Customer Blog: Prague and Vienna - A tale of 2 Christmas markets
"Christmas market-wise" the 2 cities are quite similar, lots of markets of varying sizes, selling gluhwein, snacks and Christmas trinkets. The markets are usually found in a square in front of significant buildings or churches and are open from late morning into the evening. All are characterised by having a lovely atmosphere of friendly crowds and there is usually Christmas music playing on speakers or live bands. Both cities were extremely cold and snowy making for an even more Christmassy vibe. Either city is a great way to start Christmas.
Prague and Vienna are not that far apart, approx 250 miles, so climate and food culture is similar. Lots of breaded meat (Schnitzel) in Austria , lots of hearty goulash and dumplings in both. Beer is cheap and plentiful and Viennese coffee shops to sample Sacher Tort and Strudel are a must.
The big difference is scale. Prague has a much smaller old town, tourist area, and once you are in the old town the must see sites such Charles Bridge, Castle, Old town square and clock tower are pretty close by on foot. Vienna is much more spread out, many sites are 10-20 minutes on public transport from the cathedral; a travel pass is cheap and well worth it! In both cities the Christmas markets are close to the main sites, so in Prague we were able to get to most markets on foot, in Vienna on public transport.
Vienna is a much more opulent city, many historic buildings are baroque style, lots of gold and ornamentation. Prague, less so. Both cities have a huge number of sites and experiences to try and short break is never quite long enough to do everything we wanted. We are glad to have seen both places in winter, perhaps we’ll return to see them in a different season.