Lisa - Unfortunately most of these places are just far enough away from each other to make for annoyingly long day trips to all the others. If you had to pick one place, I would say start in Prague and then visit the areas around it for great castles, landscapes, food, and local brews. If you had to pick two, I would say Prague and then Budapest (the Hungarian countryside always seemed vastly underrated and under-explored to me). Prague and Budapest are about six hours by train from each other, but I hope you will do the smart thing and rent a car so you can be the master of your own travels! Best of luck.

Posted Feb 15, 2011

Vienna is a great base for Melk, Bratislava and even Budapest (2.5 hours away by car).  Prague is then great to visit either before or after (it's 5 hours away by car or train).  Most of my guests actually do Budapest, then train or drive to Vienna, then train or drive to Prague.  This works perfectly as a nice introduction to Central Europe.

Bucharest doesn't fit at all, so you'd probably have to fly there (or take a really, really long train).  To be honest, the best part of Romania is NOT Bucharest - it's the countryside - and that's almost a separate trip in itself.

Posted Feb 15, 2011

Hi Lisa,

I'd love you to see Bucharest, but is not that well connected with the other cities you seam to want to visit. Go with Vienna - it's easier to travel from there to Budapest or to Prague. However, a week is little time to see so much.

Enjoy!

Posted Feb 15, 2011

I've visited all you mentioned except Melk. Bucharest is wonderful, especially getting out of the city. Budapest is excellent, especially if the weather is nice and you like biking around the countryside and visiting the thermal baths. Prague I've visited three times (in all different seasons) and love it. There are plenty of things to see in and around the city (day trips) to keep you going for at least a week. Vienna is more refined and of course has excellent coffee and desserts!

For what it sounds like looking for, Prague would be a great place for a week. You can visit Auschwitz in Poland on a long day trip (with a car or car/driver) but Terezin is within a short bus ride away and is an easy day trip. Karlstein Castle is nice, just outside Prague. Oh, and did I mention the museums and the wonderful concerts each evening?

I'm planning to return again in November and can't wait. Have a great trip wherever you decide to go!

Posted Feb 15, 2011

I'd advise Budapest as there is much, unique attractions withing the city and a beautiful (easily traversed via car/bike/train) countryside mere miles away. 

Likewise, I'd throw Krakow into the mix. My wife and I stayed five nights in Krakow as a homebase for exploring southern Poland and northern Slovakia. You can easily take lunch trips to Auschwitz and Birkenau,  to the Salt Mines which are inexplicably awesome, to Czestochowa (which grandma says is pronouces "Chest-a-hoe-va") where you can see the Black Madonna, and more.

My wife and I spent almost four weeks driving from Budapest through Slovakia and all of Poland with no plan or schedule (save for plane tickets out of Warsaw at the end) and found both Budapest and Krakow to be the best homebases for our exploration.

Have fun!

Posted Feb 15, 2011

As far as I'm concerned, Vienna is the jewel in the crown of Eastern Europe.  Prague is interesting - interesting architecture but the service industry is still suffering from a residue of Soviet bloc attitude. Vienna is a wonderful city if you like art, history, festivals, music and food. Budapest is a day trip... People are pleasant and helpful...what more can you ask for?

Posted Mar 13, 2011

Prague, as well stated by Pines.

Posted Feb 15, 2011

I'd choose Prague.  Great architecture, amazing fashion, and of course the beer.  I'd also add Krakow to your list of Eastern Europe cities to check out.

Posted Feb 15, 2011

Can you split the time between two cities? Actually you could just spend a week in Vienna--and take in Melk (which isn't Eastern European) and Bratislava. Vienna and environs has plenty to keep you busy. But if you want to try another city, I would make Prague your second headquarters. It is incredibly rich historically, rich in musical programs, and has some unique museums.

Posted Feb 15, 2011

I agree with the posts that say they're a bit far from each other. Krakow is another wonderful place to add to your list, though.

Posted Feb 17, 2011

I understand you're eager to see a lot, but make sure you don't try to do so much you spend all your time coming and going and don't have time to enjoy it or the freedom to change plans if you find a great opportunity or fall in love with one city or another.

I would really suggest picking one or two cities as your home base, planning 1 or 2 day trips from each (maybe 3 if you are using 1 home base) but not booking any tickets until you get there. Gather all the how to- where to find tickets, costs, etc. before hand but leave it a bit open so you can adjust your plans to your whims once you're there. There is so much to see and do in Prague and Vienna (I haven't been to the others) you could easily spend a week in either place without day trips.

Vienna is fantastic- so much architecture and history and friendly people and great food. Same with Prague. I haven't been to the other places so I can't compare. But between these two I'd say Prague. It's less expensive, smaller and more manageable while still offering LOADS to do. Possible day trips include the Cesky Krumlov (a beautiful little town/UNESCO heritage site) which is best reached by bus and is very manageable as a day trip. There are some difference breweries you can tour that are a day trip away as well, if you're into beer!

I could spend a whole week just in the two Mucha museums in Prague, but that's my obsession.

I'd only rent a car if you are very comfortable with driving and small spaces and navigating. Also if it's like western Europe renting an automatic may be really expensive or near impossible to find. On the other hand, if you're confident you can handle it having a car is nice for stopping when you fancy it and exploring in between places and not having to rush to meet a bus or train departure.

Posted Feb 18, 2011

We used Vienna as a home base for Bratislava and for Budapest; but we also had fun using Prague as a home base to dive into the countryside (Karlovy Vary and others).  It all depends on what you are looking for.

Posted Feb 18, 2011

I would go to Vienna, if anything because of the abundant transportation options. None of the other cities compare in terms of the number of connections and modern facilities. Too many compromises. But if you plan to rent a car in Vienna, make sure you plan ahead and make reservations, as last-minute availability is a real problem there (talking from experience).

Posted Apr 01, 2013