A week in and around Slovakia

[omniflow]

We've got a free week in Slovakia in June as part of a longer trip to help a friend out. We'll be starting from Bratislava.

Apart from Bratislava itself, and Vienna which is just down the road, what other suggestions do people have for places to visit. We'll already have spent a couple of days in Prague on the way down.

Looking at google maps, Budapest seems fairly close and Krakow looks feasible. I'm after interesting cities with good food and lively bars. We like to spend our time walking around and seeing what we find. Not really interested in the insides of Churches / Art Galleries / Museums / Castles, but do like interesting buildings from the outside. Lakes, mountains and spectacular natural scenery are also of great interest. I'm quite happy to rent a car, but would probably get the train to Vienna.

We currently have a totally blank sheet, so any pointers welcome.

[LimmerickLad]

We just got back from Budapest.......one of my favourite cities to just walk around and see the sights / history / architcture without going inside museums etc albeit it has become a bit more touristy since our 1st visit 20 yrs ago.

[superpp]

we did Budapest to Bratislava by train last summer, around 3 hrs from memory and £12 to £15 if I remember correctly.
if you decide to go, book a seat as it gets full. We booked 1st class as it only a little bit more, but the train that turned up didn't have a 1st class carriage.

[KAgantua]

Prague/ Vienna/ Bratislava/ Budapest are all reasonably close and are all awesome

[RichFN2]

Another big fan of Budapest, my favourite city so far in that part of Europe although it was around 15 years ago when we went.

Prague is lovely but very touristy and I found Budapest more exciting. Brno is the 2nd largest city in the Czech Republic and without the crowds and tourist prices of Prague.

Brno, Bratislava, Vienna and Budapest would be an interesting mix.