Dopers, could you please tell me what the “must-see” attractions are in the lovely cities of Prague, Vienna, and Budapest? I’ve never been to any of them, but will be travelling there in October. (I am sooooo excited, you can’t imagine.) BUT I will only have 2 days in Prague and 1 day each in Vienna and Budapest.
I realize that you cannot do justice to any of those beautiful cities in such a short time, but unfortunately, that’s all the time we have. So what are your recommendations for how to spend a single day in Vienna and Budapest, and a couple of days in Prague?
Oh, hell. One day in Vienna? Evil.
If you had two days I’d send you to the Kunsthistorisches Museum, but in this case:
Do the city center with Stephansdom (somewhat interesting catacombs tour) and the Hapsburg crypt (Kaisersgruft? Been a while) over at the Kapuzinerkirche. There’s a little Romanesque-era church closer to the water (Rurpechts?). After that it depends: what do you like most: art, architecture (old or more modern?), shopping, or Baroque-era music?
Prague and Budapest I’ve only done in one and two day whirlwinds myself and someone else can help better-- I’ve no idea what treasures I missed.
I was in Prague and Budapest in 1994 and its not fresh on my mind.
In Budapest, the most memorable thing I did was spend a day at one of their crazy huge bathhouses, and found bars to watch World Cup in. There’s a world class museum there, and a hill to climb with monuments on it, IIRC. I did a lot of walking and eating there, and enjoyed it.
In Prague, again, I mainly found bars to watch World Cup in, and went to visit the big castle/museum on the hill. That’s what most people do, but it didn’t really excite me. I was hanging out with these two girls there, and went to see the opera. It cost about $2 at that time.
One tip for Prague is go on a guided walking tour. They will show you the best sights and and can always go back at your leisure if you want to see more . This is what we did in Prague last January. These tours are not expensive and the guides I find are knowledgeable and will answer any of your questions.
For other cities which are not as compact as Prague use one of those hop-on, hop-off bus tours, with a recorded commentary. The tickets are valid all day . There again your will see all the main sights on the drive round. Then go round again, leave the bus at your chosen destination and rejoin the bus after your visit.
Finally nothing beats a good guide book (or books) so you can read up before your trip and plan an itinerary.
It depends on what you like. I know a restaurant in Prague where you can buy a bowl of day-old doughnuts and start a food fight. Skip the Gershwin concert, though; Rhapsody in Blue by a string quintet doesn’t quite work.
That’s the trip we’re taking! Except in reverse. We’re going to Prague first, because we didn’t want to miss the boat (literally) if we had arrival issues. We fly into Prague and out of Budapest. So if you hear of anything that is “can’t miss,” please let me know.
When it is all said and done, I hope we get a follow-up report. In May I will be in Budapest (Buda or Pest, I don’t know) for a week and Prauge and Vienna for a few days.
Nope. I love history and culture, but not specific to architecture. I want to get a flavor of the cities to the best extent possible in such a short period. I’m liking the idea of city tours – uber touristy, but a great way to get an overview. But whatever is THE thing to see, I want to see it.
And evenings are all about the wine and dine, of course.
Things to see in Prague, in order, on a days walk. You’ll need a map.
Start at the Museum at the top of Wenceslaus square (if you have time, check out the museum itself, I never got around to it). The Museum is where Jan Palach comitted suicide by self-immolation to protest the Soviet invasion. Walk down Wenceslaus square and through the New Town. Continue down into Old Town and check out the statue of Jan Hus and watch the hour chime at the Astronomical Clock in Old Town Square. Continue on to the Charles Bridge and cross over to the Mala Strana. Check out the St. Nicholas cathedral, where Mozart once played, and have a pivo (beer) at Jo’s Bar, where pravnik once worked, right across the street. From here walk up to Prague Castle and check out the stained glass at the St. Vitus Cathedral or if you’re in good shape and have the energy take a very steep walk up Petřín hill and take in the surrounding parks. If you’re not completely exhausted, walk around the castle and check out the Prague Metronome.
If you have more time, the next day go to the Žižkov area and see the Žižkov TV tower, the statue of Jan Žižka (and have some pivo at the nearby U Vystrelenyho oka, or the “Shot Out Eye,”), and Kafka’s Grave.
One day in Vienna doesn’t allow for much. Best bet may be to jump on the tram and just get off wherever something looks interesting. Good food, good beer. Ride from the Prater up to the church on the hill at the end of the line (can’t remember the name of it) that some pope visited.
Do you have a full day in Bp? Or are you just there until the flight leaves?
When you get to Budapest, you should probably get up to Castle Hill. You didn’t say how you are getting to Budapest, so I am assuming that you are coming in by train. Get on the metro and take it to Moskzva Ter on the red line. From there you can get on one of the small public buses to the main part of the hill. There is plenty to see. The art museum in Buda Castle is ok. But the view from Fisherman’s Bastion is good for photos.
If you enjoy history, Statue Park should be entertaining for you. The Hungarians dumped all of their old communist statues in a park making it more or less the graveyard of communism. Its a bit of a schlep. But you can take the subway to Deak Ter and there is a special bus that leaves from the square to the park and will return you when you are done. I am sure you can take a cab there as well. (The Hungarian is Szobor Park for the cab driver.)
When you get back to Deak Ter from the Park, walk over to the yellow subway (first in continental Europe) line. You can take that up to Heroes Square (Hosok Tere) which has a very nice memorial to various Hungarian ‘heroes’. The Main art museum is on that square as well if you want. Walk back down Andrassy St.
I can’t help with food as most of the places I used to frequent are probably gone and definitely out of the way. There should be places along Andrassy as well as at the Oktogon. If you take the subway to Vorosmarty Square and walk down Vaci utca from there, there are also a ton of places to find grub as well.
/hijack/ I can’t believe you worked at Jo’s Bar! I’ve been to Prague three times and every time I’ve ended up there. The first time was in 1998 when they still had those barrels to sit on on the middle floor. Then a few years later I was back and insisted we had to go there because I had had so much fun before and they had removed the barrels and I got really confused and thought it must have been a different Jo’s Bar. :smack: I think I must have had too much to drink on all previous occasions to remember what the rest of the place looked like (You’d think the whole two floors below ground thing would tip me off). Anyway, a great time was had by all when I finally realized it was the same place. Love it there. /hijack over/
Anyway, I second your walking tour. Prague is one of those cities which is just great to walk around in. So many beautiful buildings at least if you walk the route mentioned above. Spend some time around the Old Town square, but don’t bother with the restaurants there, overprized and not that great regardless. My favourite restaurants have been places accidentally found in back alleys and such.
You might want to check of the Museum of Communism. It is ironically situated above a McDonald’s and might be interesting.
Hate to rain on the parade, but having lived in, and traveled throughout Europe, I personally think Wien (Vienna) is the most boring big city in Europe. I think one day would really be ample to see the (Schoenbrunn) palace, maybe drink some wine in the wine district (Heuriger) and have a piece of the overpriced, but tasty, Sacher Torte (the famous cake). Feel free to go to bed in Vienna at about 8:00 PM - you won’t miss a damned thing.
Prague and Budapest will be a lot more fun and interesting, both culturally and for some interesting nightlife meeting the locals. You would have a much better time in Austria just going to one of the smaller villages outside of Vienna, staying in a bed and breakfast and seeing the countryside. Just my 2 cents.
Depending on time and your interests while in Prague it might be worthwhile doing a side trip to the Sedlec Ossuary at Kutna Hora. Its a church made out of human bones.
As tthe Wikipedia article says and as I’ve confirmed by personal inspection, the church isn’t made of bones, it has a lower chapel or crypt *decorated *with human bones. It’s pretty cool, in a macabre sort of way.
Kutna Hora is an interesting place to spend the day. You can tour the old silver mines and the Church of Saint Barbara is well worth seeing. (The historical town, the Church of St. Barbara and the Cathedral at Sedlec form a UNESCO World Heritage Site).
But if you have only 1-3 days, Prague has more than enough to reward your time. Pravnik’s suggested itinerary is a great way to start. I enjoyed the guided tour of the castle, but just spending a few hours wandering around the old town was great, too. It would be great to fit in a tour of the Jewish sites in Josefov as well.
[QUOTE=zagloba]
As tthe Wikipedia article says and as I’ve confirmed by personal inspection, the church isn’t made of bones, it has a lower chapel or crypt *decorated *with human bones. It’s pretty cool, in a macabre sort of way.
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Yeah I know, I’ve been there too, sometimes a little inaccuracy saves explanation though. Personally I found the place fascinating.
I have been to two similar churches. One was in South-West Poland where many years ago the local priest went round collecting bones of people killed ( I think) in the Thirty Years War.
