Stephanie’s Top Tips for Multi-Centre Adventures
Our Senior Short Break Specialist, Stephanie went on an incredible holiday that’s left us all envious! She came back with so many tips that we’ve decided to compile them all for you. Read on for some amazing hints and tips when visiting Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Salzburg & Munich!
Berlin
Berlin’s a very large city, so I’d recommend getting the Berlin card. This gives you free transport and discounts on museums. If you’re not here for long, the hop on hop off bus is a great idea and it’s easy to knock off all the big sights in one day. If you’re staying longer, it really helps to get your bearings. You can stay on the bus for the full 2 hour tour or as the name suggests hop off and on. We would get off at one stop, see what we wanted and then instead of waiting for the next bus (only 20mins) make our way to the next stop and hop back on, so we saw not only the big ticket places but plenty of charming places in between. We used the Big Red bus tour and their App was very helpful, you can see exactly where all the buses are and the directions between stops is really clear.
My favourite part of this day has to be walking up from Museum island towards the Brandenburg Gate and then through the Tiergarten to the Reichstag, seriously impressive!
If you’re coming in or out of the main train station give yourself lots of time, it’s huge and could be a little overwhelming – though it’s well sign posted so if you take a second it’s not too bad to navigate. There are also help kiosks on each level (all 5 of them) at each door.
There are loads of fantastic food options, it’s very easy to eat cheap, or go high end if you prefer. For a capital we don’t feel it was overpriced. There are so many coffee shops and too many pastries to try on just one trip!
Prague
I always love coming back to Prague. This was my 4th visit, though it was my first time in the summer. You’ve got to see the Wallenstein gardens (open April 1st – 1st Oct) and there are some really nice market stalls down by the river (Sat & Sun). We did a short boat trip over the river as well.
The castle is always a good spot for views and the cathedral within its walls is awe-inspiring. If you don’t want to hike up the stairs then I recommend going up via the park, if you’re quiet enough you might even hear a woodpecker or two on the way!
Find the statue of the disappearing man, grab a pastry from the Artic bakehouse and wander up through the park via lots of statues towards the Strahov monastery. Then you can head over to the castle and come down the stairs rather than up!
I always recommend the Café Slavia which offers a delicious culinary selection. It’s also a great people watching spot as it’s right next to the opera house, so if you time it right you can see everyone heading in or out all dressed up! The amazing cakes and open sandwiches don’t hurt either…
Vienna
For the Schonbrunn Palace take the tram, each trip is only €2.60 (€2.40 if you use the app), everywhere else is within 30ish mins walk of each other. The cathedral is seriously impressive, to be honest all the monuments are as are the gardens!
It was very hot when we were there, dotted around the streets you’ll find free drinking fountains which also spray out cool mist – so refreshing! We visited 3 museums while there, the Belvedere, the Kunsthistorisches and the Natural History Museum, all worth it but the Belvedere was my favourite as they have Gustav Klimt “The Kiss” on display and absolutely amazing gardens which it sits in.
Salzburg
Salzburg is a very small city, so we didn’t use transport as it wasn’t needed. It’s much more traditional than Vienna, you do see people dress in Dirndl dresses and Lederhosen. I would recommend having a mix of cash and card that works abroad, as it seems to be either no cash or only cash in most shops.
The old town is beautiful, with twisty streets and alleys that suddenly open into quaint squares with boutique stores and coffee shops or fountains and churches. You’ll find many, many hidden gems. We really liked Schatz-Konditorei, tucked away just off the main shopping street and the selection of cakes and sweets is massive! They also do a lovely coffee for a good price.
While we were there they had a celebration weekend going on, lots of stalls and vendors, performances and activities going on, from an Elvis impersonator and performers on stilts to a full-on rave bus outside the Mirabell Palace! It was super busy but a lot of fun.
Given the size of Salzburg I thought two nights would have been plenty, but I wish we had done at least 3, oh well…I’ll just have to go back!
Munich
We only had one night in Munich as our flight departed from here, however I was really surprised by how much I liked it! I thought it might be all things Oktoberfest and football, but the centre of Munich is really impressive! Big fountains, a massive pedestrian area and St. Peters church towering over you is very striking. We had added Munich to our list and will definitely be back to explore more!
Round-up
I really loved this trip, it was totally different to our usual holiday. There’s a good bit of planning needed, but so much fun! We crammed a lot in, I think next time we need to schedule in some rest days as averaging 20K steps a day for 2 weeks takes a toll!
Now I’m off to rest my poor toes and get planning my next adventure – next summer it’s Andalusia, so Tapas instead of Currywurst, Sangria instead of Beer and maybe a few more siestas worked into the itinerary!
