Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, Budapest

Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, Budapest
Well since you didnt put any limits on it ... and I will assume April through October sometime.

• 1 Arrive Prague early afternoon.
• 2/3. Prague
• Morning train to Vienna
• 5/6/7. Vienna
• Morning Train to Salzburg
• 9/10. Salzburg
• 11 Morning Train to Budapest
• 12/13/14 Budapest
• 15 Home

I think those are sort of the minimums for general interest travel. Do a lot of research and watch a lot of videos (that really works for me), and you might want to add a day (if you have the time) to one or more of the stops. Or you mght need to cut a day if you dont have this much time (maybe get an early train to Salzburg and then cut a day from Salzburg.)

Salzburg is your stretch. If short on time, without Salzburg you have more options like day trips from Vienna and Budapest or stops along the way like Cesky Krumlov and Gyor/Pannonhalma Archabbery. But if you have more time than this, think about a night in Hallstatt on the way to Salzburg.

I think Prague and Vienna have by far the most to offer among these cities. I would want two days apiece in Salzburg and Budapest, with whatever remaining time split evenly between Prague and Vienna. Just another POV. Certainly for museums, concerts and restaurants this division of time would seem optimum to me. OTOH, if your primary interest is thermal baths, you'd want to maximize your time in Budapest.

I guess it really does come down to each person's interests, because to me, two days in Budapest is laughably short. But I love Cold War history, Art Nouveau architecture and good food at good prices.

One thing I'll say about Vienna: If you like art, you should consider just moving to the city.

Acraven, you know my preference, but I tried to be rational and give a fairly generalized answer that most will be happy with. It's all you can honestly do without any particulars to work with. And you are correct, if art and especially if dead stuff under glass is the focus of your tourism, just move to Vienna.

If time were or no issue:
Prague 3 full days
Ceksky Krumlov 2 full days
Vienna 4 full days
Salzburg 3 full days
Eger 3 full days
Budapest 5 full days
Gyor/Pannonhalma 2 full days
Szentendre 1 full day

In deciding, here is some poop.
Budapest vs Vienna. This one is sort of full of stereotypes … and a lot of truth. There is bias in it, but that’s to be expected. https://www.offbeatbudapest.com/features/vienna-vs-budapest/

Another take on it. Bias tends to be a bit in the opposite direction: https://www.enjoytravel.com/en/travel-news/places-to-visit/budapest-vs-vienna-how-to-choose

Here is one on Vienna vs Prague. https://www.enjoytravel.com/us/travel-news/places-to-visit/vienna-vs-prague-how-to-choose-between-the-two

On a purely functional basis, the area most frequented by tourists in both Prague and in Vienna is about 1.5 square miles. That doesn’t mean there isn’t great stuff outside that limit, but tourist just don’t go looking for it and it’s not something you will do on a 3 day visit. In Budapest the area is closer to 10 square miles. So logistically you will have more travel time. Fortunately the trams connect just about everything within those 10 square miles and the points in between the top tourist sights are as interesting (to me at least) as the tourist sights themselves; so the distance is a plus. But this is why if you think you can see the top stuff in Vienna or Prague in 3 days, count on 4 days to do the same sort of coverage in Budapest.

But we aren’t all generic tourists. We all like different things. Those that stand in awe of the imperialistic colonial splendor of Vienna will see Budapest as a bit gritty. Those that see Budapest alive and vibrant will see Vienna as pretentious. So its hard to say how long you should stay in either. Prague? Ehhhhh, the beer is good.

Thank you all for your suggestions

Imo Vienna is pretty boring compared to Prague and Budapest, if you have time you can take a hydrofoil from Vienna to Bratislava, makes for a nice day trip but I wouldn’t spend a night there.

We did your itinerary as part of a larger trip in 2017 and the trains are frequent and plentiful between all those cities. Of them all we liked Budapest the best followed by Prague