Vienna

In looking at RS tours they seem to be generally fairly well oiled machines which is good and sometimes not so good. I looked at your tour and its pretty sweet. 3.5 days in Prague is enough to get a good feel for the place, but your first half day is generally jet lagged. You might consider arriving a day early and doing some things you want to do; slowly and comfortably.

Then you have that miserable 7 hour bus trip to Budapest. When you get to Budapest, well, me at least, I would be pooped. So lets say its sort of a jet lag day; but a mild one. That leaves 2 full days in Budapest and that isn't near enough. I would hang around at least one more day, and because I am terribly biased, I would say two days. And while Budapest has a lot of interesting museums it is really a living museum with sights on every street and around every corner. You can spend years here and have an excellent, interesting, FACINATING even, time and never walk into a museum.

Now, if you still have time and money, YES, Vienna is worth the trip. It isn't my personal favorite, but everyone is different and Vienna is so unique it may speak to you in ways it didn't to me. It deserves two full days at a minimum. The train from Budapest takes a bit more than two hours. And YES, this is a museum town. Everything good is dead and under glass. Sort of the antithesis of Budapest.

Thank you. We did indeed plan to arrive a day early in Prague! Now you have me very excited about Budapest. Maybe just hang out there and skip Vienna?

I would, but I am terribly biased. I arrived in Budapest for a 3 night stay about 15 years ago; fell in love an returned, and returned, and returned and returned; and now have a home there and a substantial part of my (otherwise pathetic) social life.

Budapest is good at the end of the trip because its can be sort of laid back an just beautiful to sit in. After the fast paced RS tour you might appreciate that.

What time of the year?

We are going in the middle of May

The links below are from another post about where to see good architecture. But you may find something in the descriptions that interest you.

So you will be in Budapest in mid to late May? Excellent weather. We'll be there in early May. The operetta has some good shows: http://www.operett.hu/operett.php?pid=schedule&lista=honap&ev=2017&honap=5 in May as does the Liszt Academy http://lfze.hu/en/all-programs Look for programs in the GRAND HALL. If you didn't bring a jacket then the Opus Jazz club is a lot of fun and good food to boot. Their schedule only comes out about 30 days in advance so keep watching. You will need both a ticket and a reservation. http://opusjazzclub.hu/concerts or the Budapest Jazz Club https://www.bjc.hu/-2/ The May program should be out at the end of the month.

http://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2015/06/06/bourdain-cooper-budapest-sot-ac.cnn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79VoSvlKFVQ

Even Alice Cooper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vApAmydLjjo

And Hugh Jackman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmYk7e9Fdr0

Lots of great links and ideas. Much appreciated. If you think of any side trips we shouldn't miss post those as well. Budapest sounds amazing and has so much to offer. No wonder you return often. Most grateful

Then you have that miserable 7 hour bus trip to Budapest.

From Prague to Budapest I would go by plane. There are really cheap flights available.
Check on https://www.kayak.com/flights (in my opinion the best search engine for flights).

Can you add more time? I agree with James that you should definitely spend more time in Budapest. After Budapest, you could take the train to Vienna and spend 2-3 nights. I was there in early June and the gardens were beautiful and the Schonbrun Palace is the best in Europe after Versailles (Rick says so and he's right). My thought is that you may find better flight options returning from Vienna instead of Budapest. But if you have to choose between extra time in Budapest and Vienna, stay in Budapest.

wmt1, I would fly too, but its a RS tour and the bus is the package.

I agree that Budapest can be said to be a "living museum" architecture wise when you look at the ordinary houses ans building, not the splendors, eg, the Parliament Building, etc. Seeing those ordinary, normal green buildings ( homes, shops, etc) when just walking around and exploring in Budapest, I was reminded of the traveling in the 1970s, likewise in Graz.

While it's true that Vienna has fabulous museums, I strongly disagree with the notion that "everything good is dead and under glass." If you go to the TI Office website, you'll see a list of walking tours focusing on different parts of the city and eras of its history. There are many examples of Jugenstil architecture, if that interests you. There are multiple opportunities to hear classical music in churches and other venues; and, of course, there's the Vienna Opera. The Belvedere Palace has an outstanding collection of late 19th - early 20th century art (think Klimt), and its gardens are also very attractive. Vienna has become one of my favorite cities in Europe. We liked it so much the first time, we returned just a year later.

Rosalyn, the differences in each region, city, culture and the individual perceptions of these are what make traveling so facinating, and forums so inadequate. Of course you are absolutely correct. It can be a special thing when a place talks to you and draws you back. So my apologies if my comment was a bit abrupt.

Personally if I were adding more time I would want to add a new location. Vienna is a great choice - like Budapest for James we fell in love with Vienna - she is a beautiful city to just hang out, visit museums, listen to great music, and view some spectacular architecture. We are returning - this time for a week and are looking forward to exploring more of her many gems.

Christi , two places you may want to consider when you return to Vienna - https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirche_am_Steinhof and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klosterneuburg_Monastery