christmas market

We did part of that trip last December (Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg, Munich) via train so not sure about the roadways along the Danube.

It's a festive time to be in Europe--the markets in each city are different and it's fun to compare. As far as how much time to spend, Budapest was our favorite Christmas market city--we easily spent 4 nights there and stayed at Hotel Zenit Budapest Palace just around the corner from the main market. We also stayed 4 nights in Vienna--perhaps one night too many though the markets are spread all over the city so there is quite a lot to see there--especially if you want to go to some of the museums too. In a smaller city, (Salzburg for us), 2-3 nights could be enough.

The time you spend really depends what you want to do and see in each city (in addition to the Christmas markets)--we like to settle in for 3-4 days to have a relaxed experience.

Do something unusual. Budapest to Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, to Bratislava, then Vienna. Its a beautiful drive, Banská Bystrica has a nice market and you get to enjoy yet another culture. Adds about 3 hours of driving on to your trip.

Thank you, you were very helpful, we thought at least 2-3 days , in each city, and I thought the drive would be beautiful at that
time of year, how were the road, clean of snow or not taken care of?
Margaret

No one can guess the weather. The December we traveled it was a few days after Christmas and while it had snowed a few days earlier there was very little on the roads. I guess it could be bad if the snow were fresh and heavy. If that were the case I might reconsider the trip north through Slovakia and go the more direct route towards Vienna on the major highways. But that's a decision you can make when the time comes.