Two great cities that ... um, taste great together
May 18, 2011 7:49 AM Subscribe
Itinerary help requested: Which two central/eastern European cities should we pair?
Hi all
Looking to put together a four-day trip that figures to cover two cities. We like to walk around all day and look at buildings, mostly; nightlife isn't very important, and one of us isn't big on museums. We did central Paris in three days and used the fourth for Bruges/Brussels; Rome was three days and Florence one, although if there hadn't been so many wonderful churches to visit, two days of Rome probably would have been enough. Barcelona was a little moer than two days, with two day trips filling out the four days.
I'm eyeing Germany and the countries that border it: Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria. We're fortunate enough to be able to do this once a year, more or less, so we're not necessarily into aggressive capital collecting; Prague and Vienna, which seems an obvious choice, are probably about right for two days each, but we're happy to do one of them and a nearby, more minor city, and save the other for another trip.
So what do you recommend? Munich and Salzburg? Warsaw and Krakow? Prague and Brno? Vienna and Bratislava? Vienna and Budapest? If you need a tiebreaker, go with the pair that are closest together and cheapest to travel between.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Hi all
Looking to put together a four-day trip that figures to cover two cities. We like to walk around all day and look at buildings, mostly; nightlife isn't very important, and one of us isn't big on museums. We did central Paris in three days and used the fourth for Bruges/Brussels; Rome was three days and Florence one, although if there hadn't been so many wonderful churches to visit, two days of Rome probably would have been enough. Barcelona was a little moer than two days, with two day trips filling out the four days.
I'm eyeing Germany and the countries that border it: Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria. We're fortunate enough to be able to do this once a year, more or less, so we're not necessarily into aggressive capital collecting; Prague and Vienna, which seems an obvious choice, are probably about right for two days each, but we're happy to do one of them and a nearby, more minor city, and save the other for another trip.
So what do you recommend? Munich and Salzburg? Warsaw and Krakow? Prague and Brno? Vienna and Bratislava? Vienna and Budapest? If you need a tiebreaker, go with the pair that are closest together and cheapest to travel between.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Prague is great. And if you're into beer at all, Czesky Budejovice is the place to go.
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 8:12 AM on May 18, 2011
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 8:12 AM on May 18, 2011
I was a huge fan of both Prague and Budapest. However you could probably spend 4 days in each of those on their own.
posted by aclevername at 8:20 AM on May 18, 2011
posted by aclevername at 8:20 AM on May 18, 2011
I loved Czesky Krumlov and Prague. I liked Budapest as well, but it was relatively expensive and it would cost more in time and money to travel to or from.
posted by amicamentis at 8:22 AM on May 18, 2011
posted by amicamentis at 8:22 AM on May 18, 2011
I recommend 4 days in Prague. You can easily spend a day at the castle complex itself.
posted by demiurge at 8:45 AM on May 18, 2011
posted by demiurge at 8:45 AM on May 18, 2011
Best answer: Come to Graz! It's a fantastic city of 250,000. The old centre is a UNESCO World Heritage site. No one knows about it and so it's not absolutely overrun with tourists. It also makes a great stopping off point for other places. Plus, and I've no idea if this is relevant for you or not, it has a direct Ryanair connection to London Stansted and to Edinburgh with Fly Niki. MeMail me if you want to know more.
posted by MighstAllCruckingFighty at 8:50 AM on May 18, 2011
posted by MighstAllCruckingFighty at 8:50 AM on May 18, 2011
Best answer: Have you considered the Baltics?
Tallinn / Helsinki and Vilnius / Riga could be good pairings.
posted by randomination at 8:57 AM on May 18, 2011
Tallinn / Helsinki and Vilnius / Riga could be good pairings.
posted by randomination at 8:57 AM on May 18, 2011
The old city of Krakow is wonderful. And much less touristy / Disney than Prague.
posted by Meatbomb at 8:57 AM on May 18, 2011
posted by Meatbomb at 8:57 AM on May 18, 2011
Best answer: If you have anything of a morbid streak, I would recommend 3 days in Prague followed by a day trip to Kutná Hora, which, besides being an intersting and lovely little city itself, also has the fantanstic Sedlec Ossuary.
posted by brambory at 8:58 AM on May 18, 2011
posted by brambory at 8:58 AM on May 18, 2011
Sopron is a nice town on the Austrian-Hungarian border. It's about an hour by train from Vienna. It has lovely old parts with medieval buildings. Me and my brother went there on a whim. It was very peaceful and in great contrast to the bustling opulent Vienna.
posted by mbrock at 9:03 AM on May 18, 2011
posted by mbrock at 9:03 AM on May 18, 2011
If you do any of Vienna and Bratislava, or Vienna and Budapest, or Budapest and Bratislava, you can travel between the cities on a Danube boat - which I thought was awesome. (You can also take the train.)
Having said that, although it's a nice place there is really not a lot to see in Bratislava - one day would probably be enough.
i
Munich and Salzburg would also be a nice combination. Or Vienna and Salzburg.
posted by plonkee at 9:55 AM on May 18, 2011
Having said that, although it's a nice place there is really not a lot to see in Bratislava - one day would probably be enough.
i
Munich and Salzburg would also be a nice combination. Or Vienna and Salzburg.
posted by plonkee at 9:55 AM on May 18, 2011
I came to say the Baltics too - was going to suggest Tallinn/Riga.
posted by penguin pie at 8:47 AM on May 19, 2011
posted by penguin pie at 8:47 AM on May 19, 2011
Zagreb/Dubrovnik.
posted by spicynuts at 12:44 PM on May 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by spicynuts at 12:44 PM on May 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
« Older Help me pick a way to share essays online with... | Need a reason to put on the running shorts. Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by backwards guitar at 8:01 AM on May 18, 2011