Stop between Budapest and Prague

Vienna seems like the obvious choice, but Bratislava or Brno could also be worth a night if you are looking for something a bit less obvious.

Brno. It's worth the stop.

We loved Brno. It is not touristy at all. There are caves nearby if you have a car. The Moravian Karst.

Another vote for Brno (but I haven't been to Bratislava).

Another vote for Brno, and I’ve been to Bratislava.

What do you like to do at night? Each one of the options is great for a night but you have to expect some differences. For the big city feeling it has to be Vienna for bright lights, late opening museums, crossing the road only when it's green!!. Bratislava and Brno will give you a taste of being in a small city which has a more local (some might say more pleasant feeling) than a big city, smaller centre of town, more local character, cheaper. Just note that it might be convenient to stop in Brno so you'll be in the CZK money. Bratislava and Vienna means you'll need Euros.

For a one night stop, I guess I would choose Cesky Krumlov.

We visited Budapest, Vienna & Prague last year. We have not been to Brno and Bratislava, but can comment on Cesky Krumlov. We spent two nights and absolutely loved it. We took an early am walking tour with Krumlov Tours off-the-beaten path. I would avoid the weekend due to day tripper crowds.

Cesky Krumlov is not really on the way between Prague and Budapest, its a detour.

Are you traveling between the two by car or by train? If train, I would say Brno. If car, I would say take the detour to Cesky Krumlov.

Cesky Krumlov has enough to see and do that it’s worth getting there before nightfall, and/or staying at least part of the next morning, before heading to Prague. Rick Steves has lots of info on this Czech “back door” town.

Unfortunately Cesky Krumlov is no longer a "back door", it's a major tourist attraction. Brno is a back door. You can spend a whole day in Brno and never see a tour group.

Vienna is also a detour .... technically.

Cesky Krumlov is popular, but it makes more sense to me for one night than Vienna. And yes, early morning and late afternoon are best .... hence the night stay.

I like Brno. For an overnight, I think you would enjoy it as it has a nice historic central business district. It is most famous for its incredible Modernist architecture and I highly recommend trying to visit the Tugendhat House by Mies van der Rohe.

We are thinking of a similar route, from Vienna to Prague. We were thinking of staying 1 night in Tabor. Looks like a really lovely town, although not sure how we will arrange travel, since it looks like a 3-hour car ride (cannot do rental since they will charge an enormous fee for dropping off in a different country), or 6-hour train. Could I sweet talk my AirBnB host into driving me, if I offered to buy lunch and gas? LOL

@MorganMurphy,

since it looks like a 3-hour car ride (cannot do rental since they will charge an enormous fee for dropping off in a different country), or 6-hour train.

DB site is showing several train itineraries Vienna to Tabor in just over 4 hours with 1 or 2 connections. All of those 6 hour itineraries (5 3/4 hour really) involve taking the train to Prague then backtracking to Tabor, which contradicts the idea that it is a stopover on the way to Prague.

I would say Bratislava because most of the main sights you can cover in a day and it is in between the two cities. Others on this list suggest Vienna. I love Vienna but my issue is that Vienna deserves a minimum of 2 days to see most of the sights.

For something different we stopped at Lednice Chateau/Gardens for a lunch stop traveling from Prague to Budapest. It is a World Heritage site I think it would be a good overnight stop that is different and fits backdoor. At least 10-15 years ago it was .No one that we saw spoke English so that was fun for us trying to order lunch. That has probably changed now
We stopped at Cesky Krumlov on the way back from Vienna to Prague. It is nice also.
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Hello,
Bratislava had its 'old town' damaged by the Communist era bridge linking the high rises with the old commercial area. The castle you can see from the train is a modern recreation (what a great object to view from the train, and what a disappointment to visit.). So I wold skip that that city. Brno is a good city to visit. Way down on the tourist list. But not too far to the north of Brno is Olomouc. Budapest has been spruced up over the decades and Prague is packed with tourists at the main attractions. Olomouc still has a nice, shall we follow Antiques Roadshow, patina.

A train goes Budapest/Bratislava/Brno/Prague that makes an easy way to get to Brno. Brno's central train station is across the street from where you want to be. If you have a car, hit Olomouc. Then on your way from Olomouc into Prague stop at Kutna Hora and see their world famous...bones (Ossuary).

wayne iNWI

I would do Bratislava. Vienna has way to much to see to just spend a day there. Bratislava you can see most of the sights in a day.

I have not been to Bratislava, but I stayed in Brno for two nights. You will really enjoy it if you like third-wave coffee. Check this website out. In fact, the creator of this website is from Brno:

European Coffee Trip

Bratislava. It is in directly in between and is a cool town.