Prague or Vienna

Check Rome to Rio site for distance and travel time. Lake Como to Vienna or Berlin require near 12 hours of a day. IMO Berlin can provide a sober effect due to the historical sites. I would not return to Berlin for a second visit. Prague sites are located in a denser area with several green spaces. I would love to return. It is slightly more affordable than Berlin. I would suggest east Germany in a separate trip from Lake Como. Frankfurt or Munich to Berlin is less than half the time by public transportation. Consider Dresden. Pick a site east or west of Lake Como in Italy or north to Switzerland for a great trip. We have bicycled multiple routes in these areas in Italy and Switzerland with wonderful memories.

That is a really hard question, both cities are worthwhile and both are amazing. There is so much to see and do in each city and I went to both for a week. I would read guide books on both cities to see what your interested in seeing, look at the online RS scrapbooks of photos of both cities and watch free YouTube videos on both cities. I loved both cities but Vienna is my choice. I loved the cafes, the art museums, the palaces and there is a concert or opera every night of the week to go to. I went to two concerts ( one was an hour the other two hours) and an opera. There are two opera houses to go to, to see an opera. There is a subway and tram system easy to use. I can't wait to go back to Vienna.

You can tour the Schonburnn Palace, the Belvedere Palace to see the Klimt paintings including The Kiss. There is the Hofburg Imperial Palace and the treasury and apartments. I could fill a page with all there is to see and do in Vienna.

But Prague has tons of things to see and do and the city streets are just amazing as is the Charles Bridge and the churches and my favorite museum is the Mucha museum. I am sure there will be plenty of people on the fourm that would say go to Prague and they are not wrong at all.

I would also look into what is the easiest and quickest route to each city and maybe go to the one that is the shortest route to save time as you only have three or four days. I would spend in either city four days if you can.

I am not sure if this was any help, but I will say that you can't go wrong with either city and which ever one you choose, it will be worth it and not a mistake.

I do want to say I think Prague is much more crowded than Vienna. Others on the forum will be able to say better than me.

Have a great trip, pick a city, go and it will be amazing.

I've been to Prague (4 days) and Vienna (2 trips now, total of 10 days) and both are excellent cities to spend time in, 3-4 days in either is a great start. Prague would probably be easy to get to/from Berlin, the only drawback is it's extremely crowded and hectic--but quite stunningly beautiful and full of wonderful things to see. Prague is also cheaper than Vienna as they are not on the euro yet. I seem to prefer Vienna as it feels more peaceful to me, and I particularly love the abundance of Secession-era art in their museums. Maybe start in Berlin, train to Prague then on to Lake Como?

Last month, we were in Vienna for six nights and in Prague for seven, our first time to either. We preferred Prague. Yes, it's very crowded, but so are many other worthwhile cities (the area around the Duomo in Florence comes to mind). We handled that by just spending very little time in the primary tourist areas. We had no trouble filling our week with wonderful things to do. Of course, we also lucked out and had wonderful weather so enjoyed doing many outdoor things. In Vienna, we got off on the wrong foot with our first full day having a high of 49 degrees and a cold wind blowing. (It later turned beautiful there as well.) If you go to Prague, don't miss the audio tour of the Lobkowicz palace. I also like someone's suggestion of Dresden - another beautiful city.

I think it comes down to what you want to do and how you want to get there.

If you want to train from Berlin someplace, Prague would be the limit (actually beyond the limit) to my enjoyment on a train (something like 4.5 hours).

If you opted to fly a discount carrier from Berlin, my choice would be Budapest. Oooops, you didn’t list Budapest; my third choice would be Prague (Budapest would be first and second choice - I'm biased). I am just not a big Vienna fan but the majority who go do enjoy it.

If you do choose Vienna I can’t imagine the 8-hour train time so back to flying. There are many discount airlines making the run. All under $100 plus bags and all non-stop.

From either of the three there are discount carriers to Milan. All for under $100 and all direct.

Between the three my sort of defective interpretation is:
Prague: younger crowd, cheap beer, very attractive back drop, more pick pockets, more tourists crammed together, older architecture, good music and theater.

Vienna: older crowd, a little more refined, more expensive shopping, way too many museums and associated dead stuff under glass, good music in less than culturally significant company, frustratingly close to Budapest

Budapest: Nirvana. Nuff said.

I just returned from a trip: Luzern, Florence, Civitella d' Angliano (close to Civita and Orvieto), Prague, Brno, Vienna, Munich. Yes, there are crowds in Prague (for obvious reasons). It seems to me that Florence has even bigger crowds. It's easy to avoid them. Crowds are not all over the city. Visit crowded areas early morning (7 am). I did it and had even Charles Bridge all for myself (with the exception of few wedding parties). Prague unlike Vienna has two medieval neighborhoods and gorgeous view across the river toward the castle. If you are into ambience of the city then Prague, if you are into museums - Vienna.

These replies are of very high quality, so I have little to add. I wish I had visited Prague sooner in my European travels. While transit in Czech Republic isn't always easy, there are also daytrips available. Because it was very high on my personal wish list, we took a car service to and from Cesky Krumlov on one day. I do not recommend that to someone who doesn't have a special reason to go there, as I did, to see the Baroque Theater.

You can't allocate too much time to Berlin. It's a great destination. There is an international garden show there in 2017, but you're going next year.

Both are excellent choices with enough to fill 3-4 days. I'd say that Prague feels very "eastern European" and Vienna much more "western European" - much of it was built to model/rival Paris.

From Vienna, you can fly Austrian to Milan, from Prague you have two choices, Easy Jet and Czech Air. From Berlin, it's about 4.5 hours by train to Prague; about twice that to Vienna.

We visited Prague (3 days) and Vienna (6 days) last fall. Vienna was okay and I didn't hate it but I wouldn't return. I loved Prague and would definitely go again.

Of the two, I prefer Vienna. There are the museums and sights. There is the Schoenbrun Palace. There are the heurigeren, the wine bars on the edge of town. There is so much to do, and yet it is a huge city.

You don't mention the total time frame for the trip.

You have an easy route to choose from if travelling by train ...
Berlin >> Dresden >> Prague >> Vienna >> Salzburg >> Innsbruck >> Verona >> Milan >> Lake Como

The more time you have to include other destinations along the route means that it may be less necessary to take any internal European flights.

Traveling between cities is not an issue. We'll be flying from either Vienna or Prague to Berlin and then flying from Berlin to Milan. So traveling is not an issue I'm just really interested in which city folks have enjoyed more. I am big into history and my wife is more into recent history hence the trip to Berlin. I would also like to know if anyone has looked into anything having to do with Mozart in Vienna as that would be a point of interest for me.

Since you put Berlin in the category of recent history, I am guessing you mean 20th century. Prague has a wonderfully preserved old Jewish district. I have heard that Hitler saved it so he could create a museum for an extinct race. The tourist districts are mostly wonderfully preserved medieval architecture. Here you will find the oldest still functioning synagogue in the world and, for me at least, one of the most moving synagogues. What I found lacking was a lot of historical context and story. With some exceptions as compared to Vienna or Budapest its more of a see it and check it off the list sort of place. But stunning just the same; and well worth the time to see it.

Vienna is famous for its Empire period architecture. The Hapsburgs were wealthy enough to tear all the old stuff down and replace it. Most of what tourists see is 1800 till the first world war; but there are a few notable examples of other earlier works and secession, deco, etc. The birth place of Secession style, the "Secession Building" is really worth the time. Vienna for me is a little too reconstructed so it’s difficult to feel the mood. If you love museums then this is the place to go. As for Mozart, there will be one on every street corner selling tickets to tourist concerts. If that isnt enough there are cardboard cut outs of Mozart selling chocolates all over town. I let one of the Mozart's hawking tickets tell me about the concert, then I said no thank you. To which he began cussing me out for wasting his time. The major music venues are excellent, but the tourists outnumber the locals in the performances and that took a little tiny bit of an edge off it for me. The synagogue we visited in Vienna was guarded by the police to prevent violence. While disappointing, we have seen the same in Paris. It’s just the world we live in. Oh, and the Lipizzaner horses are well worth an afternoon.

Budapest, not on your list, probably looks a lot like what much of Berlin looked like before it was flattened in WWII. The German occupation and later the communist occupation and the revolution of 1956 left scars still visible today. It’s not uncommon at all to see bullet holes in the plaster and brick work of buildings. The Jewish deportation ghetto still stands very much like it did in 1944/45 and underfoot you will find engraved stones marking the last know location of Jews that were killed in Budapest or sent to the extermination camps. The location on the waterfront where mass executions took place is memorialized. German artillery locations are also preserved in Buda. You can drive a Russian tank or pray in the largest Synagogue in Europe. The history is very tactile and the stories are fresh and available. There are zones where more tourists go, but there is no “tourist district” or “old town”, it’s pretty much the entire city you go to explore. There are still music and theater venues where the tourist is the minority in the audience and for me that makes me feel like I am experiencing more than the music.

If Berlin is an onward destination then I would definitely choose Prague, and take the train between the two. You have 7 trains per day, taking 4hr 25min.

"...cussing me out for wasting his time." That is the price for being polite in hearing this guy out. Now his reaction....I wish that I had encountered that.

@ Joe....Your wife wants to go to Berlin, you are going to Berlin. Given the choice of Vienna or Prague, I recommend Vienna only if you are really into the Habsburg history, and the history of Central Europe. Keep in mind that for ca 700 years the Habsburgs ruling from Vienna played a pivotal role, regardless of their military defeats or victories, in the Great Power politics of Europe until the end of WW1. If not this deep interest in Habsburg history, then go to Prague.

We'll be flying from either Vienna or Prague to Berlin and then flying
from Berlin to Milan. So traveling is not an issue I'm just really
interested in which city folks have enjoyed more. I am big into
history and my wife is more into recent history hence the trip to
Berlin.

I'm into architecture and history. Architecturally Prague is a bit more pleasant since everything is more vibrant and expressive... and you can't beat the view from the Charles bridge towards the Lesser Side. But in terms of historical depth Prague is a Potemkin village. First the Germans killed the Jews, then the Czechs killed the Germans, then the Commies killed the traditions, and mass tourism forced the last remaining locals out of the centre. I like to go to Prague to take pictures, but I prefer the atmosphere of Vienna. Centuries- old coffee houses, traditional shops who already supplied to the Imperial court, old-fashioned manners and traditions, food from all corners of the former empire, locals who actually live in the old town etc... it all feels much more like a real city and not like a tourist trap.
And the architecture can compete with Prague. Vienna is just a bit more subtle and restraint, with reduced colors.

"I'm just really interested in which city folks have enjoyed more"

As you can see, there is no clear "winner." I always say (so I'll say it again) that while Vienna, Prague, and Budapest are spoken of as triplets, they are as different as apples, oranges, and bananas. Everyone will have different reactions to each, and a reaction to one in no way predicts reactions to the others. The same way that how you feel about New York in no way predicts how you will feel about New Orleans or San Francisco - they're just too different.

Some data points: I loved Prague but exhausted the "sights" after a few days (although I didn't mind hanging out there), really liked Budapest but kept having weird experiences there, and didn't care for Vienna (lots to see and do, but I didn't enjoy the atmosphere). My friend loved Prague and Vienna, and didn't like Budapest (found it too run down, and this was just 3 years ago). My sister loved Prague, didn't like Budapest because she was expecting it to be like Prague and it wasn't (object lesson there), and positively loathed Vienna (everyone was rude to her, and she couldn't wait to leave).

So, read about each of them, and watch videos (Rick's are here, although his Budapest and Vienna shows are getting old: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/tv-show). Then, pick one, and realize you'll just have to go back to the others.

I agree that of the four, Berlin is my absolute favorite. You simply can't spend too much time there. Like New York, there's always more to see and do. And if you are into 20th century history, you'll be in heaven. If you need a break, I highly recommend the aquarium; the zoo is more famous, but I enjoyed the aquarium even more.

We did Vienna,Prague and Berlin in 2015. Without a doubt, I would say Prague.

I recommend you both of them. You can travel from Berlin to Prague and then to Vienna. There is one more place on this trail worth to stop there - it is Brno
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brno
You can also take into consideration other destinations closer to Berlin as my city - Szczecin, or Poznań, or both of them as then you will have more time to spend in these places, not in trains :)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Szczecin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pozna%C5%84
You can check it on
http://rozklad-pkp.pl/en
https://www.bahn.com/en/view/index.shtml

"You simply can't spend too much time there" (Berlin)....how true. I booked 14 nights at the Pension this time in June. Lots to do and see in both west and east. There are also sentimental reasons for always going back since I went there (west Berlin) as a definite part of my first trip over in 1971.