Bratislava and Sopron

I%26#39;m visiting Vienna next week and am considering taking a day trip to Bratislava and/or Sopron.

Do you think it would be possible to visit both cities in one day? I just want to see the highlights--I won%26#39;t linger.

Or would you recommend a day each?

Basically, I just want to say I%26#39;ve been to Slovakia and Hungary, since both will be close by. Let me know if you would recommend other cities instead.

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Will you have a car?

Bratislava is larger than Sopron and also features more sights. Bratislava%26#39;s center is a gem and partly looks like a little Vienna. Sopron is nice but not a highlight that everybody should see. The old part (center) is cute but small. If you only intend to see the highlights in both places, it should be feasible by car. Public transportation between Vienna and Sopron/Bratislava is very good, but Bratislava to Sopron would require a transfer again in Vienna if time counts.

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I won%26#39;t have a car, so I%26#39;m trying to figure out if it%26#39;s possible to see at least a bit of Slovakia and Hungary in the same day on a quick trip from Vienna...

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Now that%26#39;s a challenge :) Here%26#39;s a suggested itinerary:

Dept Vienna Sudbahnhof 0805, arr. Bratislava 0903 (get bus no. 91 to Nový Most - the bridge that looks like the Starship Enterprise - and have a walk around town.

Get back to the station (Petržalka) the way you came and get the 1233 to Gyor (Hungary), changing trains in Parndorf (Austria), which is very easy. You arrive in Gyor at 1413.

Get the 1837 train straight back to Vienna Westbahnhof, arriving at 2008. You will find Bratislava and Gyor to be very similar, but I wouldn%26#39;t say that Bratislava is like Vienna, other than the river, but make your own mind up :)

Let us know how you got on!

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I would suggest doing the following itinerary:

Vienna%26gt;Bratislava(SK)%26gt;Fertöd(HU)%26gt;Sopron(HU)%26gt;Vienna (or reversely)

Why Fertöd? Because there is a great palace, the Versailles of Hungary. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eszterh%C3%A1za

To reach Fertöd, Hungary you need to take a Vienna-bound train from Bratislava-Petrzalka to Parndorf, where you transfer to another train heading for Fertöszentmiklos, Hungary. Alight at %26#39;Fertöszeplak-Fertöd%26#39; and walk 1500m in Easterly direction. After you are done with exploration, walk Southerly through the great park to reach the railway station of Fertöszentmiklos and take a local train to Sopron, do your programme there and board a regional express train (REX) to Vienna.

http://fahrplan.oebb.at/bin/query.exe/e

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Do be careful when you get to Parndorf - the temptation to visit the huge Designer Outlet Centre just out of town may prove too great.........

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I just checked the train availability between Bratislava and Fertöd/Sopron. It is just awful and hardly feasible. If it is that important for you to visit both countries/places, do it seperately on different days. Between Vienna and Bratislava/Sopron you can rely on a vast amount of trains.

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Thanks so much for all this good advice!

I am considering taking the train from Vienna to Gyor, Hungary.

Then I can take a train from Gyor to Bruck an der Leitha, Austria (on the line toward Vienna) and switch trains to go to Bratislava.

Then I can take a train back from Bratislava to Vienna, returning the same day.

I still need to check the schedules more closely and see how feasible this all is, but so far it looks good to me. Let me know if you have any thoughts. I plan to review all this tomorrow and head out this weekend.

I really appreciate it!

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After looking over the train schedules, I have changed my plans and think I will just go in and out of Vienna, with a short visit to each location:

Wien S-Sopron 8:36-9:50

Sopron-Wien S 13:11-14:30

Wien S-Bratislava P 15:05-16:03

Bratislava P-Wien W 19:11-20:28

This is all for this Saturday.

Thanks for all your help, and let me know if anything looks amiss here.

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Sorry for the multiple messages--I can%26#39;t find a way to erase my previous comment, which was based on an earlier thought--I meant to post this instead:

I think I will follow the route GCEK recommended:

Dept Vienna Sudbahnhof 0805, arr. Bratislava 0903

Get back to the station (Petržalka) the way you came and get the 1233 to Gyor (Hungary).

Get the 1837 train straight back to Vienna Westbahnhof, arriving at 2008.

Thanks for such great advice--I can%26#39;t wait to go!

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It seems you can%26#39;t make a decision! :)

Is it really necessary to accomplish on one single day? In my opinion Sopron is more attractive than Györ....