Can't decide whether we should visit Budapest or Prague while in Europe next November. Never been to either. Not looking for wild nightlife.

Any sugestions?

They're both beautiful, fascinating cities, but in different ways.

Prague is on the whole much older. The castle, Old Town, the Charles Bridge, the Jewish quarter - all are medieval and very much look like you would expect an enchanted, magical land to look in fairy tales. There's also a lot of cool, more modern architecture - particularly Art Nouveau (ex. the Municipal House). Plus the 70s-style Soviet subway is way cool.

Budapest is old as well, but its heyday was in the 19th century, so it feels much more modern. I'd describe it as a more muscular beauty. One thing Budapest has going for it over Prague, quite frankly, is the food. Hungarian food - it's not light; it's not particularly healthy; but it's gooooooooood! ^^^

Frankly, I'd suggest hitting both cities if you have the time. They're both wonderful places to visit, and the contrasts between the two make you appreciate them both more.

Can you give any guidance, other than not nightlife, that might drive your decision? They are both great cities, and the answer is not necessarily simple.

i agree with previous posters that both are beautiful, fascinating cities.

however, if i had to make a ranking of best cities, i'd have to put prague ahead of budapest simply because of the old town of prague. budapest feels more modern and it does not feel as if one is in "old" europe.

I'd say that Prague is more beautiful and Budapest is (perhaps only slightly) more interesting.

As to the beauty of Prague, it is quite outstanding. It is, to me, how I've always imagined a fairy-tale central European city would look.

Any more hints from the OP about interests, what they're looking for on a holiday, etc, etc, might help, I guess.

I would probably rank Prague as slightly more interesting but I just went to Budapest for the first time and like it a lot. I also found Budapest to be less busy than Prague which was nice.

Cant go wrong with either one and I would say go with the one that has the best travel and hotel options for you and hit them both if you can.

It would be easier to tell you what I DON'T want:

I lived in Paris 6 years and developed an aversion to being a tourist. I am not looking to wait on lines to see "sights". I do not speak the language of either of these countries so I am wondering in which one we could more easily explore on our own and discover things .

I'd take Krakow over the two to be honest.

Does it have to be November? Not the best of months anywhere in Europe.

Well November is down season, so it won't be like August in either place. I do think Prague is significantly more touristed, but it could also be that the main tourist sites are pretty well concentrated.

I do feel like Prague's tourist center (the area from old town square to charles bridge to the castle) is "worse" than Budapest's, as far as tons of stores selling shlock (much of which isn't even czech), overpriced restaurants and pubs, places that try to scam foreigners, etc.

That said, the neighborhood of Vinohrady in Prague is nice, with good restaurants, nearly no tourists, and is close to the center should you want to go and just look around.

No way, I was about to ask exactly the same question!! Same time as well! Crazy!

There are certainly more tourists in Prague in a smaller area. The obverse of this is that it's probably easier to walk around between the sites of interest in Prague because they're closer together.

Both are super easy to explore independently, I've had no difficulty getting around in either city and English is the only language I speak. It sounds like you will do what you can to avoid tourist crowds, my most recent visit to Prague was in November and the city was super crowded, there were too many tourists trying to see things at the same time. I have heard it's even worse in summer. So, if you want to deal with as few crowds as possible I'd choose Budapest, unless you do intend to see Prague (either now or later). In Prague there is no way to escape the crowds, I would choose Prague if the city is on your must see list. IMO, Prague is the more beautiful of the two cities. November will be cold in both cities, and day light will be short, but the crowds in Prague will certainly be less in November than in summer.

This is only true if your aim is to spend most of the time at the main three attractions (square, bridge, castle). It sounds like OP may not be into that though.

Pretty much any other part of the city, particularly out of the very center, will absolutely not be crowded with tourists in November. Fortunately, Prague has more than three interesting things (as does Budapest).

No argument there -- but again, there are many interesting things outside of the center. The parks alone could be a couple days..

Found it much easier to walk around in Prague than Budapest.

Speaking of English, I found it more widely spoken in Prague.

Lots and lots of things to do outside where the tourists hang out ^

Oh, someone mentioned Vinohrady. Close to center, not at all crowded, though I was surprised to see a relatively large expat crowd. Perhaps because it was close to dinnertime and they were headed to the many restaurants in the area.

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