At a glance
- Divide 17 nights and 18 days into 3 nights in Germany, 3 in Czechia, 3 in Austria, 3 in Hungary, and 5 in Poland. The five countries and four border crossings define the scope of this itinerary.
- Visit only one memorial site per day, and don’t pair it with a border crossing or a late-night plan the next day.
- If a cross-border service is canceled, first check confirmed alternatives available that day or the next day and the accommodation change terms. Shorten your stay in Poland by one day only if arriving in Kraków a day late still lets you connect to your outbound service on day 18. If it does not connect, review changes to both your outbound service and accommodation.
Day by day
Suggested itinerary
See each day's route, highlights, background and stay together in one place.
Split Berlin's historic sites and Old Town walks across different days. On day 4, search for a direct train from Berlin Hbf to Praha hl.n. or Praha-Holešovice. DB's planning information gives a journey time of about 4 hours; allow extra time to travel from your Prague arrival station to your accommodation.
Split visits to Prague Castle, the Old Town, and museums. The direct train from Praha hl.n. to Wien Hbf on day 7 takes about 4 hours for planning purposes, but check for construction and transfers on your travel date. Do not schedule timed-entry visits before arriving at your accommodation in Vienna.
Choose the Ring District and one palace or art museum. On day 10, allow about 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours for a train from Wien Hbf to Budapest Keleti or your chosen arrival station, then add time for checking in to your accommodation. Check the arrival station and whether the service is direct on your visit date, then leave the afternoon free of reservations.
Split your time between Buda and Pest. Day 13 is a long travel leg from Budapest-Nyugati or your actual departure station to Kraków Główny; depending on the service, it may involve a through coach or a transfer, so leave the entire day free for travel. Before paying for accommodation in Kraków, check the departure station, transfers, total journey time, and arrival time on MÁV or PKP trains for your travel date, then book. Recheck for construction and delays on the day.
Split the visits across three days: the Old Town on day 14, Kazimierz on day 15, and the Schindler Factory exhibition on day 16. Keep day 17 as a buffer for delays or rest, then depart on day 18. Check tickets for the exhibition date on the official website.
Places and meals
Learn about the history of division at an official memorial site.
Google MapsAdmission varies by site, so choose just one or two.
Google MapsExplore the dining district alongside its community history.
Google MapsFirst choose the ticket type and visiting time for the historic building.
Google MapsCheck same-day operating notices, and don’t combine this with another memorial site on the same day.
Google MapsCheck the official website for visitor access on your planned date and any ID requirements.
Google MapsHow to fit it in
This itinerary suits travelers who want to visit major Central European cities without moving too often, and see both old towns and sites of modern history.
Reality check
For the four cross-border travel days, compare departure and arrival stations, total travel time, and transfer times in the journey planner for your travel dates. Connections from Budapest to Kraków in particular vary by date, so check the arrival time of the daytime service before booking accommodation. If the connections are inconvenient, reconsider whether to visit all five countries in 18 days.
Leave afternoons open on all four border-crossing days. Add at least 5 days if you also want to visit Munich, Salzburg, and Warsaw.
Plan no more than one paid attraction per city per day, with free walking days in between. Compare international train tickets by refund terms and seat reservation fees.
Follow photography and visitor rules at memorial sites. Allow time to rest afterward instead of going straight into more travel or nightlife.
If plans change
If a cross-border service is canceled, first secure an official alternative from your current city to the next booked city and check whether it connects to your outbound service on day 18. Change your booking to skip an intermediate city only when an actual train or bus that bypasses it is available and the accommodation cancellation or change terms work for you. If there is no connection, stay in your current city and review changes to your outbound service and accommodation.
Instead of a sold-out paid historic site, switch to an unreserved walk through streets in the Old Town or Kazimierz. If the visit feels emotionally difficult, limit memorial visits to one per day.
Small tip
Look for an open-jaw flight into Berlin and home from Kraków to avoid one long return journey.
Final check before departure
- Check entry requirements for Berlin’s Cold War and war memorial sites, and train times for your departure to Prague.
- Save reservation details and travel times for Prague’s and Vienna’s imperial and civic history sites.
- Check the last transport back to your accommodation for after your visits to 20th-century memorial sites in Budapest and Kraków.
Check service, construction, and strike updates for the four cross-border legs in each railway’s journey planner for your travel dates. Before paying for accommodation, confirm the actual train connections and whether the historic sites are open to visitors.
Information checked: 2026-10-04