Budapest, Vienna and Prague: the Christmas Markets by Train and Road

1. Day 1: Arrive in Budapest

   Budapest Ferenc Liszt Airport to your hotel in central Budapest

   • Drive about 42 min
   • Dinner
   • Stay in Budapest
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport (BUD), about 16 km from the centre. We propose that a driver meets you in arrivals and takes you to the hotel in 30 to 45 minutes depending on traffic. If you land early, leave your bags and walk to Vörösmarty tér, where the Christmas fair stands in season. In the early evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing on the eight days: which mornings start early, how the proposed train to Vienna would work, what to pack for cold days on cobbles. Then we walk to a welcome dinner of Hungarian dishes nearby. Tomorrow begins with a walk through Buda, so tonight is for sleeping off the flight. Market opening dates are set each year by the organisers; we check which markets are open on your dates before any quote is finalised.

   Included

   • Proposed pick-up at Budapest Ferenc Liszt Airport (BUD)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Welcome dinner

   Free time: Free until the evening briefing

2. Day 2: Buda Castle district and the Pest markets

   Budapest: Buda Castle hill, the Chain Bridge, then the Pest market squares

   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Budapest
   Day 2 details

   We plan to start in Buda at about 9 am, subject to church opening hours, and walk the hill with a guide: the lanes around Matthias Church, whose interior we propose to enter, subject to opening hours, the views over the Danube from the bastion terraces and the way the old town is stitched together. We cross the Chain Bridge on foot and have lunch time to ourselves on the Pest side. In the afternoon we are free to browse the Christmas fair at Vörösmarty tér, the Basilica square if its Advent market is open on your date, and the cafés around Deák Ferenc tér. The evening is free too, so you can choose between thermal water, a ruin bar or an early night. Whether a given market is open, and until when, is confirmed against the official market calendar when we set your dates.

   Included

   • Buda Castle district walk with your guide
   • Matthias Church entry
   • Chain Bridge crossing on foot

   Optional experiences

   • Széchenyi thermal baths, subject to opening hours and ticket availability; a Danube evening cruise. Gellért Bath is closed for renovation and is not an option.

   Easier option: Take the funicular or bus up Castle Hill and skip the walk down, then rejoin the group on the Pest side

   More active option: Climb Gellért Hill in the free afternoon for the view over both banks

   Free time: Free afternoon and evening in Budapest

   

3. Day 3: By train to Vienna

   Budapest to Vienna by train, then the Ringstrasse and the first markets

   • By train
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Vienna
   Day 3 details

   We propose a daytime train from Budapest Keleti station to Vienna, a ride that a published sample timetable gives as about two hours fifty minutes along the Danube plain, with seats to be reserved for the group and luggage kept with us. A short transfer takes us to the hotel to drop our bags. After lunch of your own choosing, your guide walks the Ringstrasse and the Innere Stadt with us: the Opera, St Stephen's Cathedral and the Hofburg gates, in the order that keeps the hardest cobbles for the daylight hours. At dusk we reach the Christkindlmarkt in front of the Rathaus, which the organiser lists as open daily from 13 November to 26 December 2026, and have the evening free to browse, eat and mull over the day. Train times and tickets are not arranged and would be confirmed only after dates are set.

   Included

   • Proposed reserved train seats, Budapest to Vienna
   • Hotel transfer in Vienna
   • Guided Innere Stadt walk with your guide

   Optional experiences

   • A concert in the evening, booked in advance

   Easier option: Take the tram around the Ring instead of walking it

   More active option: Walk the full Ring loop, about 5 km, after the guided part ends

   Free time: Free evening at the Rathausplatz market

   

4. Day 4: Schönbrunn and the Vienna markets

   Vienna: Schönbrunn Palace, then the old-city markets

   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Vienna
   Day 4 details

   We plan a morning visit to Schönbrunn's state apartments with an audio guide, subject to the available admission slots. From the palace we ride back into the centre and have lunch free before an afternoon of markets chosen for variety: the stalls of Am Hof, the lanes of the Spittelberg quarter and the larger market at the Rathaus again if you want a second look in daylight. Your guide shares a short list of places to try rather than leading a march, because markets are best done at your own speed. The evening is yours, and the group meets again for breakfast. We would check entry times and winter opening hours before any quote is finalised, and the Schönbrunn Christmas market, if you want it, is a short walk from the palace gate when open.

   Included

   • Schönbrunn Palace state apartments, timed entry with audio guide
   • Guided walk to the old-city markets

   Optional experiences

   • Hofburg apartments; Spanish Riding School tickets where available

   Easier option: Visit Schönbrunn, then take the afternoon at a café instead of the markets

   More active option: Walk up to the Gloriette viewpoint in the palace gardens, about 20 minutes uphill

   Free time: Free evening in Vienna

   

5. Day 5: Over the border to Český Krumlov

   Vienna to Český Krumlov by road, with a stop on the way

   • Drive about 3.5 h
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay in Český Krumlov
   Day 5 details

   This is our longest drive, about three and a half hours, so we leave Vienna at about 8 am in our own vehicle and break the road with a coffee stop in the Waldviertel, where winter fog can sit in the valleys. We cross into the Czech Republic and reach Český Krumlov in the early afternoon, in time for a walk through the old town in the low December light, with the red roofs packed into a bend of the Vltava below the castle. No main palace-interior tour is planned. The castle museum and tower have a separate winter schedule; any optional visit and courtyard access need checking against the date and conditions. A group dinner is proposed, followed by free time in the town. Winter road conditions may change the drive time and afternoon plan; the vehicle partner and weather-disruption arrangements must be confirmed before departure.

   Included

   • Vehicle and driver, Vienna to Český Krumlov
   • Old-town walk with your guide
   • Group dinner in Český Krumlov

   Easier option: Skip the castle-courtyard climb and stay on the riverside lanes

   More active option: Climb to the castle viewpoint before dinner, about 15 minutes uphill

   Free time: Free evening in Český Krumlov

   Activity: Longest drive of the trip; broken by a stop, and the afternoon is a short walk. One night here is a deliberate trade-off against a fuller day in Prague.

   

6. Day 6: Český Krumlov to Prague

   Český Krumlov to Prague, then the Old Town Square market

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Prague
   Day 6 details

   We plan a morning in Český Krumlov, with a free hour for coffee or a last look over the river from the footbridge. After an included lunch we drive north to Prague in about two and a half hours, about 170 km, settling into the hotel in time for the late afternoon. The Old Town Square Christmas market, listed by Prague City Tourism as running from 28 November 2026 to 6 January 2027, opens in the square beside the astronomical clock; we walk there as the lights come on, and your guide points out the stalls worth the queue and the ones that are only for photographs. The rest of the evening is free for the Wenceslas Square market or a quiet dinner of your choosing.

   Included

   • Morning in Český Krumlov
   • Lunch in Český Krumlov
   • Vehicle and driver to Prague
   • Evening walk to the Old Town Square market

   Easier option: Take a taxi from the hotel to the square instead of the walk

   More active option: Walk the Vltava embankment to Charles Bridge after the market

   Free time: Free evening in Prague

   

7. Day 7: Prague Castle and the old town

   Prague: Prague Castle, Charles Bridge and the Old Town

   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay in Prague
   Day 7 details

   We plan a morning visit to Prague Castle, subject to admission times, and a walk around the main circuit with a guide: St Vitus Cathedral, the Old Royal Palace and Golden Lane, with entries proposed for inclusion. We then walk down through the Lesser Town and cross Charles Bridge on foot; these popular sights can be busy during market season. After lunch of your own choosing, the afternoon is free for the Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square markets, the Jewish Quarter or the cafés. In the evening the group meets for a farewell dinner in the old centre to look back over the eight days. The visit order must accommodate cathedral services: its published winter Sunday opening is noon, rather than 9 am Monday to Saturday. We check date-specific closures, dinner availability and transport arrangements when preparing your written quote.

   Included

   • Prague Castle circuit: St Vitus Cathedral, Old Royal Palace, Golden Lane
   • Charles Bridge and Lesser Town walk
   • Farewell dinner

   Optional experiences

   • Jewish Quarter synagogues; a Vltava evening cruise

   Easier option: Take the tram up to the castle and skip the Lesser Town walk

   More active option: Walk up Petrin Hill for the view in the free afternoon

   Free time: Free afternoon in Prague

   

8. Day 8: Departure from Prague

   Prague hotel to Václav Havel Airport Prague

   • Drive about 36 min
   • Breakfast
   Day 8 details

   Breakfast is planned at the hotel, followed by a shared transfer to Václav Havel Airport Prague (PRG). The hotel, pick-up schedule and vehicle are not yet confirmed, so do not book flights around an assumed transfer time. Before booking flights, agree the airport arrival window with us and check the airline's check-in requirements. An early flight may require a separately quoted transfer, and breakfast availability depends on hotel service hours. A hotel extension is not included and would need a separate quote. Any free time in Prague depends on the agreed pick-up time and the market's opening hours on your date. Traffic and winter weather can lengthen the journey; the final schedule must allow for both.

   Included

   • Transfer to Václav Havel Airport Prague (PRG)

   Free time: Morning free depending on flight time

Wildlife and weather: Expect daytime highs around 0 to 5 °C and nights below freezing, with snow possible in all four places and fog on the road to Český Krumlov. Daylight lasts about eight hours.

• Budapest2 nights
• Vienna2 nights
• Český Krumlov1 night
• Prague2 nights