My husband and I are traveling to Europe in September. We like art, architecture, music and food/wine. Which in your opinion is the better destination - Florence/Tuscany or Prague/Vienna. This is a trip to celebrate our 7th anniversary so we are looking for a very special place to visit.

Both locations will provide the things you list. The art will be different periods as will the music and the food will obviously be different. The biggest difference I see is Florence/Tuscany mixes city and country (and probably involves driving to do it justice) while Prague/Vienna is all city and requires no driving.

Does that help?

Thanks for the info. I like the idea of mixing up city and country. Also the food and wine in Italy would be incredible.

Ah yes, but...

From Vienna you can take a boat up the Danube through the gorgeous Lower Austrian vinyards (Melk, Dürnstein) where in September the new wine will be flowing. A little cutesy, but the terrace at the Richard Löwenherz in Dürnstein, overlooking the river and the vinyards, is rather hard to beat.

Oh, and there's beer in Prague, too...

I know - that's why it is hard to make a decision. Both itineraries sounds great. Everyone says that Prague is fabulous.

Tough choice! Usually I have a strong feeling and love to chime in with all my helpful opinions LOL but this one's a toss up!! happy anniversary BTW.

Thanks. We will just have to decide on one itinerary and then go back at a later date. If we do decide on Florence/Tuscany could you give me some advice on hotels - we are looking at Hotel Bellettini and Hotel Tournabouni in Florence and Palazzo Ravizza in Siena.

Hi nak,

Florence and Siena are only an hour apart by bus.

Do you really want to pack up and move such a short distance?

We have enjoyed the Tournabouni in Florence for several visits. It is a hotel on the top floors of a building, conveniently located, large comfortable rooms, and a delightful roof terrance where breakfast is served.

Thanks for the info regarding Tornabouni. It sounds great and it always good to get opinions from people who have stayed there. As far as moving around I thought it might be a good idea to stay in Florence for 3 to 4 nights and then stay in Siena (or a town in Tuscany) and rent a car for a couple of days. From what I understand driving in Florence is a nightmare.

My wife and I like art most of all. One of our high school classmates has been very successful as an artist and educator, so we cornered him at our reunion and asked where in Europe we should go to see the most art for our euros. He listed London, Rome, Paris, Venice (for its beauty more than the art), and Florence, with Florence leading the list because of its association with the rennaisance. Since then we've been to Florence, Venice, and Paris. All are wonderful. We spent a week in Florence and never ran out of things to see, and the food was wonderful, too.