Time to explore Berlin, Prague, Vienna and Budapest

Do you mean 3 days or 3 nights in each? How are you traveling between cities because that impacts how much time you have in each. I'd add an extra night in your first city if you can to account for jet lag. All are great cities and if you have the time, 3-4 nights will go by quickly.

izqmar - Are you planning on spending 2 weeks to visit all 4 cities? I would fly into Vienna to start my trip and fly out of Berlin to head home.

I would follow an itinerary like this for 2 weeks:

Vienna - 4 Nights

Budapest - 3 Nights

Czech Republic - 3 Nights

Berlin - 4 Nights

Having visited all of them, my view is you could spend a week in each, easily. You don't say exactly how many days (not nights) you have. I don't know if you would prefer skimming through all 4 lightly, or dropping one or two on this trip and catching them up next time. Three full days in each would be an absolute minimum -- you'll get a mini-taste, but not much more. Don't forget your transportation time between each will eat up hours of time, too.

Hello all... Sorry, I was not specific .. I was planning to stay 3 nights in each city but according to your comments, I will change my plans accordingly.. Thank you alll... great recommendations.
We were planning to travel by trains but just heard of a company that does one day trips from one city to another, and they allow you to stop in other cities on your way... the name of the company is My Day Trip.. does anyone heard about it before ? Is a little bit more expensive but looks convenient ... Any comments about it ?

Again, thank you all

So it's a 12 night trip? Do remember there are 16 days in two weeks.

With only 12 nights I would drop Berlin.

Otherwise, and hear you learn different people have different preferences. I agree with this guy https://youtu.be/0nd9DuDGCz0

Would help to know your interests and enjoyments. History? If so what period? Architecture, food, wine, beer, museums, art, theater, music, quirky, conservative, your age, nature, city, rural, sports?

Everything being equal in 12 nights with Berlin:
Arrive Berlin, 3N
Train to Prague 3N
Train to Vienna 2N
Train to Budapest 4N depart from Budapest.

With Berlin and 14 nights (16 days including the day you loose crossing the atlantic and departure day): add a day to Vienna and a day to Budapest.

Drop Berlin with 14 nights and you have what I would call the best solution.

Arrive Prague, 3N
Late Morning or Early Afternoon CK Shuttle to Cesky Krumlov, 1N
Late Morning or Early Afternoon CK Shuttle to Vienna 3N
Early Morning Train to Budapest, 5N

If you love museums and dead things under glass move a day from Budapest to Vienna. If you are a part animal move a day from Budapest to Prague.

And go visit the Hungary Forum for more ideas.

My family and I used MyDayTrip to travel from Prague to Salzburg 2 years ago. We left early, lunched and toured in Český Krumlov, then had a too brief visit to Hallstatt. They are not the least expensive but the service was great and allowed us much more flexibility than the trains. Since there were 4 of us, we thought the cost was reasonable.

I agree with James E on dropping Berlin. For 12 nights, I go 4-4-4 or 4-5-3 (P-V-B). You are visiting the 3 major cites of the Hapsburg Empire, the richest place in EU for about 800 years and, as the capital, Vienna has the best stuff.

For comparative cost of living, look up PPP-GDP or the Big Mac Index (Hungary is a steal).

Not surprisingly, James E places the emphasis on Budapest, whereas I would put it on Vienna.

I did a similar trip 2 summers ago with my adult sons. From a purely logistical perspective to minimize train time, I'd fly into Berlin, train to Prague, then Vienna and finish in Budapest (or reverse).

I'm not a huge fan of Budapest however, so I would swap Budapest for Munich. My ideal trip would be 4 nights Berlin, 3 nights Prague, 3 or 4 nights in Vienna (maybe day trip to Bratislava?), if time permits 1-2 nights in Salzburg, then finish with 3-4 nights in Munich.

Whatever you decide, you need to start booking hotels now.

wmt1, each to their own. If I were a museum hound I would pick Vienna. Wanted to party then Prague. I've spent some time in Vienna, nice city. To really enjoy Budapest you have to be the type that likes the idea of living in a place vs visiting it. Well, that's not entirely correct either, hard to put my thumb on it. What it isnt good for is checking off lists ... saw that, saw this, etc. In reality unlike a lot of tourist destinations there just arent a lot of tourist magnets in the city. If you loved, loved, loved Vienna then Budapest probably wont live up to your expectations. If you loved, loved, loved Budapest Vienna might be a bit boring. If you like London I think you will like Vienna, if you prefer Paris over London, then maybe Budapest makes more sense.

If you are real liberal in your ways I say Prague, older and more conservative, then Budapest, a wealthy romantic, maybe Vienna. It's why I asked all the questions I did.

I just remember nearly 15 years ago coming here as a result of just not enjoying Vienna ... it was Plan B for just such an occurence. Been back (it's just up the road) and while nice, still doesnt rev my engine. I also enjoy the heavy Jewish influence here, while in Vienna there is a heavy opposition to the same in the air. Dont jump on that, has nothing to do with anti Semitism.

Then if the OP had posted on the Hungary website he would have gotten the exact opposite responce than those here. When posting people should spread it around a bit for balance. But no, I cant fault Vienna.

But I love what Bourdain had to say: https://youtu.be/0nd9DuDGCz0
And this shows two culinary extremes both so easily accessible: https://youtu.be/g4MoD2NYnUM

I feel the same.

The videos on the internet are always a good resource to see what you are getting into

Budapest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rav4rh6JII
Vienna https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwenLWoeItQ
Prague https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H_1CW69Fzo
Gyor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFJDlORE-V8
Pannonhalma https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZagSs2gzf4

And of course since I am biased
Jewish Budapest really demonstrates the stark difference between Budapest and most places: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-ykR3hKlrg
And I just like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyCdlvX4uMw

I have not been to Berlin yet, and would probably not include it on this trip with the 3 other fabulous cities you've selected--each could easily keep you occupied for a week, or at least then 4-5 days. That said, I too am biased towards Budapest--my 6th visit in as many years coming in May--followed by Vienna (3 visits) and then Prague. While Prague is spectacular it is also exhausting and crowded as nearly all tourist sites are in one small area, so I'd visit there first, then wind down in pleasantly busy Vienna and Budapest.

Last year was our first visit to Prague and Vienna - we spent 4 nights in Prague and I switched some days around so we could do 5n in Vienna. I think 4 was good for Prague - we still missed some stuff - but it was our arrival city so we arrived mid-afternoon on day one and it was pretty much a wash (and my hubs got food poisoning and ended up stuck in the hotel room for a day and a half).

I think we could've seen what we wanted to see in Vienna in 4n - I liked having 5 as we didn't have to rush around trying to jam stuff in - and honestly there was a lot of other things we could've done but we did spend a lot of time going to the same areas in the evenings. Haven't been to Budapest or Berlin.

Your allotted time would certainly give you a 'taste' - but why not savour them? Maybe leave one off and parcel those nights over to the other 3. Don't discount time to get from one place to another - the train from Prague to Vienna (that we took) was about 4 hrs - so take into account get to and from the train station and to your hotel - you're going to lose about 6 hrs, leaving you only a partial day.

(Now - my husband and I certainly did some whirlwind trips our first few visits - they were fine, but we are into slower travel now - which may not be you thing).

I just want to say THANK YOU to all of you that has taken the time to reply to my request.

I read them all and since the majority of comments indicated that I need more time in each city, I am re-adjusting my nights, and will stay 3 nights in Berlin, 3 in Budapest, 5 in Vienna and 4 in Prague. Still not may not be enough time but at least I will get to know the main attractions in each. The travel time will be extra beside the 15 hotel nights
This forum has been a great help!

Thank You!!

I also enjoy the heavy Jewish influence here, while in Vienna there is a heavy opposition to the same in the air. Dont jump on that, has nothing to do with anti Semitism.

This has changed significantly during the last two decades in Vienna, fortunately, but it cannot compete with the Jewish quarter in Prague, though.

The big synagogue in Budapest is one of my favorite buildings there, not only because it was built by a Viennese archtiect (as well as the Rumbach synagougue). :-)

The Bavarian's claim Ludwig Förster as their own, although he moved to and became famous in Vienna. He designed a number of synagogues. He got a lot of flack from his contemporaries in Austria for working for Jews. He did make a comment something to the effect that Jews didn't have a style so he used the closest thing ... Arab in the design of his synagogues. More interesting is Otto Wagner and the Rumbach synagogue. Wagner was one of the founders of the Secession style and the Rumbach Synagogue is one of the few buildings he did outside of Vienna. Both are beautiful and both completely different and worth seeing when in Budapest.

Budapest didn't really start becoming the city we know now until the 1848 revolution and the establishment of the dual monarchy (Austro-Hungarian Empire) in 1867. And even then didn't really begin to take off until preparations for the Hungarian millennium in 1898. Like the birth of any new nation, city or culture the talent has to come from someplace else and in the 1850's, 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's Budapest was a great canvas to paint on and attracted a lot of talent. Even Eiffel came for the train station.

Sadly not many Jewish architects in the period of the construction of either synagogue as they were not even permitted to form a community before 1848 (Hungary or Austria).

BUT NO ONE but a Hungarian could have dreamed up the Gömböc