European Trip June 2026 - Thoughts Please

[Russet Grange]

Hello all.

I hope nobody minds me asking but wife and I (62/61) are keen to do a European trip next June and advice/thoughts would be most welcome. We like a bit of culture/sightseeing/local cuisine etc... the typical touristy stuff for 60-somethings.

We've been to a reasonable number of European cities, but none of the ones on this itinerary (well we've been to Munich but only to collect a hire car).

Current thinking is to fly London to Prague, train to Vienna, day trip on the Danube to Bratislava, train to Munich, train to Cologne, train to Brussels, Eurostar back to London.

Looking at two or three nights in each location, thoughts certainly welcome on this, and hopefully the train rides will be scenic and be enjoyable too.

Thanks for helping.

[Gargamel]

Skip Brussels as it’s a dump. Eurostar from Amsterdam and have a couple of nights in Amsterdam, far more civilized. Easy to walk round too.

Rest of the trip sounds fun. Prague is super fun city, easy on the wallet too outside the main tourist areas.

[Russet Grange]

Gargamel said:

Skip Brussels as it s a dump. Eurostar from Amsterdam and have a couple of nights in Amsterdam, far more civilized. Easy to walk round too.

Rest of the trip sounds fun. Prague is super fun city, easy on the wallet too outside the main tourist areas.

Ah good shout, Amsterdam it is.

[bennno]

Russet Grange said:

Hello all.

I hope nobody minds me asking but wife and I (62/61) are keen to do a European trip next June and advice/thoughts would be most welcome. We like a bit of culture/sightseeing/local cuisine etc... the typical touristy stuff for 60-somethings.

We've been to a reasonable number of European cities, but none of the ones on this itinerary (well we've been to Munich but only to collect a hire car).

Current thinking is to fly London to Prague, train to Vienna, day trip on the Danube to Bratislava, train to Munich, train to Cologne, train to Brussels, Eurostar back to London.

Looking at two or three nights in each location, thoughts certainly welcome on this, and hopefully the train rides will be scenic and be enjoyable too.

Thanks for helping.

Vienna to Budapest on the train alongside the Danube is better…..

[Russet Grange]

bennno said:

Vienna to Budapest on the train alongside the Danube is better ..

Yes, did consider going that far. Maybe Vienna to Bratislava on the river and then train to Budapest? Makes it a six country trip, so might need to add another day or two.

Cheers

[Ted Maul]

And then a train to Zagreb and an overnight train a day or so later to Venice. I can thoroughly recommend a stay in the Hotel Esplanade, built specifically for the railway and the Orient Express.

[omniflow]

We did Prague, Bratislava, Vienna and Budapest earlier this year. We went by car from Prague to Bratislava, by boat from Bratislava to Vienna which was great, and then by train from Vienna to Budapest which was very crowded and not much fun.

Prague was ok, but we won't bother returning
Bratislava is pretty small, but it's a nice relaxing place. Food and drink are good. As it's quite small, the tour parties from the boats can have a significant impact on how crowded the place feels.
Wasn't really keen on Vienna - it's quite a stuffy place. The buildings are pretty spectacular but we didn't really like the feel of the place.
Budapest was a great place to visit - lots of fun, lots to see, good food. Would definitely go back.

Also, don't rule out buses. We used Flixbus to get from Budapest back to a city in Slovakia and it was far better than the train journey.

[InitialDave]

If you find a way to incorporate Graz into your trip, I was quite taken with the place. When I went, I visited Vienna first, then took the train to Graz, and flew from there to Zurich.

[Palmela]

omniflow said:

...
Also, don't rule out buses. We used Flixbus to get from Budapest back to a city in Slovakia and it was far better than the train journey.

Just quoting this to reinforce the point that sometimes the unexpected or 'less smart' option can be the right one. Coach travel on the continent can be a very sensible alternative, and it's often really cheap.

[mikef]

Having lived and/or worked in most of these cities and having family connections with all the others, I would rate them as

	Prague	Vienna	Bratislava	Munich	Cologne	Brussels	London
Culture	* *	* * *	*	* *	* *	* *	* * *
Sightseeing	* * *	* *	*	* * *	*	* *	* *
Cuisine	*	* *	*	* *	*	* * *	* *
Bars	* *	*	* *	* * *	* *	* * *	* *

Definitely Budapest over Bratislava if that’s an option

[Palmela]

mikef said:

Having lived and/or worked in most of these cities and having family connections with all the others, I would rate them as

	Prague	Vienna	Bratislava	Munich	Cologne	Brussels	London
Culture	* *	* * *	*	* *	* *	* *	* * *
Sightseeing	* * *	* *	*	* * *	*	* *	* *
Cuisine	*	* *	*	* *	*	* * *	* *
Bars	* *	*	* *	* * *	* *	* * *	* *

Definitely Budapest over Bratislava if that s an option

London 2* for sightseeing and bars?

You've been going to the wrong places!

[LunarOne]

bennno said:

Vienna to Budapest on the train alongside the Danube is better ..

Seems like something of an unnecessary risk if you ask me. Surely a murder on such a journey is almost a certainty! If you see a man with an unusual moustache who looks like he might want to solve a mystery, take my advice and RUN!

[RichFN2]

You really need to squeeze Budapest into your itinerary, such a fantastic city. I thought Brussels was average at best and that was with a friend living there to show us the best areas. You can use it as a transport base for the Eurostar and spend more time in other places.

From Prague check out Brno, its the 2nd biggest city in the Czech Republic and you will be passing through it on your journey.

[numtumfutunch]

My own experience:

Prague - hell, yes
Vienna - deffo
Munich - beer, pork/chicken to XS and BMW Welt - c'mon
Cologne - was OK but Bonn was much better

The others - dunno

[Russet Grange]

OK well thanks all, and will make sure we go to Budapest.

Nobody has said "this is a terrible idea" so Mrs Grange can start to look at the details.

We'd consider going for longer and taking in other cities, because I always think it's nice to have been somewhere new. However I'm mindful that living from two suitcases and a couple of rucksacks is a slight limitation for a pair of semi-oldies, though having said that, wife would probably enjoy doing an Instragram post from a laundrette in Bratislava.

[bennno]

Russet Grange said:

OK well thanks all, and will make sure we go to Budapest.

Nobody has said "this is a terrible idea" so Mrs Grange can start to look at the details.

We'd consider going for longer and taking in other cities, because I always think it's nice to have been somewhere new. However I'm mindful that living from two suitcases and a couple of rucksacks is a slight limitation for a pair of semi-oldies, though having said that, wife would probably enjoy doing an Instragram post from a laundrette in Bratislava.

Not sure how fit you both are, but we spent a week pedalling along the danube from Vienna to Budapest stopping on route a few years back, cycle hire / return was pretty straightforward - lots of interesting towns to visit on the route and about 35 miles per day - excluding first day to bratislava.

[RizzoTheRat]

Russet Grange said:

Gargamel said:

Skip Brussels as it s a dump. Eurostar from Amsterdam and have a couple of nights in Amsterdam, far more civilized. Easy to walk round too.

Rest of the trip sounds fun. Prague is super fun city, easy on the wallet too outside the main tourist areas.

Ah good shout, Amsterdam it is.

Agree about Brussels, but some other Belgian cities like Bruges and Ghent are nice.

I personally find Amsterdam far too crowded, but it does have a lot of good museums if you're in to art and history. As an alternative, and also on the Eurostar route, is Rotterdam. Incredible architecture, loads of interesting museums, a good range of restaurants, etc. From a PH perspective, the Louwman Museum in The Hague is worth a visit too (as is the rest of The Hague).

[eps]

Gargamel said:

Skip Brussels as it s a dump. Eurostar from Amsterdam and have a couple of nights in Amsterdam, far more civilized. Easy to walk round too.

Rest of the trip sounds fun. Prague is super fun city, easy on the wallet too outside the main tourist areas.

I've got to disagree about Brussels vs Amsterdam. Having worked in both for extended periods I would choose Brussels over Amsterdam every time. Better food, better beer and some interesting sights - the Horta House on rue Americaine being one of them. Although Amsterdam does have the Rijksmuseum and the van Gogh museum. Either city can be fun, but my personal preference would be Brussels.

Although I would advocate for Antwerp over Brussels as well - having just had a great long weekend there.

If you really must go to Holland then the Hague is well worth a visit, again over Amsterdam.

[daqinggregg]

Have no suggestions with regard to the route, the mode of transport however, is a different matter.

A couple of years ago Mrs DG and I started to travel by train, not for financial reasons, just as an alternative, we loved it.

Try to do a mix of high speed and slower trains the latter afford you the enjoyment of staring out of the window.

Take note you may be alone doing this, your fellow traveller, (backpackers) will be engrossed in the social media.

As said before, don’t ignore the option of doing some sections by bus, modern buses are very comfortable.

The Benefits, you get to stop off at the Continentals version of a service station, a little window into the countries life.

For a little context Mrs DG and I are a similar age to yourselves, we only travelled in day light hours, anything under 10 hours, we prefer to flying.

We hope you enjoy it.

[Russet Grange]

Sorry to bump the thread but I can't say thank you without doing so.

Some top info there, many thanks.