Short Christmas trip to Europe--suggestions for location

What a great opportunity for family travel! Of the destinations you list I rank( my personal preferences) them as:
1. Prague, beautiful, historic
city. Stay in a hotel in Old Town. My favorite of the three you mentioned.
2. Vienna, lots to see. Popular with fans of classical music .
3. Germany, look at Berlin and Bavaria. Otherwise, not my favorite of the three you list. Traveling at Christmastime presents some problems which you can deal with primarily by getting dining reservations so do your research and make reservations now. Keep in mind that dinner is later in Europe than the USA. Perhaps some posters more familiar with Germany will add more information especially with some restaurant names in these three places.

This maybe an out of the box idea, but I found Stockholm to be really charming during the Christmas time, especially the narrow lanes of Gamla Stan with its Christmas market and cozy cafes with their windows fogged up. Perfect for a short city break! I may be in the minority but I like Stockholm better in the winter than the summer. I do not find Sweden any more expensive than the US, in fact I think the cost of living is lower than the US average.

If you are looking for even more budget friendly suggestions I think Krakow in Christmas time is also magical, with it's medieval old town and huge Christmas market on the main square (recently ranked the best Europe). https://notesfrompoland.com/2023/11/13/krakows-christmas-market-ranked-as-best-in-europe/

What about combining Dresden and Prague? We did that one year in late January and loved it.

When our son finished his study abroad in Denmark, our daughter flew over and they spent 2 weeks traveling around over Christmas. They went to Berlin, Stockholm, and Iceland. I did their trip planning and found some great budget lodgings for those.

By the time this trip actually happens, your daughter may be in great need of sunshine. I'd recommend Seville/Cordoba/Granada. Or Barcelona/Valencia.

Except for Bavaria (haven't been there recently) I really liked all the places suggested by others--and would mention the incredible amount of art in Vienna--but I can't set the idea of winter weather aside. I hate cold and I hate short days.

I would take a look at where the miles can get you and work from there. Before I paid a change fee, I'd look at sending your daughter back to wherever her return ticket departs from. Any money you can save on the airfares can go to experiences (and food). With four, I would skip the hotel and find an apartment rental, which will save you even more money. Vienna is very expensive. How about Budapest? Search this site for Hungary to find Mr. E's profile for links to great information about this affordable city. I agree that Krakow is a great city with lots to see and do. We had a great apartment there, right between the city center and the old Jewish quarter. For train connections, see seat61.com.

Oh what a lovely, magical opportunity! The Christmas lover in me really hopes you'll pop back in first to tell us where you decide, and then again after the trip to tell us all about it!

With Christmas in the middle of the week and making it a somewhat difficult week to get around in this year (as the 24, 25, & 26th are all holidays) you need to focus on major cities and ones that have not already been booked up for that time. Yes, places like Nuremberg and Paris are already booked, and at maximum hotel rates.

Prague would be good; it's a beautiful city, even in the snow. But you'll need to do some research on what's going to be open in the way of hotels and restaurants at a minimum. If you want a very nice place in a great location I recommend Boutique Hotel Domus Balthazar.

You may also want to look at Wurzburg, which is a great location for some of the best Christmas markets and scenery Bavaria has to offer. You can easily take day trips from there by train to Nuremberg, Bamberg, Bayreuth, etc. Plus it's also a city with a better than average market and scenery in it's own right, and it's big enough to have the rooms available. Good public transport inside the city also.

For more of a small town vibe with nice markets fly into Frankfurt and then stay an hour south in Neustadt (Weinstrasse). That would give you Heidelberg, Speyer, Landau, and some other big cities less than an hour away by train, but also lots of small, really pretty, old towns with smaller markets like Bad Durkheim, Freisheim, Annweiler, Deidesheim, etc. which are crowded in the summer with tourist hitting the wineries, but not so busy in winter. The only problem is that they will be very limited in what's open.

One thing you might consider, that's staying in a spa. Places like Bad Homberg or Baden-Baden. Those are "health" resorts and are often open when other places are not. https://www.kur-royal.de/en

Well these sorts of questions bring out a list of the favorites of the memembers. So, I wont be shy.

There are non-stop discount airline flights starting at about $50 from Edinburgh and Glascow to Budapest.

Budapest has one of the best Christmas Markets in Europe every year: https://welovebudapest.com/en/article/2023/12/07/advent-basilica-is-announced-europe-s-best-christmas-fair-for-the-4th-time/
https://youtu.be/A2aSB25SBdg?si=YRpkTwdzfAGKeo5t

I‘m voting for Vienna, too.
I liked it so much. Historic town, so nice and interesting.

laratortoise,
Another vote for Vienna. Some of my favorite memories are of Vienna.

As Billy Joel says, When will you realize Vienna waits for you?

Thank you all for your thoughts! I have spent some time learning about Christmas markets, and I think for our family this is one afternoon, probably. We are not shoppers in any way, although we do love food. Nor are we super into big crowds. With that in mind...trying to narrow it down more. I think our ideal trip would involve:

--Magical walks down beautiful snowy (I can hope) streets
--Live music
--Great art
--Great food, of course....of note, I am allergic to mammal meat due to a condition called alpha gal and must be careful
--Spooky history or anything "dark academia"

I like the "look" of Prague better than the "look" of Vienna, but I like them both.

If focusing on those two cities, any guidance on neighborhoods to stay in? Airbnbs tend to make more sense with 4, but I am a little tired of the airbnb "thing" and what it does to places.

In summer 2023 I stayed at Hotel Anna in Prague 2 and loved the location. Very central and close to Old Town, and lots of tram connections. Old Town is just too crowded for me … but easily reached when wanted.

Based on your last post I say Vienna or Budapest.

I love this guys videos. Vienna: https://youtu.be/HhuP2_Cf-54?si=3ZdeQ9X6pp4pnlp0 (love this guy’s videos) Budapest: https://youtu.be/1nd5AtZIrTk?feature=shared (love this guy’s videos) https://youtu.be/0nd9DuDGCz0?si=aa0c19KaJHEtabkX (Anthony Bourdain on Budapest)
-- Crowds: The most crowded will be Prague. Prague is famous for its “tourist density”. The least crowded will be Budapest.

-- Christmas Markets: You said you weren’t into shopping, but these when done well are about the atmosphere they create. Budapest frequently gets awards for the best in Europe. The light shows fall under your art category. I put Vienna second and Prague third. https://youtu.be/A2aSB25SBdg?si=WOc1fnzGgrhIm7Fw

--Magical walks down beautiful snowy (I can hope) streets: Odds of snow are low in all locations but, so I call it a tie. But if the definition were just the evening walks with the light’s atmosphere and period setting, I give it to Budapest because of quality and quantity. https://1drv.ms/i/s!Ai7Zk-szxfTJi7ZGazeBRMx3zHno9A?e=9OBzCq (down the street from my home) Then Vienna and last Prague cause of limited quantity.

--Live music: Classical, jazz and local like Gypsy and Klezmer. Concert and dinner and just random in the environment I say Vienna and Budapest tied for first. I would give Budapest a slight edge but only because I a more familiar with where to find it. I will assume that if I knew as much about Vienna I could do the same there. Music just not the same cultural importance in Prague.

--Great art: Hard to beat the endless museums in Vienna, so first, Budapest second, Prague third.
Art in the form of architecture, Budapest first due to the sheer volume of magnificent architecture https://youtu.be/BYF-0Nn0Cj8?si=OPyqYxEXacFPrh7b and https://youtu.be/rZVzMOFjoDk?si=Uksiy0ev9EwiV-JO , Vienna second due to the quantity of restored architecture and then Prague. But Prague does have the advantage of older architecture.

--Great food, of course....of note, I am allergic to mammal meat: Budapest first. And lots of duck and goose for your palate. Then Vienna close behind and Prague at third.

--Spooky history or anything "dark academia": I will call it a tie between Prague and Budapest. Here it’s going to be about resources more than anything else. https://youtu.be/17ollavKuNM?si=4-XXlz-jzzzQJZ-D (Anthony Bourdain’s full show on Budapest. You might find some of the dark academia …. If communism fits the category)

-- Cost: Austria is among the most expensive countries in the EU. Hungary is among the least expensive and the Czech Republic falls in the middle.

-- Atmosphere: No rating, just my take on them. Prague’s tourist zone is almost exactly the same size as Disneyland (Disneyland, not the larger DisneyWorld). Tourism is thick because of the limited size. Prague has the cutest medieval district

Vienna is grand and the tourist zone is twice the size of Prague. It is the best restored of the three, but note that a large percentage of the restoration is government buildings or other buildings that no longer serve their original intended purpose, and its so clean and polished that there’s a museum feeling about everything. Vienna has zones where if you were in a carriage you would think you were in 1890 again.

Budapest is the largest of the cities and the tourism zone is more than 5 times the size of Prague. Tourism isn’t very “thick” except in a few well-defined areas. The architecture isnt restored to the extent that it is in Vienna or Prague but the architecture for the most part still serves the purpose for what it was constructed for and it remains a bit gritty in places, so it’s “more real”. Budapest is the most beautiful capital city in Europe (period). I guess you could argue it’s tied with Paris.

If you are looking for "magical walks down beautiful snowy streets" you need to look further north than Prague and Vienna. Stockholm was mentioned earlier in the thread and I agree that it can be very beautiful in december with snow and Christmas decorations. There is great food and great art and no shortage of live music before Christmas. And if you're looking for spooky history: https://www.stockholmghostwalk.com

But I would also like to add Tallinn to the thread. Beautiful old town centre well worth a visit. And, Tallinn has the advantage of a large orthodox population that celebrate Christmas in January, meaning more shops and restaurants that are open on the 24th and 25th.

We are not shoppers in any way, although we do love food. Nor are we super into big crowds.

We were in Vienna, Salzburg and Ljubljana last December. We did get a little snow in Vienna. Vienna was very crowded, especially the Christmas markets. The food was OK, typical Christmas market food.

Of the three, Ljubljana was the least crowded. It was also smaller of course. There's enough to do for 3 or so days. Add a day trip and you've got a week's worth. If you're up for a fun adventure you could stay at the Celica hostel. It's a former prison and you stay in repurposed jail cells. There's lots of young people there and your daughter and son would have a great time at the nightly gatherings. It's a 15-20 minute walk to the historic center.

Badger is correct. I have been in Budapest maybe 9 times in December and had snow before Christmas just once. On Christmas day, never. At best it snows here 4 times in a Winter. Last winter twice and neither time was more than 6" and neither time stayed on the ground for more than 2 days. We did have a nice ice storm last year near Christmas. That was interesting. And I have seen the river freeze exactly once in all of those visits and I think that was February.

Just not as cold here as its reputation. And you mentioned kids as in multiple kids ..... i put a list of kid things on this post: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/where-to-travel-with-3-kids

I am still working on spooky and dark.

• There are a number of ghost tours. Then there is the Labyrinth tour https://labirintus.eu/en/barlang/ and the
• Hospital in the Rock https://www.sziklakorhaz.eu/en and the
• F4 Object but unfortunately there are no tours https://youtu.be/7lESb8grSvE?si=hUz-NgiQAKiYvflV But if that lights your fire, I own a smaller version that you are free to visit.
• Then there is this bunker tour, but they only accept Hungarian speakers the last time i checked. https://www.budapestscenes.com/bunker-tour/ Maybe if I got you a translator to hold your hand they would make an exception. https://www.budapestscenes.com/bunker-tour/

but I am a little tired of the airbnb "thing" and what it does to
places.

In Vienna your choices for Airbnb will be limited. Its a tad complicated but the intent is to limit the renting of flats to 90 days a year and apparently the advertising of the renting of a flat to 90 days a year. That will put them out of business. There are exception licenses but I have no idea how many have been or will be given out. I would be a bit careful renting an Airbnb in Vienna. There is more here if you are a legal scholar. https://www.fwp.at/en/news/blog/new-rules-for-short-term-rentals-from-july-2024-in-vienna-what-the-city-is-planning-to-do-about-platforms-such-as-airbnb-co#:~:text=With%20the%20comprehensive%20amendment%20to,living%20space%20via%20Airbnb%20%26%20Co.

Prague has a similar law and in 2025 they are going to make it more restrictive.

Right now, in Budapest, the short-term rental market is tightly regulated for quality (inspections and star ratings) and in some districts they are limited. Always look for a license number in the listing.

Do know that most of Eastern Europe has a very, very high home ownership rate (in most of Eastern Europe more than 90% of the home/flats are owned by one of those living in the home/flat) so high rental prices only serve to enrich the locals. Why is it different in Eastern Europe; cause they were given the homes that they were living in when the commies moved out. Prague and Budapest are in Eastern Europe Vienna not.

Meanwhile, Stockholm can look like this in the winter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X032Z-SmWNY Or: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3BSaDnCZzI Or: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laygfR2v82A

Badger, looks beautiful.

Yep. Snow on cobblestones. What could go wrong?

I am sure that somewhere above are dates for the travel, but I missed it. So, at random ....

Scotland to Budapest for not less than 3 nights.
Early morning train to Gyor and visit the Archabbey and if the timing is right the christmas market in Gyor.
Train on to Vienna for not less than 3 more nights.

Less time for the trip?
5 nights? Skip Gyor
4 nights or less? Spend it all in Budapest with maybe a day trip to Szentendre.

More time for the trip?
Add one night first to Budapest then to Vienna.

The deal is that Budapest and Vienna are so close and so different that its a shame not to try and take them both in. Gyor offers a "town" experience in the middle of two great cities.

Badger, looks beautiful.

It is!

Yep. Snow on cobblestones. What could go wrong?

I really can't see why anything would go wrong.