Prague, Vienna and Budapest in one trip: the route, the trains, the days

Prague, Vienna and Budapest sit on one railway corridor, two to four hours apart, and they were ruled from the same court for centuries — which is why the three of them together read as one story rather than three city breaks. This is how to put them in one trip without spending it in stations. Prague is our city and this guide is written from it; the ordering advice would be the same from either of the others.

The route, and why this direction

Prague → Vienna → Budapest. Each leg is a step east and a step forward in the story: Gothic and Baroque Prague, imperial Vienna, then Budapest's nineteenth-century boom on the Danube. It also ends in the city with the thermal baths, which is exactly where you want to be after six days of walking.

Reverse it if your flights make that cheaper — nothing is lost but the ending.

How long each city needs

• Prague: three nights. Two is the minimum for the Old Town and the Castle; the third buys you Vyšehrad, a neighbourhood like Vinohrady and an evening in a beer hall that is not a rush. See Prague in two days or five days.
• Vienna: two nights. Enough for the Hofburg or Schönbrunn, one great museum and a coffee house. Vienna rewards more, but it is also the most expensive of the three.
• Budapest: three nights. The Danube panorama, the Castle hill, the Jewish quarter and at least one long afternoon in a bath.

That is eight nights. At seven, take one off Vienna. At ten, add a day trip from Prague and a second bath in Budapest.

The trains

All three are linked by direct trains, and the trains are the reason this trip works:

• Prague → Vienna: around four hours.
• Vienna → Budapest: around two and a half to three hours.
• Prague → Budapest: around seven hours direct, usually via Brno and Bratislava.

Book ahead for the cheap fares, take a seat reservation where it is offered, and check current timetables with the operators — schedules change every December. Prague's departures are from Praha hlavní nádraží; our train stations guide explains the station.

Worth knowing: the Prague–Vienna line passes through Brno, and the Vienna–Budapest line through Bratislava. Either makes a half-day stop that costs you nothing but an earlier train.

Money: three currencies

Prague uses the Czech koruna, Budapest the Hungarian forint, Vienna the euro. Pay by card everywhere and always in the local currency — the machine's offer to charge you in your own is the worst rate on offer. Prague's side of that story is the Czech koruna, and what things actually cost is on our prices page.

What each city is best at

| | Prague | Vienna | Budapest | |---|---|---|---| | The look | Gothic and Baroque, compact, walkable | Imperial, grand, spacious | Danube panorama, nineteenth-century scale | | Best at | Beer halls, the Castle, atmosphere | Museums, opera, coffee houses | Thermal baths, nightlife, views | | Costs | Moderate | Highest | Moderate | | Needs | 3 nights | 2 nights | 3 nights |

Day by day, eight nights

Days 1–3, Prague. Old Town and Charles Bridge at sunrise, Josefov, the Castle and Malá Strana, then a third day for Vyšehrad, Letná and the neighbourhoods. Evenings: beer halls, a concert — see music in Prague.

Day 4, train to Vienna. Leave mid-morning, arrive for a late lunch, spend the afternoon on the Ringstrasse.

Days 5–6, Vienna. One palace, one museum, one coffee house a day. Do not try to do all of Vienna in two days; it does not fit and the attempt ruins the pace.

Day 7, train to Budapest. Arrive in the early afternoon, walk the Danube embankment at sunset.

Days 8–9, Budapest. Castle hill and the Fisherman's Bastion, the Jewish quarter and the ruin bars, and a long afternoon in a bath.

If you have only seven days

Two nights in Vienna becomes one, or skip Vienna entirely and split the week between Prague and Budapest — the two cheapest and the two most atmospheric. The comparison is in Prague vs Vienna vs Budapest.

Starting in Prague

If Prague is your first stop, read where to stay and the airport guide first, and build the Prague days with the itinerary builder. Romanian readers arriving by plane, bus or car will find the routes in Prague for Romanians.

Luggage, tickets and the small print

Left luggage. All three main stations have lockers, which turns a travel day into a sightseeing day: check out, leave the bags, see one more thing, take an evening train.

Seat reservations. Optional on some services and worth it on all of them in summer and at weekends; a four-hour leg standing in a vestibule spoils the day at both ends.

Border formalities. Czechia, Austria and Hungary are all in the EU and in Schengen, so the trains do not stop at borders. Carry your ID card or passport anyway.

Currency. Do not change leftover koruna into forint at a station window; spend it or keep it. The rate at those counters is the worst of the trip.

Where this trip goes wrong

• One night per city. Two nights is the honest minimum anywhere: one night means half a day of sightseeing and two half-days of logistics.
• Booking the trains on the day. The cheap advance fares disappear and you pay two or three times as much for the same seat.
• Treating the middle city as a stopover. Vienna on a day trip from Prague is six hours on a train for four hours in a city — either give it two nights or leave it out.
• Ignoring the season. In December all three cities have Christmas markets and all three fill up; in January they are cheap and quiet. Prague's calendar is in the best time to visit.