Any advice on how to allot time to the cities of Prague, Vienna and Budapest? Day 1 we are flying from Paris to Prague and Day 11 we fly from Budapest to London. We are young seniors who enjoy visiting museums, walking the cities and enjoying the ambience with freedom to stop at cafes, etc. Family history places my grandparents in Austria-Hungary in 1900, although I never knew them.

Are you fully committed to visiting all three of these cities in that time frame? Depending on your interests, any pair of them could easily occupy your time. I would recommend that you spend some time with guidebooks to decide which things are your highest priorities and then plan your time accordingly. Whatever you choose, you'll see some wonderful things. Enjoy!

Thanks, we were thinking about visiting only 2 of the cities but it is such a difficult choice to make.

I agree that 2 cities would be better in your limited time - esp since it takes a full day to get from Prague to Budapest.

Those are the 2 I would choose but I find Vienna rather triste. Bit to be fair, Vienna does have more to see and do than either of the other two - although they are more different than western europe.

Doing Prague is Number 1

Then to me it would be a toss up between Vienna and Budapest.

Just got back from Vienna 10 days ago.

Go for all 3.

Prague for 3 days
1 day travel to:
Vienna for 3 days (Schoenbrun, Treasury, Kunsthistoriche (art museum...terrific)
1 day travel to:
Budapest 3 days (Parliament, Castle Hill, Ethnography Museum a must given your interest, Liszt Ter {a boulevard of cafes})

It'll whet your appetite for return visit(s)

I might say all 3 also. I am not a Vienna fan, but it does have the best museums of the 3 IMO.... And of course the best classical music.

I am not a Prague fan either. But you may be, and so many people here love Prague... You might be one of them.

I love budapest.

I agree... See all 3 and when you return, explore the region beyond the big 3.

Thanks, tomboy. Excluding travel days, there would be 7 full days. Which city gets the extra day?

Bratislava

Which could mean Vienna... Very easy day trip. Take the bus from erdberg metro (the bus station is right outside) to Novy most and u will be right in old town.

Jomargliz: how would you be traveling, bus, train, plane, auto?
Makes a difference in what I'd suggest.

Train between cities.

Train from Vienna to Budapest is 2-3 hours, you can easily be there by noon so no need to allocate a full day for travel.

I'm generally a "less is more" person but think as you will have no jet lag issues you can get a good overview of each city. You may regret not having more time in one or all but there's no way to know.

I think you should do all 3. I would give your extra day to Prague or Vienna.

Prague if you want to roam around and enjoy the beautiful, varied architecture. In Prague I would definitely visit the Castle Complex (including St. Vitus Cathedral), Nerudova Street and the surrounding areas, the Old Town and Josefov. Definitely go up in the clock tower; the views of the square and St. Mary before Tyn (one of the most unique exteriors) are fantastic.

Vienna if you want to enjoy the museums, palaces and churches. In Vienna I would definitely visit the Kunsthistoriches Museum (one of the best in the world, in my opinion)and Schloss Schonbrunn. The Hofburg complex is interesting as well. The Stephansdom is interesting as are many of the other churches.

Visit all three. An extra day should be spent in Vienna because of the museums - the Kunsthistoriches is just fabulous !!!

Visit all three. An extra day should be spent in Vienna because of the museums - the Kunsthistoriches is just fabulous !!!

And, in Vienna, take the tram to the suburb just north of town, Grinzing or something like that, to have a wine or three. That might take 3 hours total (for one wine). I vaguely recall we took a tram from Schoenbrun Palace to there, then another tram back to city center.

I mentioned the Treasury above, which sounds dull, but it had an interesting history of the Hapsburg rule, and THE hugest ruby ever seen (about the size of an ostrich egg) mounted on a sceptre, as I recall. Other interesting things we've done there were to go up in the UN tower on the Danube (island?) for a view of the area, and to go past the several UN-type places (IAEA, OPEC) we'd always heard of.

Everyone's perception is different, of course, but mine is: Prague is a medieval town that's happenin' for 20-somethings; Budapest is a later-medieval and 1890-Art Deco town that's happenin' for 40-somethings; and Vienna is a somewhat staid, but interesting town, pleasant for 50-60 year olds.

Re the extra day, I suggest you research optional day trips out of town from each: castles from Prague (Konopiste, for one), Melk & Krems from Vienna, Szentendre and Visegrad from Budapest, to see which appeals.

Hey, go for all three. Yes, travel is time consuming but you should have enough time to sample each though you will find many others there including school trips and Japanese...maybe Chinese tourists? We are older but had a taste of each city.

Don't think you will have time to do any family search though which would involve extra trips.
Bill in Boston

Do all 3!!!

Would pick two if you're interested in anything outside the given cities (e.g., Bratislava from Vienna, Danube Bend or long day trip to western Romanian castles from Budapest, Terezin or Karlstejn from Prague).

What interests you about each?