Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Vienna, Budapest and Prague

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Vienna, Budapest and Prague

My husband and I will be traveling from Bucharest to Vienna, on to Budapest and ultimately to Prague on August 30th. We will have about 3 wks. Would like to do part of the trip on the Danube, the rest by train. Any suggestions about travel, hotels, restaurants, prices and sights not to miss would be greatly appeciated. Please Email me direct. Thanx.

Hi there, I just came back from Budapest a couple of weeks ago. I can't tell you about tours and such for the Danube but the best piece of advice I can give you is be very careful with your money. DO NOT CARRY A PURSE ON THE BUSES OR STREETCARS AND AT THE MARKETS. It is a beautiful city and you should have a great time, but just be carefull.

Hi In my opinion it's OK to carry a purse on buses without being robbed, if you don't act like a rich American tourist (you know what I mean). In Budapest, places to see are (among many others) the Fishermen's Bastion, Parliament and Korzo. There are boat tours along the Danube, or from Budapest to Vienna, but I don't have more info about that. Buda generally is a lot nicer than Pest. Other nice cities in Hungary are: Pecs, Eger, Szeged and Debrecen and there are many nice little villages around Pecs and Eger. Most Hungarians speak either some German or English. In restaurants, I recommend "paprikas csirke", which is chicken, or Wiener Schnitzel, but there's lots of good food to try. The better restaurants have English menu. If you want to ask: "Do you speak English?"-say: "Beszel (beseel) angolul?" (angol is the word for English) Thank you is koszonom (koesoenoem) (it is very difficult to pronounce) If you search the Web for Budapest, you'll find lots of other information. Have a good trip!

I Pat I ahve made many trips to Bucharest, Budapest, and Vienna, I lived in Bucharest from Jan thru June 1997 (working). I would be happy to answer any questions if yo would like to email me. Do not be afraid of crime just make sure your purse has a strap and put it over your shoulder so someone can- not grab it. I walked all over these cities alone sometimes as late as 1 AM (I am a male) with never any problems. These cities are very beautiful. Oh, before you take a cab in Prague ask the driver the fare they like to rip you off. I use subway in Budapest, very clean and cheap transportation, also in Vienna. Sometimes I just enjoyed getting on trams and riding around, never did figure where to buy tickets, HA! Should be a great trip for you. I have also rented cars in these countries with no probs. Last year I rented a car in Vienna and drove thru Czech Rep., Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Slovakia, regards, Ed

Hello I am not an expert on these cities but jus tcame from visiting all three. All are beautiful, Viena of course is the more expensive. The Hotel I found with the best location in Vienna es the Hotel Un Stephansplatz, just in front of the cathedral. Is 4 stars, but if is worth the expense. You must ask for a room with the cathedral view, all are the same price.In Budapest we also went to a great hotel , the Gellert, with the famous baths and pools in Buda. It is worth it because of the facility forthe baths but be sure they are open, they are not on some holidays such us Eastern. A less expensive nice 3 stars hotel in Budapest is the Nemzeti. in Pest. Big advise, always take taxis that you call your self, call in Budapest the Fo Taxis 222 2222, if you cannot speak hungarian no problem, call and say: Taxi, your name , make it simple, and then be sure to give the address in a simple way, if there is a place they can relate, like Burger King or something in that corner is easier. They arrive with a great promptness and very good and hones. Most rides are just 2, 3 or 4 dollars max. Do not take taxis called by hotels In Prague call AAA, taxis 32 24 44.Sometimes we evenn asked anyone in the street ( we always had handy coins in excess to pay for the calls) we also asked waiters after dinner in restaurants. Then tip them a little.Fo taxis in particular were superb in Budapest, even the last day leaving from the Gellert we called ourselves and then were down the entrance 10 minutes earlier and sure enough he arrived early.The hotel has his owns special cars I do not want to think how much more they would have charged. Better arrive by train to all these cities you save a bundel in difference of a taxi from airport or from train station.The boat between Prague and Vienna is not worth it some friends told me. Nothing much. The train is great and you can buy tickets from the US for instance or from your home.including seat reservations etc.Tickets are very reasanoble. Go to the Opera in Budapest and Prague and buy the best tickets available they always seem to have for tourists and top rpice is something as 15 dollars, unbelievably cheap and great shows.Same in Viena go but you have to pay much more. In Vienna they have one day passes for trams,for 50 shillings you can organize 2 or 3 f great visits in one day,with one pass, we used even to go to have dinner in a little town out of Viena in the famous wine taverns,I am not a 100% sure though if the pass was valid for all night, just check if you are returning late ,Also in Viena the tourisst office sells a wonderful guide with all the places worth visisting in Viena, each of this sights is numbered and each of them has white a red flags at the doors so they are easy to identified and also they bear the same number. Great organization! Ok good luck so long

Went to Prague last year to visit my daughter, who was an exchange student. It was our first visit to Europe, and we loved it. I did not fear being robbed as some people have said, though I did eye a young gypsy girl trying to get my pocketbook. Be careful around crowded areas, especially Charles Bridge where the gypsy children are. But it is no different than in the U.S. I just held my bag against me. Everything is within walking distance, so I did not need a cab.The food is cheap, and good.Try the local veal dish, cooked in cream with a cranberry topping. Their crepes are also good. A dinner should cost no more than $5.00 believe it or not. The waiters were overwhelmed by our tip, which was the traditional 15-20% (they wanted to give it back. People in Prague are very humble and honorable people, some of the nicest people I ever met. The city is enchanting, medieval. Photos sold on Charles Bridge are a steal ($5.00). We bought several, and all my friends comment on them. Decorated easter eggs and puppets are also a nice gift. Enjoy Prague, you will love it. Denise

My wife and I visited the same three cities just last Spring and will be going again this coming May. You really couldn't ask for three better places to visit. Each is different...Budapest is a nice city with a nice castle district, a beautiful Jewish synagogue and a nice old town. It is reasonably inexpensive. We stayed at the Marriott(those Marriott points are wonderful). We ate at a genuie local restaurant recommended by Rick Steves, and the ckicken paprika and goulash are awesome. Budapest appears to be recovering from 40 years of neglect, but it still has some improvements to be made. The cathedral was absolutely filthy on the outside, but workers were busy restoring it. The national museum was outstanding...Vienna is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and it seems like the whole city is one huge green park. It is very expensive and you will immeiately see the difference between Vienna and Budapest. There is wealth in the air! We stayed there five days and I still do not believe that we saw all that we wanted to see...Prague is my favorite. what an incredible old town square. Its as if Disney decided to build a perfect old town square and put it in Prague. The castle district is incredible, the old and new towns are nice and the old Jewish quarter is a must. The prices for food and beer are in a word...cheap! Full meal for two of roast duck, dumplings, cabbage, bread and two liters of Budvar beer each (truly the nectar of the gods) in a 4 star restaurant including tip was $27...total! Prague is the home to 50,000 expatriate Americans and while Vienna and Budapet are nice Prague wins my vote for best. Be careful about cabs in Budapest and Prague...they can be a major ripoff. Be sure to get a firm fare before getting in the cab. also, common sense dictates that when in any large city that a woman needs to have her bag strapped across her shoulder, and of course don't leave your movie camera laying around etc. wear a money belt and forget aout it.