Vienna, Budapest, and……

" Smaller and under the radar " charming as well ! Thirty minutes from the tram stop at the Vienna State Opera, the Badner Bahn ( blue and white tram ) will take you to Baden bei Wien

Durnstein is easily accessible from Vienna and is beautiful. Plenty of other little towns in the Wachau like that.

How about charming and quirky Bratislava short trin ride from Vienna.

I always do better with actual dates as some days of the work can be better suited for certain things than others and then there are the special events you might want to see.

I wouldn't land in Vienna and immediately run unless it were to Bratislava. That would be my only excuse to spend time in Bratislava and in this case 1 night.

Then a direct late afternoon train to Budapest. Yes, for my opinion of Bratislava arrival afternoon and the next morning is enough.

Plan Budapest for 5 nights (remember the first night you arrive sort of late). Do a daytrip to Szentendre or Székesfehérvár for the markets.

Then the train to Gyor and the Archabby in Pannonhalma. With luck there is something special at the Archabby. I need dates to look. Spend the night in a converted old convent in Gyor and enjoy a small town Christmas market.

Then the morning train to Vienna. Four nights in Vienna.

I think you have one night left. Read, watch videos, check actual dates and events, then add that day to Budapest or Vienna. I think its a no-brainer, Budapest, as the tourism area is several times larger in Budapest and Budapest is 4.7342 times more beautiful than Vienna. But I might be biased.

Budapest is 4.7342 times more beautiful than Vienna

You failed the math exam. :-)

You are correct. I checked my math and the correct answer is 6.847 times more beautiful. I read that the among the resasons are: Budapest has a rare combo—imperial grandeur and grit, romance and edge, beauty that feels lived-in, not staged. A lot of “prettier” cities can feel like museums. Budapest feels like a love affair.

It isn't a place Rick mentions, but I can personally recommend Graz! It's Austria's second-largest city, a short train ride from Vienna, and really lovely - an underrated gem. I think it's mostly visited by other German speakers; it certainly doesn't feel full of international tourists (probably due to its pretty limited airport). I was there in late spring/early summer so I can't vouch for what it's like in winter, but I had an amazing time there. It's very compact and doable, and their tourism website has lots of useful resources.

It has lots of the general things you expect in a Central European city (gorgeous architecture, a big town square, trams everywhere, beautiful churches, romantic little courtyards, an interesting city museum, a big hill with a funicular, a slightly out-of-town palace with art and a museum, that sort of thing) plus some unique attractions. Novapark is a hotel that has two actual old airliners sticking out of it that they have converted into a bar and a restaurant, and in the middle of the hill is a slide that is very good fun. The Kunsthaus is also a major centre for modern art, though I didn't visit on my trip.

Wherever you go, hope you have a lovely time!

Rick misses a lot of the good stuff.

Graz is an interesting idea, especially if you love train rides and if I am correct about a few things. First, there is a direct train out of Vienna that goes through the Semmering Pass which is maybe the oldest high altitude train ride in Europe(?).

I haven’t been … yet … but it’s on my radar. It looks like a lovely city. I want to do the MAV special trains from Budapest through the pass and on to Graz in July. https://www.mavrailtours.hu/hu/programs/show/386 But looks great for the Christmas season as well: https://www.graztourismus.at/advent/en/christmas-markets
But OBB runs through the pass all day, every day. https://www.byway.travel/journal/semmering-railway It takes about 2.5 hours vs 2 hours the maybe less interesting way.

Then from Graz there is a direct train that does not go through, so you get to see more countryside and less city. It makes 20-something stops along the way reaches Budapest in about 5 hours; but at 13:39 which is reasonable.

The advantage of this is that since you are going round trip air portion instead of doing an open-jaw ticket (into Vienna and out of Budapest), this allows you to return to Vienna after Budapest without back tracking any of the rail tracks. Back to Vienna is direct in 2.6 hours.

So that might look like:

• Depart US. On the plane Night 1 (if I am wrong about this, give it to Graz)
• Arrive Vienna, Night 2
• Vienna, Night 3
• Vienna to Graz by way to the Semmering Pass 08:24 to 11:00, Graz Night 4
• Graz, Night 5
• Graz to Budapest the direct route, not through Vienna, 08:32 to 13:39, Budapest Night 6
• Budapest, Night 7
• Budapest, Night 8
• Budapest, Night 9
• Budapest, Night 10
• Budapest to Vienna, 09:40 to 12:20, Vienna Night 11
• Vienna Night 12
• Vienna Night 13
• Depart home

We just got back from a Vienna/Budapest trip. We spent five nights in Vienna and four in Budapest. I wish we had at least one more night in Budapest if not two.

Why not just pick the two cities as bases and if you want to do a day trip to the countryside from either place for one day, you can? I personally find it exhausting to switch hotel/rentals more than twice (three times tops) in that amount of time, and I assure both these places have more than enough to keep you entertained!

I second the suggestion of Baden bei Wien, not only because of logistic reasons but also historical if you're interested in Austrian royal history, ie that connected to Franz Joseph in Baden bei Wien.

If I answer here maybe someone else gets use out of it.

DATES Your dates are pretty prime for being here for the Christmas holidays. The markets are up and going strong and strong but the heaviest influx of tourists hasn’t yet arrived.

GYÖR: The idea of spending a night in Győr on the way down from Vienna is also top notch. The market is very nice: https://youtube.com/shorts/TCzQmOWj9fg?si=N4tqg7o9QeNTxJr5 Last year it opened on 28 December. This year the corresponding date would be 27 November. If you don’t have reservations in Győr yet, I like the Hotel Klastrom. It’s a nice 3-star hotel with good reviews (besides my own) and a great location. But most fun is that it is a converted 18th century cloister. https://klastrom.hu/.

PANNONHALMA: Do spend time at the Pannonhalma Archabbery while you are in Győr. There is a bus you can take from Győr, but a taxi is probably easier. TexasTravelMom maybe will chime in on the bus information. One goes closer I think and I think one has a bit of a chilly walk. Here is their website https://turizmus.pannonhalmifoapatsag.hu/ . It’s a bit early but watch their website for concerts, you might get lucky with their dates.

SZENTENDRE: A great day trip. But you are spending enough time in Budapest where you might want to make it at least an into the evening trip so you can see the Christmas Market after sunset (that will be about 4pm and truly dark by 4:30pm. Then the world comes alive with lights. https://youtube.com/shorts/XjloLPd8qWE?si=tFSU3yMw_yJQFzkK The early sunset works for the beauty of the region. Its winter so no boat back to Budapest from Szentendre, but the commuter train is good. Here is a not very good trip report on reaching Szentendre: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/hungary/trip-report-day-1-833-szentendre-day-trip

BUDAPEST: You have my list of hotels (at Christmas you can’t beat Andrassy ut because of the lights and atmosphere) and restaurants (make reservations at least a day early) and things to do in the winter in Budapest and there are a lot of good posts on the subject too. Buying train tickets on the app when you are not in Europe continues to be an issue, but you should have no trouble buying them online with a computer. But its way early for that. If you are over 65 then the Győr to Budapest ticket is free except for the seat assignment (about 2 euro).

Winter is theater season, buy early for the best seats. If you want a more Hungarian experience go to the Opera or Operett on a Friday or Saturday evening and get the best seats you can afford (by world standards they are cheap) … weekdays and cheap seats tend to be mostly tourists. Then if you want to kick it up a notch from there, go to a playhouse. A few in town do plays in English or with English subtitles. I mean does it matter to see CATS in English or Hungarian? (but it has English subtitles). But there will be nearly 100% locals in attendance. Some of the playhouses are truly beautiful venues as well. https://lelepo.hu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/vigszinhaz3.jpg

A hint for any performance with subtitles, sit high, sit in a box. Makes it easier to see the subtitles (actually surtitles projected above the proscenium opening).

The Christmas Markets here are very well done. Here is my poop on the subject: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/hungary/budapest-christmas-markets-d26f8ab1-2048-4160-bfb3-bf13b096683e For your visit to Vienna, Emily has taken the time to detail all of the markets there. Look for her post. Excellent.

Remind me a little closer to the dates and I will look for an art showing to attend. We might get lucky.

Also keep an eye on https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/hungary/updated-budapest-events-for-january-june-2026 I will update November and December and add more as dates are set.