marli5

I am going to Europe in May and have a few extra days - trying to decide between Venice or Prague. I know they are totally different, but both appeal to me. Help me chose! Thanks. Marli

Padraig

Both cities have great appeal. Which one you might prefer depends greatly on what your tastes are, and you gave us nothing to go on.

Venice is more expensive.

Dukey

What other places are you visiting prior to your few extra days?

NeoPatrick

So many variables. I love them both.
I'd think the big issue is which is more convenient time and travel wise in relation to the rest of your trip.
But one thought: Venice is like no other city in the world -- even by remote comparisons. If you could never have another opportunity to see either (I hope that's very doubtful) then I'd choose Venice.

carolinetaylor

I've not been to venice (thinking about going this September/October) but have read extensively on the city and it certainly sounds unique.

Prague on the other hand, although beautiful and definitely worth seeing, you can get the experience in many other central European cities. It is one of my favourite cities, but it isn't unique, as Venice appears to be.

Really it comes down to which fits better into your plans eg, if you are already in Italy there wouldn't be much point travelling across Europe to go to Prague and vice versa.

mp413

One significant difference will be weather. I used to live in Prague and it's still pretty cold and wet in May. Both will be pretty overrun with tourists at that time of year, so that's probably not a determinative factor, but as someone already mentioned Venice is WAY more expensive. You can have fantastic multi-course meals in Prague with a group for $40 (assuming you don't go to the first restaurant geared at tourists you see), while in Venice you'll be lucky to feed one on that in a decent place.

One other thing to consider is that Venice is a far more tourist-oriented city than Prague. I lived there for a few weeks a couple of years ago because it is such an amazing city and I wanted to get a feel for it. I even learned some Italian. In that entire time hardly anyone local conversed with me, even people who saw me everyday. They know when you're a tourist and they treat you like one. In Prague there is a huge expat community and people seem more interested in talking to you even if you're an English speaker. I guess what I'm saying is, you have to make more of an effort in Venice to enjoy it. My parents hated Venice until they went there after I'd been living there, because that was the first time they went to restaurants etc. that locals actually go to as well. In Prague locals go everywhere, even to "American" venues like sportsbars.