Budapest, Vienna and Prague...need travel recommendations!

Re: Budapest, Vienna and Prague...need travel recommendations!

• CMGragain member

  

  April 2014 edited April 2014

  Check out a copy of Rick Steves Europe travel guide.  https://www.ricksteves.com/europe  This is his website with lots of good planning information.
  
  I haven't been to Prague.  Budapest was lovely!  Great place to shop in the Central Market Building.  Vienna takes more time.  Don't miss Schonbrunn Palace, outside of town.  The subway takes you there.
  
  PS.  While you are in Budapest, look for Cherry Queen brandied chocolates in grocery stores.  Yum!  You can get drunk on those!  In Vienna, buy Reber's Mozart Kugel.  Great gifts for people back home.
  
  

  

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• delujm0 member

  

  April 2014

  I second the vote for Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna...that was awesome.  Also, if you have a nice day and some extra time, there is a great zoo in the back of the Schonbrunn gardens that we visited for a couple of hours.  I loved Vienna.  We were only there wo nights and i wish we were there a week.  We also saw a show at the Spanish Riding School that was fun while we were there.  Really there's a lot to see, I'd suggest picking up a city guide on Amazon or something to help you plan.

   

  Prague was fun too...we walked all over the place there.  There's the main castle intown and then we walked thrugh a huge (hilly) garden one day and hung out at a beer garden there...i'm spacing on the name right now.  Old Town Square is also cool.  Again, grab a city guide.  The travel between the two isn't bad at all, which is nice.

   

  My best advice is to bring the smallest suitcases that you possibly can.  Europe isn't the US - there isn't always an escalator or elevator for you to take with your bags.  You'll be hauling your stuff around.  A lot.  I suggest packing a carryon (NOT to its limits) and putting an empty duffel bag inside it so that when you inevitably buy souvenirs you won't have a problem getting everything back home.  You won't need to bring much - a few pairs of flat shoes (seriously...no matter how much you think you'll want to dress up and wear heels one night, you won't - bring a nice enough pair of flats to war with a casual dress and you'll be fine), some jeans/capris and t-shirts/sweaters, and you're good to go.  Remember that in a lot of European churches you must have your knees and shoulders covered to enter - so shorts aren't usually the best idea.

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• daria24 member

  

  April 2014

  Things we did in Vienna:

  
  

  -The Kunsthistorisches (Art History) Museum and the library next door are two of the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen. The art is fantastic as well, but just gaping at the ceilings and marble pillars was worth the admission price to me. 

  -Schonbrunn is a lovely excursion, very nice grounds on top of the building itself. 

  -Haus Der Musik-my husband is much more interested in music than I am, so he enjoyed this more than I did. They have some interesting interactive exhibits

  -Concert at the Vienna State Opera-I'm only moderately interested in classical music, but the building is gorgeous and it was fun to dress up and pretend to be sophisticated

  -A ride on the Wiener Riesenrad-worth it on a clear day, awesome views.

  -I recommend checking out the Naschmarkt-there are a lot of food stalls and small restaurants that offer a break from the heavy Viennese food. There is an excellent Thai place there. 

  -Eat cake and coffee every day. So much cake. Delicious delicious cake. Also the portion sizes for dinner are enormous, similar to the US. We often split a schnitzel and could only eat half of it. 

  
  

  Prague

  It's been a long time since I've been there, but I remember enjoying the Charles river boat tour, and Prague Castle. 

  

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• freebread03 member

  

  April 2014

  We did Budapest and Vienna last summer-didn't spend as much time in Vienna as I would have liked but I did really enjoy walking around the city, seeing the central park, and going to museums (it was raining when we were there so it kind of cut down on our ability to get out and about).

  
  

  I am dying to go back to Budapest-I think we were there 4 nights/4.5 days (we got there in the afternoon one day and then left late morning later in the week).  We had an amazing time-the Castle Hill area is beautiful-that was a full day for us.  The Central Market was fun to walk around in, and we spent a lot of time just kind of walking to different restaurants in the central downtown area.  We went to a beer festival, which was fun as well.  One thing I wished we'd done more of was spent more time walking around the Jewish Quarter-tons of history.  FI and I aren't big planners; we tend to pick one thing we want to see and spend the day walking to and from there.

  
  

  We always stay in hostels or guest houses (ones where we can get our own private bathroom).  I find this to be a great way to get local recommendations and one-on-one attention from a local owner.  Since you're probably staying somewhere nicer, I'd recommend taking a free tour (in Sofia, it was "Free Tour Sofia"-they have them in a lot of cities, and it's basically by-donation).  That's a great way to see the city on the first day and figure out where you want to spend more time the next day.  Have fun!

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• dreischka member

  

  April 2014

  Thank you so much! I really really appreciate the input. I am making a list for each city based on your recommendations and the travel guides!

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