Y’all are such a fountain of travel advice so looking for some!
First two weeks of September, myself and DD (school on Quarter system, yaay). Flying in/out of Copenhagen (cheap and we’ve lived in DK before). Want to visit Berlin, then some other Eastern European cities. Considering Prague, Budapest and tonight someone told me must visit Crakow. Have about a week and a half for this and planning to take trains.
Have traveled extensively in Europe but, other than Berlin, never been to these parts.
Looking for suggestions on which cities to visit, places to stay and eat, sights to see, things to watch out for etc. Thanks for any info!
I have a friend that goes to the ricksteves.com website, looks at his itinerary for the tours, and then mirrors it, on their own. Having been on a Rick Steves trip, I can vouch for the fact that he picks the best things to do in whatever city you are in. They have a trip to Prague and Budapest that I really hope to go on one day, it sounds wonderful.
Though I haven’t heard too many positive things about Berlin, sorry.
Just returned from a trip that included Budapest and Prague and recommend both. Stayed at Palazzo Zichy in Budapest and Agnes Residence in Prague. Both were wonderful. The latter doesn’t necessarily have the nicest rooms but does have the best service I’ve ever encountered. Lots to see and do, better food than I expected and nice people. Good luck with your plans.
All of these places are certainly worth seeing, but 3 cities in about 10 days sounds like a lot to me, especially if you’re not flying. If you really want to do it that way, consider taking some overnight trains to free up days for sightseeing.
In Prague we stayed at the Hotel Hastal. It’s in a great location, the rooms are nice, breakfast spread in the morning is really extensive and the owner is the nicest guy you could ever meet. There is a restaurant, Lokal, almost right next door to the hotel. Not gourmet dining, but a nice place to go if you want to get the local flavor. Wasn’t just a touristy restaurant.
We took the overnight train from Prague to Budapest which worked out really well, although I have to admit I didn’t get a lot of sleep! We really enjoyed Taverna Dionysos in Budapest, if you like Greek food. Highly recommend doing a tour of the Parliament building (should make reservations in advance). And also to make sure you see the Parliament building lit up at night. It’s just beautiful. If you have time, we also took a little side trip to see the Roman ruins at Aquincum (very easy to get there), if you are into that sort of thing.
We walked everywhere in Prague for the most part, but in Budapest we got a 3 day pass for the public transportation which was very helpful.
I’m a less is more traveler. Are you sure you want all those locations? Between hotel check-in and out and travel that seems a lot of “on the move”. Trains are great for the area, but don’t run hourly and these distances aren’t short. Overnight trains are a l thought, but you do miss seeing the “territory” which is part of the fun for me. DH and I used to travel like you are planning, but we did this with 3 weeks available.
I spent 12 nights in Berlin last spring and, other than Potsdam, didn’t leave the city. I still have a list of things to see for a return. Of course, everyone is different! Have you considered a stop in Dresden?
Also in Budapest, we ate at the Macesz Bistro in the Jewish Quarter. It was quite good, but if you want to go I would suggest making a reservation. We just walked in and were lucky as we got the last table available. After that they were turning people away. And make sure to get to the Grand Market Hall (Nagycsarnok) - prices are much better there on souvenirs and food items like paprika. They have a Langos (a fried dough with various toppings - think savory, not sweet) stall in the market, but we found a more authentic one frequented by locals (the woman who waited on me didn’t speak English) that was better. I don’t remember the name of it as it was just a small place, but it was quite near the market (think we turned right after we left the main entrance). Anyway, the langos I had there was much better than the one my husband had in the more touristy areas.
Visited Prague last year in Fall. Wonderful city. Very very easy to get around. We stayed in an AirBnB right in the historic section, which was wonderful. Food (and drink) were incredible, and inexpensive! The biggest downside to Prague, is that it has become a tourist mecca. It was VERY crowded, especially on the weekend. We stayed about 3 days, and I felt that was plenty for an introduction. Rick Steves has a walking tour of Prague (and other cities) that you can download for free for Iphones, Androids, and PC’s. The rest of my family didn’t like to use them, but I found them very helpful. Instead of walking and observing, I could also learn about the culture and history at the same time. We took a Student Universe bus to Vienna from Prague. VERY comfortable, on-time, and inexpensive. I had read they were more reliable than the trains. They service other major cities as well, but don’t remember the particulars.
Visited Prague last summer and stayed with some family, so I can’t recommend any hotels. It was great. Loved all of Czech Republic - Czesky Krumlov and Kutna Hora also. We took a train from Prague to Budapest for about US$25 a ticket. I did buy tickets as soon as the 90-day window (I think it was) opened up to buy them. That’s when it’s the cheapest. We got to see all the countryside and I enjoyed that. It went through Bratislava as well, but we didn’t get off there.
In Budapest, we stayed at a nice place right by Parliament for US$30 a night through Airbnb. We were in a great location. There were tons of places to rent through Airbnb in Budapest. One of the best meals we ate was at Hungarikum Bistro! You have to make reservations because its small, but it’s really nice. I think I figured the 3 course meal was basically US$15. You can’t beat that and it was very nice! You can check them out on Tripadvisor. We did a free walking tour during the day. We also bought a metro pass which gave us access to the city ferry, trams, bus and subway. We rode the ferry a few times just to do it. Otherwise, we rode busses and trams all over and saw everything we wanted to see. I agree with the suggestion about the Grand Market Hall… really liked that!
I loved Krakow. Would go back in a second. Very walkable, and was largely untouched in WWII. Took an overnight train from Prague to Krakow – it stopped at Auschwicz at 5:30 am. Chilling to wake up, look out the window and realuze where you are.
I would like to return to Prague and see if I like it better, but I don’t think DH would do ut. He has been twice and it was gloomy and rainy both times.
Yes, I do love Rick Steves. Will need to start reading the books.
I don’t think we will go to all the cities mentioned. Trying to decide which to visit. Berlin for sure (DD spent few days last year and absolutely adored it, now her favorite city in the world), then Prague and Krakow maybe. Would make 3 days or so at each which might be enough for an introduction. Maybe save Budapest for one of the fabulous Riverboat cruises I keep looking at…
Go to fodors.com and click on the “forums” for Europe and type in a search query for the cities you are interested in.
Many of the people on those forums are retired and travel a lot, especially in Europe. I’ve always received stellar advice there, often things I never read about in guidebooks.
Prague is on my bucket list, am jealous. Enjoy your trip!
I also think you should see fewer places in such a short time, but - I know some people thrive on fast-paced trips and seeing as much as they can… so to each their own. But if it were me, I’d stay overnight in two places max within ten days, and do a couple day trips from each place. But my husband and I are slow and like to putz and take our time. I always try to convince myself I’lll return one day and see what I missed.
One other thing… google “Man in seat 61” and check out the website - www.seat61.com. It’s great! I think the guy that runs it is named Mark Smith… I’ve emailed him directly and gotten a response within 10 minutes or so. He is very helpful and he has a lot of good info.
@bahiablue, thanks! Looks like will be helpful. I was trying to look at Krakow to Prague trains. Overnight looks OK but gets in at 0630. Wahhhh. The airbnb in Prague are crazy cheap so if we do end up with overnight train, I may book a room for the night before in Prague so we can go in at 0630 and crash for a bit.
@BeeDAre, I’m getting there with slowing down but not quite. For now, I think we will use more taxis and maybe private guides to spend less time figuring out public transport and finding things. Helps that both of these things seem pretty cheap in Eastern Europe.
I agree that 3 cities in 10 days is a lot. We went to Prague back in 2008 after visiting d who was doing semester abroad in Vienna. Prague is great but unfortunately it has become touristy and you do need time to visit the historic sites. We had a half day visit to the Jewish Quarter and we had a full day tour to Thieresenstadt. Unfortunately we were not able to get to Cesky Krumlov or other destinations outside of Prague. We stayed at the K & K Hotel right near the Powder Tower, great location, outstanding large buffet breakfast, and the front desk arranged a shuttle van to the airport for the morning we left.