Riga, Vilnius, Tallinn, Helsinki, Budapest, Bratislava and Zagreb

[Insidelaurashead]

I'm going away in just over a week, and I'm doing the 7 different cities in 7 countries over 12 nights. I absolutely know this will be a rush, it's my last trip alone before I start fertility treatment so I wanted to do a lot, and tick off some maybe not as child oriented cities. I also know a lot of them are near Russia and if things kick off I have the funds to get the next flight home or to a safer place.

Has anyone been to any of these cities? I am the stage of planning where I list everything I want to do in the city and then work out what's near what so I can see as much as possible in a short time. I've got about a day and a half (ish) per city and trying to not spend loads, so free or cheap things welcomed but if you paid for something and it was totally worth it please do share.

I have been to Vilnius. I loved it and its a very compact cheap city to visit. There is a little castle on the hill with nice views and a hill with crosses on. I had my best ever hot chocolate here. I also went to a wonderful restaurant in really old building that was a bit like a dungeon. I can't remember it's name but it will be on Trip Advisor

Budapest - Margeret Island, get the bus or funicular up to the Fishermans's Bastion, the ruin bars/Jewish quarter. Shoes on the Danube memorial. The central market. Heroes square and the boating lake.
Bratislava - you can go up to the top of the bridge over the Danube for stunning views. Cat cafe. Wandering about in the old town. The castle. Cheap cocktails

The old towns in Riga and Tallinn are beautiful. I had a drink in the bar at the top of a very tall tower in Riga and the view was brilliant.
If the weather is decent then in Helsinki I recommend taking the ferry to Suomenlinna, the island fort.

Wow. What a trip. I think I am more jealous, than I can ever remember being before.

Are you sure it's not a bit too much though? How will you fit the 7 in, to 12 days, with travelling aswell. Isn't that too much, too tiring! That's only a day and a half, 1.5 in each. Will you be able to see everything in a relaxed way?

I've always gone 3 days sometimes 4 on all my girly trips to Europe (7 cities).

I very much liked Helsinki. It’s a beautiful, elegant city with interesting 20th century architecture and boulevards of gorgeous art nouveau (or jugenstil) apartments. The train and bus station is a wonderful building. The bus and tram system is very good, get a day pass , a map and explore. I particularly like the Rock Church and the Sibelius Park and Monument where there is a musical sculpture made up of steel tubes that capture the wind like a pipe organ. There is a market off the main boulevard which is quite fun, and an open air pool nearby. Also you could check out some saunas. It’s a cool city.

I've been to Tallinn & Helsinki whilst on a Baltic cruise, & Budapest on a Danube cruise. Love to go back to all of them.
Try looking at sea & river cruise holidays for your destinations, & note details of their shore excursions.
They have the knack of (usually) picking out the must-see bits of a city.

Check out these walking tours - I did them in Budapest and Bratislava (and other places). You don’t have to book and just pay what you think it’s worth. A good thing to to do when you arrive for orientation/info about city snd tips as to what to do.

if making a flying visit make sure to book a slot at one of the baths in Budapest. I would recommend the Gellert Baths.

Oh the link would probably help!

www.freetour.com

Also I’d say you want to allocate a bit more time to Budapest and a bit less to Bratislava (the old town is beautiful but very compact) and Zagreb (which to be honest I didn’t love but I was there for a stopover on a Sunday and everything seemed to be closed so perhaps I’m being unfair to Zagreb)

@Oblomov22 youre absolutely right that it will be a rush. For most of the cities I'm getting buses between so instead of 3 hours at the airport, a couple on a plane then the commute into the city its 3 or 4 hours total on a bus (or a ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki) and from Vilnius to Tallinn I'm doing the overnight bus so I lose no awake time there. Absolutely a rush though. I am quite notorious for doing just one night in a city though so it's my usual length of time there and I am a planner, which is why I'm asking here now-so I can figure out maybe 5 'desperate to do' things per city and then another 10 'would be nice to do' and slot them in.

I recently did two nights in Belgium, one full day in Brussels and one day in Ghent. Felt I saw the things I really wanted to in Ghent and the same with Brussels. I'm now in a situation where if I was ever close by and able to go back for a few hours then I would but I don't feel like I've missed out.

@Georgyporky thats a great tip about looking into the cruise excursions for ideas. Great shout! Really helpful replies from everyone, thanks all of you

Have been to Riga, Budapest, Bratislava, and Zagreb.
Bratislava is tiny so could definitely see it all in a day.
Budapest is probably the largest and most spread out, might be worth seeing if you could claw some time from Slovakia for that.
In Riga we had a bicycle tour with a tour guide which was a great way to see the city, and a Segway tour in Budapest.
Definitely recommend as a way of increasing what you get to see, and spend some time with a knowledgeable insider.

Vilnius marketed itself as the g spot of Europe. "No one knows where it is but when you find it, it's amazing". One of my favourite trips.

The first 4 in 12 days would be great. You really won’t see much at the pace you are going.

Been to Budapest and Zagreb. Thought they were both great. You need more time in Bhdapest than Zagreb. Eat Stukli at la struk while you are in Zagreb!

In most of those, just walking around in the old town will be really nice and there is a lot to see.

If you like history and the weather is nice, the open air museum in Tallinn is nice
www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g274958-d290337-Reviews-Eesti_Vabaohumuuseum-Tallinn_Harju_County.html
and a nice promenade here:
static.visitestonia.com/images/3180791/pirita_kadi-liis_koppel_2016_35_.jpg