We are considering a week in Prague and Vienna, leaving US 2/17. How crazy are we given the cold tempatures over there? And if we aren't that crazy, should we split our time (we have 7 days) between these two cities? Or will there be enough to do in Prague at this time of year to keep us busy a whole week?

Well - naturally in winter you can't do much outdoors stuff in the city and won;t be able to spend a lot of time in outdoor cafes. But both cities have a lot to do indoors - and as long as you're prepared for winter weather (don;t know where you're from - but Prague/Vienna aren't any colder than much of the US) you should be fine.

I think visiting both cities would be ideal. Three or four days in Prague will probably be enough, especially if it feels too cold to take long walks around the city.

I do agree that the best option would be to split your time evenly between these two beautiful cities.

Although I personally favour Prague over Vienna, the city can definitely be visited in three to four days since everything can be visited on foot.

You can probably look forward to some dampness and cold but one big advantage will be a lack of visitors, especially in Prague.

I think doing both these cities will presnet you with a really nice and interesting contrast in terms of the opverall feeling and "look" of both places.

Vienna seems somehow more "grand" and in Prague, if you take away the trams and the cars, at least in the older, usually-visited areas, the city can look postively medieval (and also somewhat dark and foreboding in the Winter, but in a good way.

Enjoy this trip which I think you will not regret.

I visited both cities and Budapest on a trip in early February and you must take full-on winter gear. Walking home at night in Prague a couple of nights it was -15 and -20C. Fortunately there was no wind and the snow was dry and shook off your clothes easily. We were both Australians and not used to such cold temperatures but got along fine with thermals, woollen slacks and jumpers topped by heavy wool coats, hats, scarves, cashmere-lined leather cloves and most importantly, thick rubber soled shoes. During the day was obviously not as cold but you must still rug up. Watch out for ice on the streets, particularly at night. There is plenty to do inside at night with very cheap seats at the Opera for example, classical music at other venues and we liked the Black Theatre (it is called something like that) where all the actors are in black and painted in white - language barriers were not a problem.

I preferred Prague to Vienna for the reasons given by Intrepid. While Vienna has a lot of grand buildings, Prague is just drop dead beautiful around the Old Town and Mala Strana and the Castle on the other bank. Vienna was not as cold, at about -3 to -6C, but the air was much damper and, as a result, I felt colder (chilled to the bone describes it) there than in Prague.

I appreciate everyone's feedback. I would also like to know if it would be best to rent a car to get between these two cities vs. going on a train. And, do you have any reco's for hotels in either place? We are going to need internet access w/in the rooms if possible (work, blecht). Lastly, if we had an option to do Prague and another close city besides Vienna, say Salzburg or Krakow, any preferences?
Thanks again!

I did that exact trip 2 years ago. We went to Vienna first for 4 nights, 3 days.
We took the train to Prague on the 4th day, it was direct and easy, and took about 4 hours. We spent the last 4 nights, 3 days in Prague. We had open jaw airline tickets. I think you need them with only 7 days.

Transportation is easy in both cities, you won't need a car.

I would say no, it would not be better to rent a car just to travel between Vienna and Prague. I can't think of any reason why that would be better. It's a lot easier to take the train, and you won't have to worry about the weather, which can affect driving and traffic. It's not that long a train trip, and the train is nice between those points.

Krakow isn't close to Prague, so I'd vote for something else, like maybe Dresden or some Czech city. Salzburg might be closer to Prague than Krakow, at least by train, so that would be good, also, if it is. I don't know the travel time but know Krakow is around 7 hours from Prague by train.

I been to both cities more than once and always in winter weather. I have also been to Salzburg. We always travel by train; the trip between Vienna and Prague is quite doable, just a few hours. We mostly take taxis between train stations and the hotels. It can be hard to find lodging with parking spaces.

For Prague, I would strongly recommend that you get your hotel to arrange transport to/from the train station, as the taxis really do tend to rip you off. At least ask your hotel for a suggested reasonable fare so that you can negotiate with the taxi yourself.

Prague's sights are pretty compact and walkable, even though you will want to see things on both sides of the river. The Charles Bridge is an attraction in and of itself. You might even consider staying in Mala Strana so that you get to cross the bridge to get to the old city. The views from the bridge are wonderful in all directions and the vendors and people milling around are really fun. We did have to cross the bridge once in an ice storm, which was very tricky.

The streets of Prague retain their medieval layouts, but most of the facades are baroque. In the old Jewish quarter the old buildings were demolished, except for the synagogues, so the architecture is largely art nouveau.

The Prague castle is very large and has several museums as well as the cathedral. You could easily spend a day, and there are several other museums in the area outside the main gates of the castle.

Vienna has a lot of energy as a bustling working city. If you are at all interested in art, it is like heaven - the Kunsthistorisches Museum is one of the best art museums in the world. The Albertina is also excellent. The city has a fairly new museum complex, including a modern art museum, that looks first rate (we ran out of time to see it on our latest January trip). Vienna also has palaces and many churches to see. Stephensdom is a magnificent Gothic church, and absolutely central to Vienna. There is also lots of music in Vienna, and of course the Spanish Riding School (you can attend morning practices).

Salzburg is much smaller, and although it is absolutely picture perfect in a Baroque way (especially in the snow), the castle is the biggest attraction, imo. The castle is great and has commanding views over the city and the river. You could probably cover the city fairly well in 2 days. We hired a driver on our last visit and he took us around the surrounding countryside, which was nice. If you are keen on a Sound of Music tour, they are readily available.

Faux -

Sorry you were uncomfotable in Prague - but that kind of temp - and those clothes - are standard in the northern half of the US every winter. In fact - if you go to International Falls, MI - traditionally one of the coldest places in the US 48 states (not counting Alaska) you will often get temps -50 or less centrigrade, with wind chills much lower.

(Much of europe is generally warmer than the US in winter and cooler in summer - due to the moderating effects of the gulf stream.)

I would recommend splitting your time between Prague and Vienna . If you were going in warmer weather I'd recommend just doing Prague because I feel that the city of Prague is a museum unto itself- the buildings, bridges, squares, and streets are all works of art and it is nice to have time to spend outdoors. There are indoor sites : The Castle, The Jewish Quarter, The Mucha Museum, some churches - Prague is one of the most beautiful cities I have been to but it does not have outstanding museums (IMO)- and you could do a day trip to Terezin or Kutna Hora. Vienna is beautiful and grand and offers excellent museums. Enjoy.

I also recommend staying in Mala Strana. We stayed at the Hotel Sax and it was an easy 10 minute walk across the Charles Bridge to Old Town Square. http://www.sax.cz/

NYTraveler, thanks for your concern but as I said in my post, we got on fine in that sort of garb. I was simply stating the kind of gear we found we needed in Prague at that time of year. I didn't realise that realhenry was from the northern states of the US - or Canada perhaps - and thought it possible he might not have experienced those temperatures on a regular basis.