Vienna, I wished I had longer there.
So many museums. I'm an old art enthusiast so a lot of what I say is based on that.
I think my absolute favorite thing there was the Kunsthistorisches Museum near the Hoffburg. Not only for it's incredible collection of art but for the building itself, especially inside. We only did 4 hours there and still that was not near enough.
The Belvedere Palace, both upper and lower were worth it. Get there early or late if you don't want to wait in a long line to see The Kiss painting.
The Hofburg Palace is a must see from the outside, but the inside really isn't a MUST see but it's impressive inside. I was just bored with it being pretty much ONLY about the Empress Elizabeth and Emperor Joseph. It is cool, but I'm more intrigued about the earlier Habsburg years than the 1800s.
The Shonbrun Palace is also a must see, at least the outside and the Gardens. The inside was worth it to us, very impressive rooms and it wasn't all about Sisi and Franz Joseph. It also had several rooms that were similar to how they were when Maria Theresa was in power. Like the room where Mozart first played for her when he was 7.
If you are going to do both Palaces interiors, I'd recommend buying the SiSi ticket package which cover both Palaces.
We really enjoyed listening to Rick Steve's guides on Vienna and did a few walking tours he had. I would at least to the ring tram but the only place to board it is at Swedenplatz, otherwise you will need to just use the 1 and 2 trams that both do a half circle around the ring to combine to make a ring.
Also, if you are not renting a car, I highly recommend the CAT (city airport train) from the airport to town. You can buy a round trip at the airport at any of the places you see CAT and it's totally worth it even though its like $24 a person. The amazing thing about it is you can check in your bags for your flight up to 24 hours before your flight at the CAT station in the city. You don't have to worry about them from there. You can ride the train to the airport and just go straight to security.
It's also worth getting a week metro pass even though you will never be checked for it on any of the trams or buses. We only used uber like 2 times there. It's super easy to get around with public transit.
The Albertina was also a great art museum with a lot of big names.
We saw an Opera in Prague and in Vienna. If I had to do it over again, I would have seen the Opera in Prague and went to a classical symphony performance in Vienna. Especially since the Opera in Prague (Mozart and Friends) was in english and had english subtitles and was much cheaper. We had no clue what was being said in Orlando in Vienna though it was fun to watch. I'd say see at least one opera in either Prague or Vienna.
If you like classical music, they have small chamber concerts all over Vienna and Prague, so book to your hearts delight if that's your bag.
Of the things we saw in Vienna, those were my favorite.
We unfortunately weren't in Vienna for the weekend so we missed a chance to see the Lipizzaner stallions. I would definitely do that if you are there on Saturday.
As for Prague, get used to crowds. I cannot stress enough to get up before 8 and get to the Charles Bridge to make your way to the Castle. After 10 everything from Charles Bridge to the Castle is insanity. We stayed in an air B&B right near charles bridge and enjoyed getting to know our way around all the street and avoiding the busiest times for crowds.
Something that really helped us get ready for Prague was this youtube Channel.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt7oj318jVQi7vRbc1bNjJA Learned a lot of tips and tricks.
My favorite things in Prague were Prague Castle and the royal art museum there, plus the Lobkowitz Palace which you have to pay for separately than the Prague Castle and other Palaces. Just remember, if you really enjoy the Prague Castle, take your time, you can always come back another day and do the second half, just do it early in the morning or late in the evening. The Lobkowitz Palace has a great cafe with a view over the entire city.
Also really enjoyed Colloredo-Mansfeld Palace right by the Charles Bridge entrance on the other side from the Castle as I discovered it through one of The Honest Guide's youtube videos. It's a bit more expensive than when he went when he only paid 1 crown, I think its like 90 crowns now, but worth it. We were the only ones in the entire place and an old lady had to follow us through it all to make sure we didn't do anything bad, but we could take pictures.
We went to a soccer match at Prague Sparta little stadium. It was like $12USD for front row seats. Lots of fun. You can get there with a train. We hardly used the Prague Subway and never really used busses or trams. Pretty much walked everywhere. We did uber to the airport and back, otherwise the bus is the only other way if you aren't renting a car.
We didn't do as many museums and stuff in Prague, mainly because we just enjoyed strolling the old town streets and eating local food and drinking their amazing beer.
The Ufleku beer hall was worth it. Great beer and good food. Recommend making a reservation, otherwise you may be waiting for a bit.
Beer spa's are a real thing and you can soak in a beer bath with unlimited beer to drink for 1 or 2 hours and I now regret not doing that. They had it in Karlovy Vary as well.
The Jewish Cemetery and Synagogues in the Jewish town were worth it to us.
I do regret not fitting in the Vysehrad Castle in Prague, it's a bit out of the main city.
Other than that, all I can say is, read up on all the histories if you have not already, especially the Habsburgs and King Wenceslas if you have not already. As for language issues, Vienna was really easy to talk to everyone in english even though you hear german all around you. For Prague, learn a little basic Czech, like good day, how are you, how much does this cost, yes, no, thank you and do you speak english. Any time you venture out of the super touristy areas, you will meet with many people who really don't know much english. And even for the ones that do, they seem to be much more cordial if you approach them in Czech first then ask if they speak english. If you start with english, you will get a lot of cold attitudes.
Also, as with all of Europe, if you walk by a cool looking cathedral, walk in.
Feel free to ask me any other questions here or through facebook. Happy to answer.
So many museums. I'm an old art enthusiast so a lot of what I say is based on that.
I think my absolute favorite thing there was the Kunsthistorisches Museum near the Hoffburg. Not only for it's incredible collection of art but for the building itself, especially inside. We only did 4 hours there and still that was not near enough.
The Belvedere Palace, both upper and lower were worth it. Get there early or late if you don't want to wait in a long line to see The Kiss painting.
The Hofburg Palace is a must see from the outside, but the inside really isn't a MUST see but it's impressive inside. I was just bored with it being pretty much ONLY about the Empress Elizabeth and Emperor Joseph. It is cool, but I'm more intrigued about the earlier Habsburg years than the 1800s.
The Shonbrun Palace is also a must see, at least the outside and the Gardens. The inside was worth it to us, very impressive rooms and it wasn't all about Sisi and Franz Joseph. It also had several rooms that were similar to how they were when Maria Theresa was in power. Like the room where Mozart first played for her when he was 7.
If you are going to do both Palaces interiors, I'd recommend buying the SiSi ticket package which cover both Palaces.
We really enjoyed listening to Rick Steve's guides on Vienna and did a few walking tours he had. I would at least to the ring tram but the only place to board it is at Swedenplatz, otherwise you will need to just use the 1 and 2 trams that both do a half circle around the ring to combine to make a ring.
Also, if you are not renting a car, I highly recommend the CAT (city airport train) from the airport to town. You can buy a round trip at the airport at any of the places you see CAT and it's totally worth it even though its like $24 a person. The amazing thing about it is you can check in your bags for your flight up to 24 hours before your flight at the CAT station in the city. You don't have to worry about them from there. You can ride the train to the airport and just go straight to security.
It's also worth getting a week metro pass even though you will never be checked for it on any of the trams or buses. We only used uber like 2 times there. It's super easy to get around with public transit.
The Albertina was also a great art museum with a lot of big names.
We saw an Opera in Prague and in Vienna. If I had to do it over again, I would have seen the Opera in Prague and went to a classical symphony performance in Vienna. Especially since the Opera in Prague (Mozart and Friends) was in english and had english subtitles and was much cheaper. We had no clue what was being said in Orlando in Vienna though it was fun to watch. I'd say see at least one opera in either Prague or Vienna.
If you like classical music, they have small chamber concerts all over Vienna and Prague, so book to your hearts delight if that's your bag.
Of the things we saw in Vienna, those were my favorite.
We unfortunately weren't in Vienna for the weekend so we missed a chance to see the Lipizzaner stallions. I would definitely do that if you are there on Saturday.
As for Prague, get used to crowds. I cannot stress enough to get up before 8 and get to the Charles Bridge to make your way to the Castle. After 10 everything from Charles Bridge to the Castle is insanity. We stayed in an air B&B right near charles bridge and enjoyed getting to know our way around all the street and avoiding the busiest times for crowds.
Something that really helped us get ready for Prague was this youtube Channel.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt7oj318jVQi7vRbc1bNjJA Learned a lot of tips and tricks.
My favorite things in Prague were Prague Castle and the royal art museum there, plus the Lobkowitz Palace which you have to pay for separately than the Prague Castle and other Palaces. Just remember, if you really enjoy the Prague Castle, take your time, you can always come back another day and do the second half, just do it early in the morning or late in the evening. The Lobkowitz Palace has a great cafe with a view over the entire city.
Also really enjoyed Colloredo-Mansfeld Palace right by the Charles Bridge entrance on the other side from the Castle as I discovered it through one of The Honest Guide's youtube videos. It's a bit more expensive than when he went when he only paid 1 crown, I think its like 90 crowns now, but worth it. We were the only ones in the entire place and an old lady had to follow us through it all to make sure we didn't do anything bad, but we could take pictures.
We went to a soccer match at Prague Sparta little stadium. It was like $12USD for front row seats. Lots of fun. You can get there with a train. We hardly used the Prague Subway and never really used busses or trams. Pretty much walked everywhere. We did uber to the airport and back, otherwise the bus is the only other way if you aren't renting a car.
We didn't do as many museums and stuff in Prague, mainly because we just enjoyed strolling the old town streets and eating local food and drinking their amazing beer.
The Ufleku beer hall was worth it. Great beer and good food. Recommend making a reservation, otherwise you may be waiting for a bit.
Beer spa's are a real thing and you can soak in a beer bath with unlimited beer to drink for 1 or 2 hours and I now regret not doing that. They had it in Karlovy Vary as well.
The Jewish Cemetery and Synagogues in the Jewish town were worth it to us.
I do regret not fitting in the Vysehrad Castle in Prague, it's a bit out of the main city.
Other than that, all I can say is, read up on all the histories if you have not already, especially the Habsburgs and King Wenceslas if you have not already. As for language issues, Vienna was really easy to talk to everyone in english even though you hear german all around you. For Prague, learn a little basic Czech, like good day, how are you, how much does this cost, yes, no, thank you and do you speak english. Any time you venture out of the super touristy areas, you will meet with many people who really don't know much english. And even for the ones that do, they seem to be much more cordial if you approach them in Czech first then ask if they speak english. If you start with english, you will get a lot of cold attitudes.
Also, as with all of Europe, if you walk by a cool looking cathedral, walk in.
Feel free to ask me any other questions here or through facebook. Happy to answer.
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