Hello All,

My husband and I are planning a trip to Europe this fall to attend Oktoberfest. We only plan to attend the festival for 2 days, and so are trying to formulate the rest of our trip around that. We'll be in Europe for a little over a week (still figuring that out as well) not counting travel days, and would like to ask your opinions about best places to visit. I realize some of these are more about the bustle and architecture of a city, while others are more about nature and scenery so what you would recommend might depend on the preference of the travelers and what they enjoy, but I mean if you had your personal druthers, what other two cities from these we are considering would you go to, and why? Also, how many days would we need in each? Feel free to make recommendations not on the list as well :

Brussels
Brugge
Viena
Salzburg
Prague
Budapest

Thanks so much for your thoughts!

Well, first if you're in Munich you should see it - and Bavaria - it's way more than Oktoberfest. I would assume at least 5 nights in Munich to see much - including some of Ludwig's Castles. That really leaves you only time for a taste of one other city - which I would make Prague (which I really love).

IMHO with only 6 days on the ground, more than 2 cities is way too much travel time versus time at task.

After Munich I would see Salzburg and the Salzkammergut. Closer and a good contrast to a big city.

Hi; Munich to Prague or Munich to Salzburg would work. However, we have taken the train from Prague to Munich and it was seven hours. Not sure if there is a quicker train. Train to Salzburg is about two hours. But you would have to double back to Munich to fly home. If you went to Prague you would fly home from that city. Richard http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/salzburg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/prague or www.inyourpocket.com for a download of Prague and Munich

Much depends on your actual time on the ground. There's is a lot to see in Munich and Bavaria beyond Oktoberfest, as nytraveler mentioned.

If you can squeeze out a few more days, I would recommend both Salzburg (two days) and Vienna (three to four) in part because travel distances aren't too far, Munich-Salzburg then Salz.-Vienna.