Will I like Vienna?

I don’t want to be the Debbie downer when my spouse is enthused about the palaces and the food and the overall elegance Vienna offers.

I can almost guarantee your spouse will enjoy Vienna immensely based on your sentence. You may end up a Debbie Downer, but I have never met or heard anyone say they did not enjoy Vienna.

I'm sure parts of Vienna have a "vibe", not that I actually found one. However, I was in Venice, FL just yesterday and if you enjoyed Venice, FL, I am 100% positive Vienna will blow you away.

Enjoy

Budapest came to my mind after seeing your list.

To echo Carol NR Budapest was the first thing that came to my mind as well.

I really dont mean to sound harsh, but give the large plurality of the number of places you either dont like or are meh about, compared to the places you do like, I have no idea whether you will like Vienna or not. However, if you go having already decided you are predisposed to dislike it, then dislike it you will. Everyone is different in what does and does not appeal to them. For me, Vienna rates highly among my favorite large European cities. Whereas Rome, Bologna and Cambridge are far down my list.

Too perfect? How can a place be too perfect. Your husband will probably love Schonbrunn palace. The Kunsthistorisches Museums ranks up with the very best in Europe.And Austrian food can be delicious. Especially the desserts. I'm sure the RS Vienna guidebook would be full of ideas that might appeal to you. Our frequent poster Emily , who lives in Vienna has posted a couple of very interesting looking self-guided walks that I would really like to try. And if life there gets too quiet for you, spend a couple of evenings at a Heuriger.

I enjoyed Budapest also! It had the best food! Lots of scenic buildings! You are close enough to do Vienna, too! Best Chocolate Cake! I think you might be able to connect by boat on the Danube River? Or Train? Or Fly? Bon Voyage!

I was going to skip this thread for fear of sounding like a broken record.

Okay. 5 days Rome for the whole connecting with my spouse thing. 5 days Vienna cause he wants it. With some planning you might enjoy it too. 5 days Budapest because it matches what both of you are looking for.

Check the Rome discount flights and either do Rome, Vienna, or Budapest (i think best for uncovering the truth in layers) or Rome. Budspest, Vienna (cause I know there are convenient discount flights)

Vienna is one of my favorite cities, but we typically go there in Dec for the Xmas markets. You dislike some of my favorites like Florence & Portland ME, so I have no idea if you'll like Vienna. You are very fortunate to have visited so many places. I'd like to think you'll like it since it's important to your husband. Salzburg is also amazing in Austria.

Thank you all for all the replies and helpful suggestions. I am very blessed to have such a great spouse and to have traveled widely as a young woman. I agree my husband will probably like Vienna. He’s a classy guy . I may like it too but I had some reservations based on my reaction to Munich. The suggestion of adding Budapest is one I was leaning towards and it’s interesting so many people suggested it over Prague. I’ll not sure if we can swing 5 days in each of Rome, Vienna and Budapest as suggested— I still have to line up a budget and make sure the kids are cared for — if concessions must be made for time, where would you make concessions for time? 4 days each? Thank you again for your patience and attention to my questions. :-)

Vienna is all class. Budapest is class surrounded by "real:. Oh, you find 3 cities that i have lived in to be so-so. Hmmmmm

Sure 4 days each. You will find Budapest is pretty reasonable and Vienna a tad pricey. So they balance. See if any of this helps then post something on each country forum. Budapest Travel Notes (Information on what to see and do) it’s a pdf file but if you have trouble downloading it email me and I can send it to you: https://1drv.ms/b/c/c9f4c533eb93d92e/ES7Zk-szxfQggMnY3wIAAAABQl80AO6R6nr1YlP_JERIfQ?e=C9Xt7g Favorite Tourism Video of Budapest https://youtu.be/1nd5AtZIrTk?feature=shared Anthony Bourdain describing how visually pleasurable Budapest is https://youtu.be/0nd9DuDGCz0?si=aa0c19KaJHEtabkX Favorite Guidebook because its small and does the essentials DK Eyewitness Budapest Top 10 https://a.co/d/6JD82mf

I loved many of the cities in your "I don't care for" list and also loved Vienna. So Vienna may not be for you.