As I teased on Instagram last week a while ago ago, I took a vacation that was more than just a long weekend. We visited 3 counties in 10 days:

3 countries & 3 capital cities: Budapest, Bratislava, and Prague.

Prague and Budapest have been numbers 1 and 2 on my must-see European cities list for a long time. Long before I knew I was moving here, I have wanted to see both cities. And I finally made that dream come true.

Budapest, Hungary

We flew into Budapest (BOO-duh-pesht), Hungary to start our adventure.

In 1873, Budapest was created from a merger of three neighboring cities—(1) Pest, began after the Magyars tribes defeated the Romans in 896, (2) Buda, born as a Roman colony, established around 14 BCE, and (3) Óbuda, occupied by Celtic tribes until the conquest of the Romans in the 1st century BCE. Today, the modern city still straddles the Danube River with Buda built on the higher river terraces and hills of the western side and the larger Pest spreading out on a flat and featureless sand plain on the river’s opposite bank. It is easy to see the influence of the Ottoman Empire across the city.

We had 3 days in Budapest, and honestly, we could have easily spent another full day exploring the city. I had my highest step count day in Budapest, hitting over 25,000 steps. Of the three cities, Budapest is the largest in both population (1.75 million people in the city proper) and land area (525 sq km).

In addition to all the sight seeing, we took a food tour and ate at some great restaurants, including a traditional Hungarian meal and a Turkish restaurant. Although, my favorite meal might have been the amazing homemade chicken noodle soup, which I ended up having in all 3 cities and each one was different but equally delicious.

I took nearly 400 photos so it was hard to narrow it down to a dozen.

Sites and things we did not get to:

• Gellert Hill and Gellert Bath (which were closed)
• Citadel of Budapest
• the National Gallery (we saw it but didn’t go in)
• Varosliget Park and Szechenyi Bath (another well-known thermal bath)
• Shezimpla Kert (the ruin bar)
• Alexandra Café
• a night cruise on the Danube (it was a bit too chilly).

So definitely lots of reasons to go back.

Bratislava, Slovakia

Originally, the plan was to go from Budapest to Prague. But as I planned the trip, I decided taking the train from Hungary to the Czech Republic would be better and more fun than flying from city to city. That meant, we’d be going through Slovakia. So we broke up the train trip with a stop-over in Bratislava, which was just under a 2.5 hour train ride.

Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, lies along the Danube about 56 km (35 miles) from Vienna, Austria. Like most of middle Europe, Bratislava has a long history, starting with the Celts and Romans, and then going through multiple complex changes as various cultures spread and conquered the region. Most recently, Slovakia was part of Czechoslovakia from 1918, at the end of World War I, until 1993, when Czechoslovakia separated into 2 countries: the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

As it is situated on the Daube and close to Austria, Bratislava gets a lot of day tourists, either from river cruises or day trips from Vienna. The highlights (clockwise from top left): Mačkafé (a nonprofit cat rescue cafe where I had a delicious cup of tea), one of the main streets of Bratislava, me in Megabooks, Bratislava Castle, view of the Danube and the UFO Observation Deck (a futuristic flying saucer atop the Nový Most (New Bridge)) from the Castle, sunglasses because cloudy but glarey, and evening on the Danube.

We spent only two nights in Bratislava, and I wish we had only done one and used the other night in Budapest instead. Bratislava is lovely but it is small and you can see everything in a day. But I would go back to Bratislava for 2 reasons. First, for FACH Juice shop. They had some of the best cold press juice I’ve ever had. They also have delicious food. Second, for Megabooks. A delightful little bookstore full of English books! I didn’t realize how much I missed bookstores until I went into Megabooks. Of course, there are bookstores in Italy, but I can’t read Italian!

Prague, Czech Republic

Prague has been number one on my European travel list for longer than I can remember. So we said farewell to Bratislava and hopped the train for Prague. The trip from Bratislava to Prague took about 4.5 hours, double what our first leg was.

Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic and located in the Bohemia region, has a privileged location in Central Europe along the Vltava River. Traditionally, Prague was called the Golden City, City of a Hundred Spires and the Heart of Europe and is made up of five historic towns.

First inhabited by the Boii, a Gallic tribe after whom the region Bohemia was named, Prague then fell under Roman Empire and later the Germanic tribes settled in the region. During the 6th century, the Slavic tribes established themselves in the area and by the 9th century, the city was called Prague.

Prague has so many things to see and do. Luckily, it is a bit smaller than Budapest, and so while the city does span the Vltava, it feels more compact (and it is) than Budapest.

The highlights we saw include: the iconic Charles Bridge, Prague Castle and the Lesser Town , The Mucha Museum, the Dancing House, the Astronomical Clock and Old Town Square, Franz Kafka Rotating Head (a 42-layer mirrored sculpture that constantly shifts and rotates), Jewish Quarter (known as Josefov) and the Old-New Synagogue, Infinity Book Tower, St. Vitus Cathedral, Havelský Market (dates back to 1232), and Wenceslas Square and the statue of St. Wenceslas. We also did a walking food tour and ate some incredible food.

I took over 500 photos in Prague, so these dozen just capture the bare essentials.

Even in October, there were crowds in Prague. By early afternoon, there were good crowds on Charles Bridge and in the main squares. We went to see the Astronomical Clock right around noon and while you could still maneuver through the crowd, it was still a bit tight. And we stood in a nearly hour long line to go into St. Vitus Cathedral. My determination to see the Infinity Book Tower, which I finally saw on our last day because it had had ridiculously long lines the previous days, meant we got to the library 45 minutes before it opened and were still 2nd in line. That being said, I cannot imagine what Prague is like during the high tourist summer season. Even though it was rather chilly (I wore a scarf, gloves, and even a hat a couple of days), I would definitely recommend going before mid-May or after the first of September.

When I’m asked which city, Budapest or Prague, I liked better, I can’t answer. Each city has it’s own unique feel and experiences, and it’s hard to compare. There were things I enjoyed about Budapest and things I enjoyed about Prague. And like any city, there were things I didn’t care for. All I can say is I would go back to both cities.

Which European capital city do you want to visit? Share your fave in the comments below.

That wraps up my 3 countries in 10 day, and catches me up (mostly) on my 2025 travels. And stay tuned as I have some fun adventures already planned for 2026!

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