amazing country that is friendly to visitors and to your pocketbook.

My only concern is the amount of time involved. We spent one week in Prague and never made it to either Karlovy Vary or Cesky Krumlov. Prague is beautiful and if you don't make it out of the city, you still can't lose.

Check out Prague, it may be a good choice for you.

Good luck.

Kristin

I have been in each country a bit. I would recommend Prague and maybe Cesky Krumlov for a two-day trip out of Prague for your week. Both are wonderful places.

Art

Hi Lisa, I spent a week each in Prague and Budapest last year. I liked them both, but I found that Budapest to be the more beautiful of the cities. Prague is very interesting and the buildings charming as is the town square in old town. Budapest is much larger and I think a little more "Eastern". The prices are great in both cities. I spent 7 1/2 days in Budapest and did not come close to seeing everything. If you plan on returning again with more time, I would choose Budapest this time and the Czech Republic and Poland on the next trip since they are closer together.
No matter which one you choose, you'll love it.

Linda

You will enjoy any of the 3. Prague is a beautiful city with interesting architecture, Charles Bridge at night is most romantic, nice people, Opera House has been redone, several good daytrips. Budapest is a beautiful city with spas, museums, even less expensive than Prague, the Parliament Building is incredible. There are interesting places outside the city to visit. In Poland, I would go to Krakow & Gdansk. From Krakow you can take day trips to Zakopane (small resort village in Tatras), Auschwitz/Birkenau concentration camps & Salt Mines. Krakow's central area has been the same for hundreds of years, while Warsaw was destroyed in WWII. People speak English in each and all are inexpensive. Once you decide, let me know & I can recommend places to stay.

Tom

Lisa,

I'll weight in with my opinion.

First off, you can't go wrong with any of them. But if forced to decide, I'd pick Prague and the Czech Republic because:

1) It's easier to get to (#1 reason). Krakow is a 8.5 hour train ride from the German border (Gorlitz), Prague is 2 hours from the German border (Bad Schandau). Budapest is 3+ hours from Vienna.
2) Prague is and feels smaller than Budapest. My personal preference is the big city with the small feel.
3) English more widely spoken in Prague.
4) The Czech's are a bit farther along in the tourist business than the Poles and Hungarians.

Have fun,

Tom

alan

Hi We've been to the 3 countries. My personal favorite is Hungary. Especially with only 1 week. Budapest and the Danube Bend is really a nice way to spend a week. The Danube Bend begins just outside Budapest and encompasses 4 towns outside of Budapest. It is a nice couple of days and gives a nice taste of small town Hungary.The towns are Szentendre, an artists colony, Visegrad and Esztergom which has the largest basilica in Hungary, if you enjoy history and Vac the last town. I had read about it in the Fodors Eastern Europe book and it was everything that it was written up to be. I have been to Czech Rep. also as well as Poland. Prague is very beautiful but it seemed more western than Budapest.
alan

Lisa

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate all of the suggestions. I think that we're narrowing it down to be either Prague or Budapest...