Central Europe ~ YVETTHEWORLD ~ Exploring the world one trip at a time

Intro

This Central Europe trip is the ultimate winter road trip. The cities we visited were all nicely decorated with lights and Christmas markets when we visited in December 2017. We celebrated New Year’s Eve in Prague, where we watched the fireworks from Charles Bridge. During this road trip we’ve seen gorgeous architecture and wonderful landscapes which will be there all year around, but the snow and festive atmosphere just added a little bit more magic to our trip.

Map

Places to see

21 Day itinerary

Day 1 - Prague

We flew into Prague after work, so when we arrived it was already late in the evening. Upon arrival we picked up our rental car at the airport and drove to our hotel nearby the airport. After a good night’s sleep we had breakfast at our hotel to make our way to Brno early in the morning.

Day 2 - Prague to Brno

From Prague’s airport it takes about a 2.5 hours drive to the Moravian Karst, where we visited the Punkva Caves to cruise the underground river. From the Moravian Karst, it took about half an hour by car to reach our hotel in Brno’s city centre, where we visited the Christmas markets in the evening.

Day 3 - Brno to Mikulov to Vienna

We spent the morning discovering Brno’s city centre, with the highlights being the ice rink around the large horse statue and the Spilberk Castle with its amazing views over Brno’s city centre. After a 40 minute drive we arrived in Mikulov, which has one of the most picturesque town squares I’ve ever seen – definitely a hidden gem! The views of Mikulov castle were also absolutely breath taking. From Mikulov it takes a 1 to 1.5 hour drive to Vienna. Just make sure you buy your highway vignette before entering Austria.

Day 4 - Vienna

Vienna’s city centre is full of impressive buildings and beautiful streets, which deserve a full day of exploring at least. We’ve also visited the Belvedere Palace and the butterfly garden, although if you’re short on time you won’t miss that much if you skip the butterfly garden – it was just a quick way for us to warm up in the Austrian winter temperatures.

Day 5 - Vienna to Bratislava

On our way from Vienna to Bratislava we made a quick stop at the Schonbrunn Palace which is just outside Vienna’s city centre. From the palace it took about one hour by car to get to Bratislava. We joined a pub crawl in Bratislava, where we sang karaoke and actually had to take a bus to get to the final night club. We shared a taxi back to the city centre with our fellow pub crawlers we met that night.

Day 6 - Bratislava to Budapest

After the pub crawl in Bratislava we actually managed to wake up on time to have breakfast at the hotel and to join a free walking tour starting from the city centre. The highlights of the tour were the Blue Church, Michael’s Gate, the Bratislava Castle and the UFO Bridge. We arrived in Budapest after a 2 hour drive from Bratislava.

Day 7 and Day 8 - Budapest

Just behind the iconic Heroes’ Square is the famous Széchenyi Thermal Bath, but did you know that the park surrounding this thermal bath is full of hidden gems? Just look out for the Gatehouse Tower and the Vajdahunyad Castle in this park. Crossing the bridge from Pest to Buda, and walking from the Gellert Hill Cave (which is a church inside a cave) to the Fisherman’s Bastion is also guaranteed to give you amazing views of the city. From the Fisherman’s Bastion you can cross the Danube river through another bridge to reach the Parliament in Pest again. Budapest’s nightlife is famous for its wonderful ruin pubs which are definitely worth a visit, just be careful with the local Pálinka.

Day 9 - Budapest to Zagreb

From Budapest it takes about 3.5 – 4 hours by car to reach Zagreb, which was quite an adventure as we weren’t able to find a gas station for hours and therefore almost ran out of gas. Just make sure you start this journey with a full tank. By the time we reached our hotel in Zagreb, it was already dark and as we left for Plitvice early the next morning, we’ve only ever seen Zagreb in the dark. Definitely a good reason to come back again some day, or for you to extend your stay in Zagreb with at one more night if you’re inspired by my itinerary.

Day 10 - Zagreb to Plitvice to Ljubljana

As it takes about 2 – 2.5 hours by car to reach Plitvice from Zagreb, we left early in the morning to make sure we had at least a few hours to enjoy the beauty of Plitvice before it got dark. Plitvice is one of the most beautiful natural parks I’ve visited with its lakes and waterfalls, and I was surprised at how quiet is was. Definitely a welcome break from all the different cities we had visited during our trip so far. From Plitvice it is another 3 hour drive to Ljubljana, so we spent a fair amount of the day on the road.

Day 11 - Ljubljana

We spent Christmas day discovering the cute city centre of Ljubljana, which has such a happy atmosphere with lots of people walking their dogs and enjoying their drinks and meals at the terraces outside despite the cold. The coloured houses, dragon statues and the views from the castle are not to be missed. We were quite lucky to find a restaurant without having booked our Christmas dinner in advance, as we got the last available table.

Day 12 - Ljubljana to lake Bled to Salzburg

The wonderful lake Bled is only a 40 minute drive away from Ljubljana, and really is a must visit when in Slovenia. It is such a beautiful and picturesque place that it feels like being in a different world. From lake Bled it would have made more sense to drive to Hallstatt, but as we were not able to book a hotel room in Hallstatt for that night, we had to drive to Salzburg instead. Travel tip: there are only limited hotel rooms in Hallstatt, so make sure to book yours well in advance (especially when you’re travelling in the festive season). The drive from lake Bled to Salzburg was about 3 hours.

Day 13 - Salzburg

In the middle of Salzburg’s city centre flows the river Salzach, which makes very nice views. Places to visit south of the river are the Hohensalzburg Fortress, Salzburg Cathedral and Mozart’s house of birth with its stunning surrounding streets. North of the river you will find the Kapuziner mountain which gives great views over the city when you climb it.

Day 14 - Salzburg to Hallstatt

Even though we had to drive a bit back towards the direction of lake Bled again to go to Hallstatt, we are so glad we did. Staying in this beautiful car-free little town really is something else. It is more or less a 1.5 hours drive away from Salzburg, but this gorgeous town next to the lake feels like a different world. Just make sure to check what time the restaurants close, as we were about to miss out on dinner our first night there. Also, don’t take the funicular up to the “World Heritage View” point on a cloudy day, as you won’t be able to see a thing.

Day 15 - Hallstatt to Cesky Krumlov

Although we were a bit sad to leave Hallstatt after such a short time, it was time for our 3 hour drive to Cesky Krumlov. I don’t quite remember how we got the idea to stay here, or where we’ve even heard the name of this town, but we had an amazing stay in this fairy tale town with its friendly people. I think the pictures speak for themselves.

Day 17 - Cesky Krumlov to Hluboka Castle to Prague

As if Cesky Krumlov wasn’t enough of a fairy tale town, Hluboka Castle is only a half an hour drive away on the way to Prague and it is just another hidden gem of the Czech Republic. From Hluboka castle it was around a 2 hour drive to Prague, our final destination of this trip.

Day 18 to 21 - Prague

We stayed in a hotel close to Charles Bridge, which turned out to be the perfect location to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Prague. While standing on Charles Bridge we saw an amazing firework display at midnight, and we continued the party in a 5 storey nightclub – all within walking distance from our hotel room. It also gave us the perfect opportunity to take pictures of Prague in the early morning, before the crowds wake up.