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