Hello from Chicago
I'm going to Vienna for 5 days in June 2018. 24-1st July
I know there is so much to see so I wanted to get your opinion
I am torn between going to Budapest and spending the night for 1 1/2 days there OR going to Melk to see monastery and then a cruise to Krems
Its just myself and my wife as kids will be in summer camp
Thank you
James
I did both of these trips out of Vienna a few years ago and really enjoyed Melk and the cruise on the Danube to Krems. It was just so beautiful and relaxing. As for Budapest, I only went for the day and it was quite rushed. Maybe spending a night as you propose would have been a better plan, but for just the day, I didn't care for it so much.
The abbey and the grounds at Melk are quite beautiful and the scenery along the Danube to Krems is fantastic!
I’ve done the Melk Abbey-Krems via the Danube trip, and while it was an interesting day it in no way compares to the splendor that is Budapest. You won’t be sorry if you spend 1.5 days there-but I’ll bet you’ll be sorry you didn’t stay longer. I’m biased—just booked my 4th trip to Budapest in as many years😉
James,
I wonder if we live in the same neighborhood.
I'd go with Melk for a simple reason: It's good to mix in smaller towns with big cities on a trip overseas.
If you're open to a suggestion, I have one: Consider Budapest and Melk, skipping Vienna. I visited both Budapest and Vienna on a trip to Central Europe two years ago. And while I liked Vienna, I adored Budapest. It has as much culture as Vienna, yet the pace of life isn't as crazy and the people struck me as friendlier. Of course, if your heart is set on Vienna, you cannot go wrong with that fine city.
If you do choose Budapest, one more suggestion. Visit Pecs in southern Hungary. It might be the best small town I have visited in 13 trips to Europe. Here is my review: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/pecs-hungary
Wear Chicago Bulls gear. Some Europeans still remember and revere Michael Jordan.
Cheers.
Thank you Margaret and Christa
So little time and so much to see.
I think I may perhaps choose to go to Budapest simply on the Parliament building itself.
I may incorporate a visit to Bratislava either on the way there or back to Vienna.
Allowing two full days for both Budapest and short visit to Bratislava may work.
I know doing both trips would hurt my ability to enjoy Vienna so I'm just going to have to pick!
I think you are cheating yourself. Budapest is great, but so is Vienna. I would stay in Vienna, do it up right. Do the Melk-Krems trip - that is a solid day. There are wonderful museums. There are the heurigern (the wine pubs) which we went to in 2011, and were some of our favorite memories of Vienna - sitting in these outdoor wine bars, playing 7-up (card game), drinking a little, just taking it in. There is the Schoenbrun Palace - you can choose to tour the palace, or just the grounds. If you do 2 days in Budapest, that leaves you 1 day for Vienna. That is not enough. 5 days is a blink of an eye. If you want to do anything, do a day trip to Salzburg, or better yet, add 4 days to your trip and do Budapest. 5 days is not enough for 2 of the great world cities.
Thank you Paul and others
Yes I want to absolutely leave enough time for Vienna. My plan is to give Vienna 3-4 full days.
The other day or 1 1/2 days I thought we could explore Budapest or Melk. It appears that Budapest might require a completely separate trip on its own. Perhaps it may be best to simply stay in our same Vienna hotel the whole trip and simply do the Melk Abbey then cruise to Krems.
Perhaps return in summer 2019 to do Budapest for a week on it’s own with possible side trips to Eger and Bratislava.
Thank you all
