Best of Central Europe:

Prague - Budapest - Bratislava - Vienna

This is a Europe 10 day itinerary by rail which includes the imperial cities of Prague, Budapest, Bratislava and Vienna. You can book this tour cheapest during winter time at a very good rate. All cities offers great cultural and entertainment activities, such as operas, christmas markets or a superb nightlife. You should book such a trip earlier than 3 month in advance to get the best rates because rail tickets can be booked earliest normally 3 month prior to date.

Prague is a perfect winter destination, here you'll find the triumphs and tragedies of 10 centuries spiked with the peculiarities of post-Communist reconstruction. Almost 90 years after native-son Franz Kafka's death, Prague's mix of the melancholy and the magnificent, the shadows and the fog of everyday life set against some of Europe's most spectacular architecture, still confounds all who live or visit here. It's tightly wound brick paths have felt the hooves of kings' horses, the jackboots of Hitler's armies, the heaving tracks of Soviet tanks, and the shuffle of students in passive revolt.

The 6-centuries-old Charles Bridge is today jammed with visitors and venture capitalists looking for

Prague Charles Bridge

memories or profits from a once-captive city now enjoying yet another renaissance. A turbulent past and a promising future give Prague an eclectic energy, while its baroque and renaissance atmosphere gives it gravity. Prague remains a great value, especially it's dining, its culture, and its famous national treasure, beer.

Budapest Hungarian Parliament

Budapest is having always a party - drawing visitors with a grandiose 19th-century attitude that built the majestic Magyar capital on the Danube into one of Europe's most cosmopolitan cities. Budapest is pure fun, with its grand palaces, wide boulevards, warm Turkish baths, worldly restaurants, and wild nightlife feel closer to Paris and Rome than Warsaw - and at a fraction of the cost.

Budapest's high culture, museums, and coffeehouses usually cost no more than a few dollars, and the city's unique offering of thermal bath houses can get you a full spa treatment with more tradition and panache than any Palm Springs resort and at a fraction of the

cost. There are cheap, quick eateries all over the town, but the top restaurants offer some of the best dining values in Europe, so feel free to splurge. And be sure to take advantage of cafe life, nursing an espresso while people-watching at Gerbeaud's. Hungary's popular 19th-century confectionery feels maybe too remodeled and the brew is a bit more costly than most, but this elegant place buzzes with enough bonhomie to keep you occupied for hours.

Bratislava is the dynamic capital city of Slovakia. With its proud history as a coronation city for Hungarian monarchs, it combines the legacy of generations past with the challenges of modern times. The compact historical center with its many sights can be explored on a leisurely walk, preferably in combination with a stop at a cozy café, an inviting wine cellar or an elegant restaurant. The “must-see” items are Bratislava Castle, St. Martin‘s Cathedral, Old Town Hall, Primatial Palace, and Michael‘s Gate plus a host of other magnificent palaces, churches, museums, galleries and fountains. The red city tour train with multi-lingual guide takes you through the historical center regardless of what the weather is like. The city has many special events every season of the year. 

Bratislava Castle

Vienna Hofburg Imperial Palace

Being in Vienna makes me wish I had a time machine so I could go back to the last half of the 18th century when the city resounded with the music of Haydn and Mozart and Empress Maria Theresa ruled from Schönbrunn Palace. Or maybe the first decades of the 20th century would be better, when Freud was developing his methods of psychoanalysis, Klimt was covering canvases with his Jugendstil figures, and Vienna was whirling to Strauss waltzes.

But I'll settle gladly for Vienna today. Music is still the city's soul, the manifestation of its spirit - from chamber music and opera to jazz and alternative rock. The Habsburgs, Austria's rulers for 6 centuries,

left a rich architectural legacy of magnificent baroque and rococo buildings and palaces, beautifully landscaped gardens, and fabulous art collections from the corners of their empire.