Prague's castle and bridges, Vienna's palaces and coffee houses, and Budapest's thermal baths and Danube views, linked by comfortable trains of four and two and a half hours. May, June and September are lovely; December has the Christmas markets.
Multi-city route for your dates
5 days from Sat, Dec 5.
- Days 1–2 Prague
- Days 3–4 ViennaTrain from Prague to Vienna (about 4 hours)
- Day 5 BudapestTrain from Vienna to Budapest (about 2.5 hours)
Good to know
- Book Railjet and RegioJet trains ahead; first class is often only a little more.
- Czechia and Hungary use their own currencies; avoid airport exchange desks.
- Fly into Prague and home from Budapest.
Eat this
Places the planner can use
Mark places as a must or something to skip. The itinerary is built only from this list; ★ marks the destination’s highlights.
The largest ancient castle complex in the world, with the Gothic spires of St. Vitus Cathedral rising from its centre.
A 14th-century stone bridge lined with baroque statues, crossed by street musicians and portrait artists by day — empty at dawn.
A medieval square anchored by a 600-year-old astronomical clock that still performs its hourly apostle parade.
Europe's best-preserved Jewish quarter, with six historic synagogues and the crowded, centuries-old Old Jewish Cemetery.
Long communal tables, roast pork and dumplings, and Czech pilsner poured to a precise, foamy head.
Quiet baroque gardens and steep cobbled lanes below the castle, far less crowded than the Old Town side of the river.
A quiet hilltop fort south of the centre with cliffside views over the Vltava, largely free of the Old Town crowds.
Prague's edgier nightlife district — a hilltop beer garden followed by one of the city's small basement jazz clubs.
An open-air market that's been trading since the 13th century, now selling produce, trdelník and souvenirs.
A wall repainted with graffiti and lyrics since the 1980s, beside a small riverside island park.
The city's modern and contemporary art collection in a vast functionalist building, quieter than the Old Town sights.
A UNESCO silver-mining town an hour away, home to a small chapel decorated with the bones of 40,000 people.
The Habsburgs' summer palace, 1,441 rooms strong, with formal gardens climbing to a hilltop gloriette overlooking the city.
A Gothic cathedral with a glazed tile roof at the centre of the old town's pedestrian shopping streets.
A baroque palace complex holding Klimt's The Kiss, plus formal gardens between its two grand buildings.
Vienna's biggest and oldest market, stalls of Middle Eastern, Balkan and Austrian food side by side, plus a Saturday flea market.
A slice of dense chocolate sachertorte with whipped cream in a wood-panelled coffeehouse that's been open since the 1800s.
One of the world's leading opera houses, with a packed rotating repertoire and cheap standing-room tickets on the night.
The former imperial palace, now housing the Sisi Museum and the Lipizzaner horses of the Spanish Riding School.
A historic amusement park anchored by the 1897 Wiener Riesenrad Ferris wheel, with views over the whole city from the top.
Rustic wine taverns in the vineyard-covered hills above the city, serving this year's new wine with buffet-style Austrian food.
One of the world's largest museum complexes, from classical modern art to the playful Zoom Children's Museum.
A narrow artificial island in the Danube, popular with locals for swimming, cycling and lakeside bars in summer.
A Danube gorge of vineyards, hilltop abbeys and apricot orchards, an hour from Vienna by train with an optional river cruise.
A vast neo-Gothic riverside building housing the Hungarian crown jewels — guided tours cover the ceremonial chambers.
One of Europe's largest thermal bath complexes, with steaming outdoor pools that stay open through winter.
A hilltop palace complex and a fairy-tale terrace of white turrets looking straight across the river to Parliament.
A grand 1897 iron-and-glass market hall selling paprika, salami and langos from an upstairs food court.
Overgrown courtyard bars built into abandoned buildings, mismatched furniture and all — Szimpla Kert is the original.
Budapest's oldest bridge, lit gold after dark with Parliament and the castle glowing on either bank.
Real Hungarian goulash is a paprika-heavy soup, not the thick stew served abroad — pair it with fried langos on the side.
The largest synagogue in Europe, with a moving Holocaust memorial garden in its courtyard.
A steep climb above the Danube to the Liberty Statue, with the best single view of both Buda and Pest together.
A slow evening cruise past the lit-up Parliament and castle, dinner included on the boat.
Budapest's main pedestrian shopping street, running from Vörösmarty Square down toward the Great Market Hall.
A riverside Baroque village of galleries and museums, forty minutes north of Budapest by suburban rail.