Prague for just a day?
 

We are planning a trip to Austria next Christmas and will be in Vienna for a few days. A cousin says we should get to Prague, since we are so close but don't have much time left - would it be worth it to take the train from Vienna, spend the night tour Prague the next day, then leave back to Vienna the third day? Oh, we will also be travelling with our two little girls - 4 & 9. Thought the train trip might actually be a bit fun for them...any thoughts are appreciated!

Anybody??

I honestly don't see the point of going all the way to Praha and back to Wien in one day. You need at least 3 days to see all the major sites in Praha. Why not spend the extra day seeing more of Vienna and its environs?

I have been to both cities.

I don't think you should. YOu aren't that close to Prague from Vienna, the train takes about five hours one-way, I think. So you'd be spending 10 hours on a train for less time in Prague than on the train. I wouldn't ever do that for a few hours in a particular city, but you have to decide if it's worth it as it's just a matter of deciding that based on the cost and amount of time on the train you'll spend.

A couple of years ago (as part of a 16 day Christmas trip to Europe), we spent 3 nights in Vienna and then went to Prague for 3 nights. I loved seeing Prague, but as others have said, it isn't that close. Not only do you have the train trip itself, you have to get to the station in Vienna, wait for the train, then once in Prague, get from the station to wherever. So it is even more than the five hour trip.

Vienna is a wonderful city. There is much more to thrill your daughters there than a train trip. (You can take the tram around the ring road or ride out to the Schonbrunn.) After our trip our family decided we would have been better off to spend more time in Vienna (and the other places we visited) then detoured out to Prague. We should have held Prague for another trip and stayed longer then.

Kathy

Looks like you got the right advice...Prague is wonderful but with the short time stay in Vienna which is wonderful, too. And also at Christmas! Only two days there...and with two youngsters? That might be your challenge, to attend to their needs. I can just hear one of them say, "Mom, I'm bored."

ozarksbill
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thanks all - you reaffirmed my instincts! Ozarksbill - you must have kids! While mine are pretty good about the boredom thing - they do turn into monsters when they are over tired and it sounds like that is a real possibility with Prague as a side trip. Too many transfers may be overwhelming for them. I have to discipline myself - this is the first time in Europe with the kids and I have to keep in mind their limitations.