Prague vs Budapest...either to be missed?
 

My husband and I are planning a trip to Central Europe in mid-September. We really want to fit in Budapest for two nights in addition to Prague, Vienna and the lakes in Austria. Since Budapest is quite a bit out of the way from Prague to Vienna...is it worth the 6.5 hr train ride to Budapest to see it for 2 nights/1 full day? This would cut two nights off our trip elsewhere but we are okay with that so that it is not missed. Have heard Prague and Budapest are very similar but hate to miss one of them. Like I mentioned, we are also visiting Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, Austria Lake area, Bavaria and Munich on this trip.

You do have a very ambitious itinerary and unless you've reworked it you will only have 1.5 days in Prague and that's not enough. Of the two cities I would skip Budapest in favor of another two days in Prague.

IMHO Prague and Budapest are not that similar (how are they similar???). Prague is much more beautiful. I'm headed there myself for my second trip and can't wait to see how much it's changed.

Hi; Do you have your flight plans made? How many nights are you planning for this trip? I see this as an easy driving trip, if you skip Budapest. So many more options when you have a car. Richard

Hi enlehman,

I agree with adrienne. Others here will likely disagree, but Budapest is the ONLY place - city, small town, countryside, etc. - that I've ever visited in over a dozen trips to Europe where I wouldn't relish an opportunity to return. There are certainly some beautiful and interesting things there, but for some reason it just didn't grab me.

Prague is a gorgeous place, I'd add the days there.

I loved them both but had five days in Prague and 7 in Budapest (different trips) and am not sure only 2 days would be "worth" it. How many days total is your trip? Even though Salzburg is between Bavaria and Vienna, I would only stop there briefly. I didn't find it as interesting as the other cities you are going to. Depending on how many days you have allotted to each city I would either cut a few days so as to have at least 3 in Budapest or else skip it.

Have a look at my photos of both cities and see if either "grabs" you. I have galleries for each (plus Vienna, Bavaria) www.pbase.com/annforcier

If you look at isabel's photos you'll want to go everyplace during your two weeks - her photos are so gorgeous!

Prague is prettier, but I'm very glad to have seen Budapest before Vienna because it contains the most beautiful part of what I (mistakenly) associated most with Vienna: the Danube.

I love Prague and still sigh when I think of the view from Petrin Hill, but I think Budapest is a magical city. The contrast between Buda and Pest is amazing and the Parliment Building alone is worth the trip!

I spent several days in Prague and then took a late afternoon train (depart 16:30 app) to Budapest and arrived just before midnight (that way we missed no time due to train travel and slept in a hotel). We then spent three days in Budapest.

You can see photos of the trip at:

www.travelwalks.com

They are both similar in that a river flows thru the middle of the city. Budapest felt much larger. Prague had a more compact historical area.

I'm glad we went to both. It was colder in Prague so that put a bit of a damper but both are worth the trip.

I find that you should seldom cut out a destination you may not have a chance to see again (or for a very long time).

You can work with what you have and make the most of it. I can relax and go slowly or be non-stop depending upon the situation. But I do not rush thru sights or an area. I've enjoyed every place I been to.

I could have seen the highlights of each in a day or spent three or four days in each. You decide on the level of sightseeing and how full your days should be.

If you don't have a chance to get back to that area you'll be glad you've seen both. If you do then you can see them in greater depth and at a more leisurely pace.

Just my opinion.

I love Prague but I also think Budapest is worth visiting and I found parts of the city as visually stimulating as Prague.

The first time I was in Budapest it was still very much "behind the Iron Curtain" and much has changed, visually since those days.

Prague seems more compact in some ways and there is a LOT of Prague that people never talk about because it does not have that "medieval feel" that the older part of the city has.

I would include it if possible.

BTW how much time are you spending in Munich and environs?

Well, I'll put in a vote for Budapest. I've visited both, and I chose to go back to Budapest, not Prague. While Prague could be a beautiful place to visit, I found it way too crowded, and too touristy. Budapest feels much more "real", and still has plenty to keep you interested. My photos of Budapest are here: http://tinyurl.com/yjcukhx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/budapest http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/prague Lot of different opinions. We love Prague [three times] and Budapest only [once]. Would go back to both, but Prague is our favorite city in Europe. But we love everywhere we have been during our thirty trips to Europe. Decisions/decisions you have to make. You can also visit www.inyourpocket.com for a download of Prague

We've been to both, and talk of returning to......Budapest.

Each has its charms. IMHO Prague was more of a BTDT (been there, done that) experience. But at least I'd go back there. The Austrian lakes and Salzburg left me cold; wouldn't go back there. But Budapest has both an old component (as does Prague) and a current component (which I didn't sense in Prague).

But everyone's got different tastes and interests; and we've no clue whatsoever what lights your wick.

I would pick Budapest over Prague for a return visit. Have you thought of flying into Budapest, train to Vienna, Salsburg, Bavaria, Munich and saving Prague for last and flying home from Prague.

We have flown into Munich, rented a car, went to Rothenburg, then Bavaria and Salzburg and back to Munich. That was a nice trip.

We have also flown into Prague, then to Vienna (with day trips from Vienna) and then to Budapest - you could fly home from Budapest. We elected to continue by taking the overnight train to Venice and spend time in Italy.

It all depends on how many nights you have for your trip as to what you can plan.

I prefer Budapest over Prague, and I don't find them similar. Actually I think Budapest is kind of similar to Vienna.

Someone wrote that there is something magical about Budapest - I feel the same way.

Prague...well, i wouldn't visit it again. Crowdy, touristy, and honestly i found most of the people there unfriendly.

enlehman - are you familiar with the phrase "squeezing a quart into a pint pot?" honestly, that's what you are attempting.

and on another thread you've posted that you want to relax as well!!!

I plead guilty to having suggested elsewhere that you drop budapest in favour of Salzburg and the lakes of the salzkammergut; you are now asking whether there's anything to do there at night, which suggests that really your interests lie in cities, not the countryside. on that basis, I would suggest that you consider dropping Salzburg - you could have a very nice and interesting trip, with loads to do every hour of the day [and most of the night] by combining Budapest, Vienna and Prague. and certainly in Vienna it is easy to get out into the countryside for a day or two, and I suspect the same is true of those other cities too.

regards, ann

Wow! Thank you all for your replies..so VERY helpful!

Our trip is for 13 nights...not including air travel time. We are very busy travelers but also want to incorporate some countryside/lake time whether that be day trips from cities or we actually stay in those lake areas. Top on our list are Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, Bavaria and the Austrian lake areas (have not decided whether to stay in St Gilgen, St Wolfgang or Halstatt yet---will most likely not stay in Salzburg---will do as a day trip from the lake area with a car).

Budapest and Munich are add-ons. Don't really care about Munich so much...were just thinking we could fly into Prague and out of Munich so that there was not any backtracking going on. We are okay with only being in cities for 1-2 days/2-3nights as this is how we usually travel....we just don't like to have to move our stuff around alot doing one-nighters at hotels. We would like to stay in 5 places tops for the 13 night stay.

Just a comment: Budapest was harshly bombarded in the second world war while Prague escaped totally intact, despite the fact that both were nazi-occupied territories. So the question is how Budapest could be prettier than Prague, how Varsawa could be prettier than Vienna for example...No way

I agree with zalap: budapest been bombarded during the WW2, meanwhile Prague haven't. But the main thing for me: Prague and Budapest are totally different cities each has its own things which the other doesn't:
Prague: medieval houses, masses of tourists, beautiful architecture, good beer
Budapest: spas, nightlife, good wines, world's 2nd biggest Synagogue and 3rd biggest Parliament building, much bigger city

So, its on you, what you prefer.

IMO, having been to both several times, Budapest is a bit more "pure" and unspoiled by tourism than Prague. However, as said above, it didn't fare very well during WW2. You still get a whiff of the cold war in Budapest, whereas its harder to find in Prague