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Milan, Copenhagen or Budapest for 2 nights in May?

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Hi all, I wonder which of these locations can work for just 2 nights or 3 days in total?
I'll be flying from Sofia so not much time wasted on flights. Those 3 destinations are the cheapest ones from Sofia airport for those days so I was like why not do a quick trip to a city I've never been to. :)

The total amount of days I'll have there would be 2 full days. I'll fly in on May 24th in the morning to either Bergamo, Copenhagen or Budapest airport and I'm flying back on the evening of the 26th.

I'm generally a quick traveler. I rarely ever visit museums and prefer to just walk around looking at classical or modern architecture and try to taste some local food, probably spend 30 min in a café people-watching. I've became really good at getting a quick taste for places. I just want to know which of these locations would be the easiest to manage for such a small time?

  • Would 2 nights be enough to see Copenhagen and take a quick day tour to Malmo or even Lund?
  • What about Bergamo and Milan - should I skip one of them? Or maybe base myself in Bergamo as there's where the airport low cost airlines use and visit lake Como or another city instead of Milan like Piacenza, Cremona, or even Verona? On many other forums people suggest Verona is safer and more interesting to visit than Milan.
  • For Budapest I think the time would be enough, but I'll probably try to do a very brief trip to Bratislava to buy some Slovak food and probably have lunch there as I've lived there and miss the city and the food. :)

All of those trips will be my first to those places. If I go there my trip to Bratislava will be real quick - go there, shop/have lunch and see some locations in the city I miss and go back asap to Budapest. I've never been to Scandinavia or any Mediterranean country so although I miss Central Europe maybe I should postpone Budapest for another time?

Posted by
870 posts

I don't know about the side trip to Malmo, but Copenhagen is fairly compact and a good choice for late May. The harbor tour is very interesting. Tivoli is a lot of fun even if you don't want to ride the rides (but do ride the old wooden, enclosed "rollercoaster" because it's really fun!). Christiania isn't really my thing, but it's a popular place. Expensive, especially compared to Budapest but probably better for such a short visit.

Posted by
2681 posts

Copenhagen is the perfect fit for how you like to experience cities. With just 2 nights, you’ll want to stay in Copenhagen.

Posted by
10689 posts

Copenhagen or Budapest. Either one will richly repay a quick May visit.

Copenhagen is obviously way more - I mean way more - expensive.

Posted by
8 posts

^Thanks for mentioning this. Perhaps I should've mentioned that my car had a little accident recently and the repair might be costly so for May I'm looking at the most budget-friendly kind of trip, if possible to a city/country I've never been to (I've been to Hungary just not Budapest).

When I looked at hotel prices I feel like visiting Copenhagen in September or October might be more affordable and I'll be able to spend more then. The best thing about choosing Copenhagen or Budapest is they're near national borders so I can visit other countries I'm interested in like Sweden and Slovakia as well. Bergamo is close to Switzerland but I'm not interested in it yet and not into mountains anyway. On the other hand I feel I'd rather visit a country I've never been to and I've already been in Hungary so I'm thinking more of deciding between Italy vs Copenhagen but Italy seems more affordable.

Note that this will be more of a probing trip whether I'll like the vibe of the country/city. A scoop of ice cream instead of a full course so to say. :) I'll do more extensive and lax trips later if I feel I clicked with the location.

I wonder why no one mentions Italy, is that too short of a time to even scratch the surface there & get a general feel at least for a region?

Supposedly the train from Bergamo to Verona is just 2 hours or slightly less (and that includes the change) and the fare is affordable. It might be enough for a quick walk in the old town and a quirk slice of pizza. Or perhaps just do Bergamo and Brescia old towns and that will suffice as an intro to Italy?

Posted by
22083 posts

I cant tell you which would be best as that would require a lot more experience with two out of the three (I am not as experienced as a lot of these folks). I can tell you if Budapest would be worth the trip; easy, yes.

But first Bratislava. Its 2.5 hours by train, each way. Plus time to the station and back plus your lunch time. So 7.5 hours (at least)? …. That’s a day which means now you have a day in Budapest. Maybe you fly into Vienna and go to Bratislava and then Budapest. That saves 1.5 to 2 hours of traveling.

Anyway, if you do come, and if it’s in the Budget, stay at the Intercontinental. Just the best place I think for a short stay. The best for a tight budget would be Medosz Hotel Budapest or if that is booked look at Ibis Budapest Heroes Square (both near Andrassy ut and the M1 Metro so very convenient). Do get a 72-hour TravelCard and do let us know that this was your decision, and I will send you all sorts of ideas.

Funny thing is I have been working on the same sort of project as you have been. From Vienna and returning to Budapest. Maybe 2 or 3 day plus the travel days. My shortlist includes Nessebar and would have included Sofia but I have a friend coming along and she just wouldn’t see in Sofia what I see in Sofia. My others on the short list are Corfu, Krakow and Strbske Pleso.

Posted by
10689 posts

If you are just going for two nights, you don't have time to go to "neighboring countries". And if budget is an issue, your decision is made: Budapest.

Posted by
8 posts

Thanks, I found a good offer for flights to/from Bari, and I booked it after I saw hotel and food there are cheaper than in Milan and even Bergamo. I had to book with different low cost airlines but worth it to go to the South before the real summer heat arrives.

I'll also be able to see more of Bari and around, especially since now I'm flying on the evening of the May 23rd instead of noon the 24th, so I'll get one full extra day so I could do day trips to 2 other places like Alberobello, Locorotondo, Polignano a Mare or Monopoli (which ones would you suggest to visit and which ones to skip?).

I realized I feel better visiting sea and coastal cities after thinking about my last trips. The sea was the highlight of my trips to Thessaloniki and Athens. Shoot, the best highlights of my trips in Central Europe were both to sea-like lakes: Neusiedl and Balaton, so I'll try to visit Balaton again in the fall if I go to Budapest then. I've never seen other lakes that are so sea-like anywhere else.

Posted by
8 posts

Yes, Balaton is amazing. If I ever consider relocating to Central Europe again I'll try to look for areas that aren't too far from it and make sure to visit it as often as possible. I instantly felt the same joy I feel when I'm by the sea there, maybe I'll do a Budapest + Balaton trip in the summer or fall and I'll allocate 5 to 7 nights so I can also revisit my drab but friendly ex home city Bratislava. :)

Posted by
22083 posts

Both Bratislava and Balaton are about 2 hours on the train from Budapest.

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