Advice for Central Europe!

Paul, congrats on your future travels. try getting a copy of Rick Steves "Europe thru the back door" it has a wealth of info on what youre about to do and will help you get there and back. It will answer some or most of your question too. When asking qeustions try to add some details since we dont know what you all like or dont. also, if there is a budget say so. unless youre a 1%, the it wont matter. But i doubt it. So, if $$ an issue, say so so others with more experience can provide input. also, unless you want to spend "just a few days" in each, i would try to spend more time in one or two cities, but agian, that will be up to you all. just a comment. the more you spend in transit, the less you will be doing. happy trails.

Ray was right, the background is a little bare to be of a lot of help, but here is some input to get the discussion going. Personally I think each of these cities except Dresden requires 2 FULL days to make the stay worth the trip. If you don't have that much time then I would cut a city. Why not Dresden? Never been there so I can't comment. If you have more time than the minimum then Prague tends to be more interesting to a younger crowd and Vienna more popular to an older crowd. I think Budapest is the most universally enjoyed but I am really biased because I happen to love Budapest. For me a decent trip would be 1 Arrive Prague from Dresden 2 See Prague 3 See Prague 4 Train to Vienna 5 See Vienna 6 See Vienna 7 Train to Budapest 8 Budapest 9 Budapest 10 Budapest
11 Return to the States

On our trips to Prague we have stayed at the Hotel Ventana which I think is the best located hotel in Prague for tourism. http://www.ventana-hotel.net/. It ain't cheap but it's a great refuge from the crowds and its worth every penny if you can do it. I have yet to stay at a hotel in Vienna that I enjoyed. To be honest I don't enjoy Vienna in general. They have cleaned up the Astoria in recent years so you might look at that; the location is very good on the Kärntner Straße. The tourist zones in Prague are pretty well defined and compact zones. Vienna is a little broader, but you go to Budapest to S e e t h e C I t y and location can make a huge difference on what you see. On a quick one or two day trip I suggest a hotel on the Danube Embankment as you won't have the time to see much more than the Pest river front and parts of Buda. If you have 3 days then you want to move deeper into the city but you want to be very central. For that I suggest you go to Google Maps, find Andrassy ut, then the Oktogon metro stop on Andrassy ut and then imagine a line down the center of Andrassy ut to the Danube river. Now type in "Hotel" in the search engine and look for a hotel that fits your personality and budget that is within two blocks above the line or three blocks below the line. Two of my favorite are the K&K Opera and the Le Meridian depending on your style and budget.

Another viable option for all three towns is renting an Apartment. I'm not certain about the costs or options in Prague and Vienna but you can get some beautiful apartments in great locations in Budapest for about 60 euro a night. What I like about the apartments is you get to live among the locals which gives you more insight into the town and culture you are visiting. I love Theater and Music and the one downside to your visit is that you will traveling when the great theaters and performance halls are closed. But there are still some great outdoor venues. With dates I might be able to help you if you are interested. I can also help a little more with dates, ages, general interests, travel style, etc.

We've gone to Vienna twice and stayed both times at Pension Pertschy. Great staff, great location.

Hi, Good that you're heading to Central Europe and going to Dresden in addition to the capitals listed. If you had time to include one more city, I would heartily suggest Leipzig, even as a day trip from r/t Dresden, very doable timewise. As for places to stay, do you prefer the large hotels or smaller ones and Pensionen, ie, how much luxury do you require? Both types are available Vienna in the immediate Westbahnhof area, Motel One, Mercure, etc. as well as Pensionen. I stay in the Westbahnhof area, no problems, no disappointments. Well, one disappointment. A small restaurant serving Austrian/Wiener cuisine recommended by a hotel staff member (corner of Kaiserstrasse) closed down...a pity. If you like Schnitzel, Vienna, of course, has a number of restaurants and fast food outlets just for that, depending on the expenses.

Hello Again! Thanks for the thanks for the tips so far. I did not intend to be vague, so here is the situation. We are traveling with friends from this part of Europe, they want us to see a few cities they really enjoy. They are driving us, so we will have about 2 days in each city. Since we will not have much time I am asking for "highlights" to use the limited time we have in a wise way. If you have thoughts as to hotels, food, entertainment (live music, art, local culture, museums), sights all are appreciated. Our friends will likely have advice for all these topics, but I have found that they very much want to do things we express interest in. As to expense, we are defiantly not in the 1%, we are middle-income(ers), but don't mind the occasional splurge either. They will have ideas, but I also like to hear what people enjoyed the most to help me decide. I also really appreciate it when I am given advice as if some thing is overrated or not worth the trouble. I wish I had more time, but alas I do not, and i feel asking them to change their itinerary would come off as being rude.

@ Paul, planning a trip (which is how i read your original post) vs being chauffered (with no say in the schedule) around is a horse of a different color. So the answers will be differnt too. i wont be in those areas until next year so have fun. happy trails.

This past Spring my RS tour took us to Prague & Vienna & Dresden. I hope you at least get to stop in Dresden to see the architecture of the buildings and churches. The riverside has a wonderful walkway and parkway and some cafes, lots of benches for a picnic or to have eat to-go food. In Prague & Vienna people attended various concerts and operas offered at the churches and theatre halls. There were some free concerts, too. I went to the Black Light Theater in Prague and felt my money was well spent. This type of production is only offered in Prague."Ta Fantastika", located at Palac Unitaria, Karlova 8, Performances are 7pm & 930 pm Prague: If you go to the Castle go first thing in morning, it's gets so crowded and becomes difficult to enjoy. The Museum of Communism, and the Jewish Museum which includes the Old Jewish Cemetery are very worthwhile, and balanced out the history perspective for me. For views go up Petrin Hill, or take elevator up to top of the Town Hall building, or climb up 215 steps inside the Church of St.Nicholas bell tower. Take an evening walk. Vienna: Opera House, St.Stephen's Cathedral, and Hofburg Treasury; if time the Schonbrunn Palace.
Sit and enjoy the Viennesse cafe coffee-cake culture. Try to go to an opera or chamber music concert. For two day visits, pick 1-2 major sites and a couple of smaller things to enjoy the culture. Enjoy!