3 Nights in Budapest, Vienna, or somewhere in Between?

[48Fire]

We have options for 3 Nights in Budapest, Vienna, or somewhere in between after we finish our Viking Cruise in July. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[audreyh1]

We loved Vienna and 3 nights barely scratches the surface so much to do and see.

But hadn’t been to Budapest and heard that’s great too.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Prague is another great city in central Europe.

 

[48Fire]

We loved Vienna and 3 nights barely scratches the surface so much to do and see.

But hadn’t been to Budapest and heard that’s great too.

Thanks! We're looking at Bravislata, too.

 

[48Fire]

Prague is another great city in central Europe.

Thanks, would love to go there, maybe next trip. For now, it's a little out of the way between Budapest and Vienna

 

[brett]

We spent 4 nights in Vienna, 3 in Budapest, and 3 in Prague.

We would return to any of them again.

While there we bought the combi rail/river cruise ticket. Trained to Melk, toured the monestary, then took the river trip on the Danube.

We were bookended by Air Malta tickets from Prague to Malta. In retrospect we should have spent more time in each of those areas.

Next time perhaps.

 

[Chuckanut]

Krakow is worth a few days and should be easily reachable by car or train or bus.

 

[audreyh1]

We also enjoyed the Melk Danube combiticket from Vienna. It’s a whole day excursion. But we stayed 5 nights in Vienna I think, so we had time to do some day trips out of the city.

 

[athena53]

My late husband and I loved Budapest but that was during a different political regime, over 20 years ago. We especially loved the Ignatz Semmelweis Museum- he was a doctor, ridiculed for saying that childbed fever (an often-fatal infection women contracted after childbirth) could be prevented if doctors would just wash their hands after coming from the sickbed from someone dying of TB before attending to a woman giving birth.

I'd say there's more to see in Vienna- the writer John Irving described it as "a museum housing a city". The museums alone are worth it.

 

[48Fire]

Thanks everyone, great tips

 

[tulak]

3 nights isn’t very much. You can easily spend that in Vienna or Budapest. Bratislava js small and can be seen in a day. The castle isn’t the prettiest either.

For the places mentioned in Czech, they’re too far and not worth it, unless you wanted to spend 3 days in Prague before flying home.

But if you’ve never explored Vienna or Budapest, I’d stick with those.

If you want something outside of major cities, then you can look around Valtice/Mikulov, which is a wine growing region. Lots of bike trails, etc, and not far from Vienna. There’s also the Lake Balaton area in Hungary, but I’m less familiar with that area.

 

[Golden sunsets]

We've been to both Vienna and Budapeste. Each for 3-4 days. Loved them both. If I had to choose one I would probably go with Vienna. It is smaller, so easier to get around. Don't miss the Shonbrunn Palace, a few miles outside the city on a train line. The grounds are spectacular. Also the Hapsburg Palace and Sisi Museums. Oh and the pastry shops are other worldly and the beer gardens entertaining. Then there's the Opera. So much to see and do.


On the other hand, if you love Foi Gras, then Budapeste is heaven.

 

[Involuntary Retiree]

DH and I did a 6-week Central European slow-travel tour in 2018 -- a week each in Budapest, Prague and Vienna well as Krakow and then shorter stays in Bratislava, Munich and Salzburg. We're already planning a trip back to Krakow and Poland generally, but, of the cities you mentioned, Budapest was our favorite but Vienna was great too! Both are "go back to" cities. I wouldn't waste limited time on Bratislava, if I were you.

 

[HarveyS]

I would spend 3 nights in Vienna and not waste time transiting between 2 cities. I love Budapest, but if I had to pick one, it would be Vienna. Bratislava is also a nice city for a day trip - but with your limited time I would not go. Too much to see and do in Vienna.

 

[SecondAttempt]

I've been to both Budapest and Vienna a couple of times but not since the year 2000.

I think to summarize this thread...it depends on personal preference. Both cities are similar because they were both captials in the Hapsburg Empire and that is what drives most of the sites. I personally prefer Budapest but it is a close call. And I like the pastries in Budapest better. If I were going back in the near future I'd probably pick Vienna only because I've never seen th eLipizaner stallions.

Overall, my personal and very top level sense is that Vienna is better for music and arts and Budapest is better for history because you have the Ottoman and Roman things that are mostly absent in Vienna,

But I don't think there is a bad choice!

As some have mentioned, the current polical situation in Hungary is somewhat "dicey." I personally would not be afraid to go there right now but before making that choice I suggest you dig into it and make sure that you will feel safe and are confortable supporting what is going on with your tourist dollars.

 

[TheWizard]

Do both.
Make your own travel arrangements, choose your own hotels, etc.
You're not limited to those cruiseline extension packages...

 

[Sunset]

Do both.
Make your own travel arrangements, choose your own hotels, etc.
You're not limited to those cruiseline extension packages...

They do pad the price quite a bit for them.

 

[DrRoy]

We did the Danube with Viking last year. We had 2 nights in Budapest pre-cruise, 1 in Vienna on the cruise, and 3 in Prague after. They were all good, but I liked Prague the best.

 

[foxcreek9]

We are flying to Prague in late may for 4 nights, 1 night in Brno, 2 nights in Bratislava, 4 nights in Budapest, and then finishing up in Vienna for 4 nights.

 

[athena53]

As some have mentioned, the current political situation in Hungary is somewhat "dicey." I personally would not be afraid to go there right now but before making that choice I suggest you dig into it and make sure that you will feel safe and are comfortable supporting what is going on with your tourist dollars.

I agree- that's what I was alluding to in my post.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

Vienna or Budapest, tough choice. Skip Bratislava - it's nice but it's small. Vienna is more compact and a bit fancier, but Budapest is great also. Budapest is a little bit less touristy, and perhaps a little more rough around the edges.

We drove between them, and stopped in Bratislava back in 2017. We did 2 night in Budapest and 2 in Vienna. If I had to choose only one of those 2 places for a return, it would be Budapest.

Prague is a great place to visit, but in July it is run over with tourists. Budapest seems better able to absorb all the tourists due to its larger size, or maybe it just has fewer tourists.

 

[Luvdogs]

My DD and I went to Budapest, Vienna and Prague for about two weeks for her high school graduation about ten years ago.

Since you are already over there, if you have the time, I would do all three. Those three are relatively close to each other and easy to get to.

You can easily do it yourself rather than through the cruise line. We flew into one city and flew out of the other.

 

[Rianne]

We also enjoyed the Melk Danube combiticket from Vienna. It’s a whole day excursion. But we stayed 5 nights in Vienna I think, so we had time to do some day trips out of the city.

+1 We did something similar in 2019. Excursion on the Danube. My vote is in Vienna. We got to see an opera as well.

 

[brett]

Whatever you decide...our advice, like others, is to spend three 3 nights in one place. Pick one and enjoy it.

This is hardly enough time for any one of those cities. Don't waste your time on traveling between them.

 

[Chuckanut]

+1 on at least 3 nights in each city. It gives you time to learn your way around and seek out a few things you might be unaware of.

I spent three weeks going through Prague, Krakow, Budapest and Vienna. The four days in each city and travel time filled up the three weeks.

I am Currently planning a return to some secondary smaller cities with the same schedule.

FWIW, my general rule of thumb is 1 day of travel for 3 days in a city at a minimum. Of course that can vary with the city. And if the travel between cities is spectacular that can also affects how I adjust the ratio.

I have stopped doing a lot of travel with my favorite tour company because many of the tours now have two nights stays most of the time. As I age I like to go slower and take more time to absorb what some photographers call The Spirit of Place.