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Budapest

Blackpool78

By Blackpool78
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Debian

Debian

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You'll be in Pest then. I was over in November with the wife for a few days.

http://www.szechenyibath.hu/Thermal Baths

Go up to Buda Castle - use the Funicular to go to the top, and then stroll to the Fishermans Bastion.

TRY ALL THEIR DARK BEER

TRY THE FOOD at Langos at the Central Market Hall.

Night time cruise on the Danube

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Toepoke

Toepoke

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As Debian says Szechenyi Baths are a must, you can't beat soaking outside in the hot water in the middle of winter.

Across the road from the baths is Gundel, Hungary's most celebrated restaurant. It costs a wad to eat there but they do a Sunday lunch buffet for 20 quid which is fantastic.

I'd also recommend a night cruise on the Danube, especially the dinner cruise. I'm not sure what the schedule will be like in February though.

Do bring warm clothes though it will likely be brass monkeys.

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wanderer

wanderer

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Budapest is a city that took me a number of visits to grow to like and appreciate.

Its a city that does not like being bracketed into the Eastern European stereotype, so its not cheapy-cheap on the levels of cities in neighboring countries (you will not pay the same price for a beer in two bars, as you could pay 90p in one, then go next door and pay £2) but is still relativly cheap (but the center is a bit of a tourist trap.... every bar and restaurant will have some guy or girl in traditional style clothing to tempt you in to have a over priced meal)

Its a lovely city for walking around in.... The Buda side is really enjoyably during the day (castle and spa's etc) but shuts down completely at night, while the Pest side comes to life (though its center is pretty small, I enjoy Raday Street (behind the market place) as it is a street of bars and restaurants (there is a Armenian owned Scottish themed bar... slightly tacky and nothing special, but if passing do pop in.... on my last visit a number of "hippy" and Cuban themed bars and restaurants had opened up on this street and certainly was buzzing at night).

Parliament building is really nice with two daily tours of the inside.... the walk from the Opera to Heroes Square (stopping off at the church to climb to the top of the tower is also good) with a nice park to be found behind Heroes Square.

Agree on doing the river tours at night as you get some amazing scenes.

Restaurants I like are,

Bohemtanya - cheap and local food that I enjoy visiting.

Karpatia Etterem - Bit of a tourist trap, but more up market than Bohemtanya, and does live folk music every day from 6pm.

Sir Williams Bar (Armenian owned Scottish pub.... as said, nothing special and not worth going out your way for, but does an amazing steak dinner (leg of the cow!!!!) for the price of a McDonalds almost!)

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Toepoke

Toepoke

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Aye if you take a close look many of the windows on the palace have been painted on!

The old Elizabeth Bridge was beautiful, a pity they didn't reconstruct it the way it looked before the war.

I mind having a right laugh at the Sir William pub. Adding culture references to your menu (eg. Rangers steak) doesn't make it a Scottish pub :-))

There was a new more authentically Scottish pub, The Caledonia Bar, opened a few years back, don't know how it's getting on. It's near the Opera house.

Actually a night at the opera (or ballet, depends on the schedule) is something I'd really recommend on the cold winter nights. You can get tickets upstairs for just a couple of quid and the building itself is worth the admission...

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wanderer

wanderer

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I mind having a right laugh at the Sir William pub. Adding culture references to your menu (eg. Rangers steak) doesn't make it a Scottish pub :-))

There was a new more authentically Scottish pub, The Caledonia Bar, opened a few years back, don't know how it's getting on. It's near the Opera house.

Its still on the go (some Hungarian football journalist I have been speaking to on Twitter has asked me to meet him there for a beer on the way back from Slovakia).

The tour of the Opera House during the day is really nice and well worth doing (when we went it was out of season, so no shows were on, but keep a eye out for notice boards for free public performances in the city.... we caught a really nice music concert in one of the churches off the main drag of the city).

Also watch out for any movies being filmed there. When we went the last Die Hard movie was being filmed (Budapest was standing in for Moscow..... :blink: crazy as the city does not resemble Moscow all that much!) so a number of streets and buildings were closed off (we actually saw the tank chase scene from the movie getting filmed).

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wubbs

wubbs

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The Szechenyi Baths are a must, although the Gellert Baths are pretty good too.


In addition to what others have said:

The House of Terror (history of the Hungarian Secret Police) on Andrassy ut

If you're interested in wine then go to the Hungarian House of Wine.

Statue Park is a collection of statues from the communist era - it's a bit of a trek

I went to the Opera too - wouldn't rush back, but was good to see it despite not understanding much (In Russian with Hungarian subtitles)

Café Gerbeaud - traditional coffee house in central Pest.

For day or half day trips look at Godollo or Szentendre (St. Andrews)

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Toepoke

Toepoke

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Its still on the go (some Hungarian football journalist I have been speaking to on Twitter has asked me to meet him there for a beer on the way back from Slovakia).

Good stuff. I had a quick look for it when we were back in the summer but couldn't find it, the street layout can confuse around that part of Pest though.

I'd a Hungarian mate who worked servicing the draught pumps around the pubs and I sent him a Killie pennant to give to the Caledonia because I'd noticed we were one of the few teams not represented on the wall. I just wanted to check if it was on display!

When we lived there Beckett's Irish pub was the hub for ex-pats, but that's closed and moved to a smaller premises. Not sure where the English speakers like to congregate now...

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wanderer

wanderer

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the street layout can confuse around that part of Pest though.

Agree on that.

On my last visit we stayed in the Carpathian Palace, which is on one of the main roads in the city, yet getting to the river side and tourist area's just seemed to be a maze of endless back streets and stuff.

October I am staying in the Zenit Hotel down by the river side..... guy I spoke with recommended the K+K Hotel near the Opera, which is roughly £30-40 per night throughout the year, yet is £120 a night for when I need it (actually noticed a number of hotels are somewhat over priced for that week)

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Toepoke

Toepoke

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Me and the wife are heading over mid March for a long weekend.

Staying at the Prestige Hotel. Any advice on location etc? Looking for things to book before hand.

Cheers

That's a great spot, handy for the riverside. We lived just a couple of blocks from it (although the hotel wasn't there then). My mate's sister stayed at the Prestige a few weeks back and said it was fabulous, they've done a great job refurbishing the building.

Again I can give you some tips in a bit, but that's bedtime for me...

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Toepoke

Toepoke

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Guys, as promised please find a list of tips below. I'd made them up specifically for some friends previously so have tried to make them more generic. Hope these help....

Budapest Tips

It’s actually two cities, Buda to the west, Pest to the east with the Danube (Duna) flowing north south in between. Buda is hilly and quiet. Pest is flat and busy, you’re likely to spend most of your time there. Pest looks roughly like half a dartboard with three boulevards (korut) arcing round from north to south, and avenues (ut) intersecting them like spokes.

I strongly recommend getting hold of a decent map to get your bearings. There should be loads of freebies at the airport or the hotel .

Arrival

If ground transport hasn’t already been arranged I’d recommend using the hotel minibus (office in the arrivals hall at the airport) :-

http://www.airportshuttle.hu/en/

That said taxis are now much better regulated than in our day (they used to rip you off rotten at the airport, now it’s illegal to charge over a certain per km rate).

Getting Around

Public transport is the way to do it. The different services are fully integrated and run til late in the evening, with night services on major routes.

Like many European cities you need to validate your ticket before boarding the bus or metro. You can change Metro lines on a single ticket but if you want to change on to a bus or tram you need to validate another which can quickly add up as they’re about £1 a pop. For a tenner you can get a 72 hour pass which I would recommend if you want to do a bit of travelling around, saves you validating tickets all the time too.

Details of tickets at the link below. You can buy single tickets or multi-day passes from vending machines in the metro stations. Bus drivers will sell you a single too.

http://www.bkk.hu/en/prices/

DO NOT BOARD WITHOUT A TICKET! Especially on the Metro. Inspectors are ruthless and you’ll be fined about 40 quid.

A handy map, if bamboozling in its meticulousness:-

http://www.bkk.hu/apps/docs/terkep/pest.pdf

After midnight this most major services are replaced by nightbuses. An even more bamboozling night services map:-

http://www.bkk.hu/apps/docs/terkep/pest.pdf

Money

Exchange rate has taken a dip recently (tied to the Euro) but it's still pretty decent compared with UK prices.

I noticed many more places took credit cards than before if you’d rather not use cash. There are plenty of ATMs though. Usually they give you the option of taking the local bank exchange rate or your own, from experience it’s best to decline the local rate.

If you’re taking Sterling make sure the notes are English, they won’t look at Scottish ones. There are loads of exchange booths dotted around. Shop around for the best deal (keep away from Vaci Utca – more later).

Things to Do

Bathing

A really great place to go is Szechenyi Baths (Furdo). It’s in the City Park (Varosliget), and stays open til 10pm. It’s hard to beat lying outside in the thermal water, there are numerous pools to explore indoors too.

To get there take the M1 metro, you'll find a metro station right at the baths. You can also get off a stop earlier at Hosok Tere (Heroes’ Square – that’s worth a wander round too, you can’t miss it with the big column in the middle surrounded by statues) then walk into the park. If you're there on a Monday I find that's a good day to go to the baths as a lot of public buildings and places to visit close on Mondays, plus it gets very busy at weekends.

http://www.szechenyibath.hu/

Cruising

Taking a cruise on the Danube is a must do, an evening dinner cruise is a particular novelty treat. Unfortunately many don't run right though the winter, the one below does I think but I've not used it before:-

http://legenda.hu/en/sightseeing-cruises

There are also a ferries run by the public transport (D11, D12, D13) which stop at various points along the Danube throught the day. If you’ve a travel pass (see Getting Around) you can use it for free during the week. Nice way to get a cheap cruise!

Exploring

Most tourist traps are around Vaci Utca (not to be confused with Vaci Ut near your hotel). Feel free to wander round here but be aware it’s full of people trying to rip you off either by con tricks or hugely inflated prices, and never attempt to change money here.

Down the bottom of Vaci utca is the Great Market Hall (Nagy Vasarcsarnok). A tourist magnet, it’s the place to go if you want a condensed version of what Hungary has to offer in food, fabrics and general tat. It’s only open til 6pm though.

http://www.piaconline.hu/new/index.php

At the top of Vaci Utca is Gerbaud, one of the best coffee houses (kavehaz) in town. Worth trying some of their fancy cakes.

http://www.gerbeaud.hu/

From here you can stroll down to the river. It’s a nice walk across the Chain Bridge (the original suspension bridge built by a Scotsman, Adam Clark) into Buda. From there you can take the Siklo (funicular railway) up to the castle (Var).

http://www.bkv.hu/hu/jarmuveink/siklo_menetrend/

You can get a single ticket then wander south past the palace and take in the spectacular views across the river before descending the newly restored staircase and heading back over the bridge. If you’ve more time up at the castle you can head north to the Mattyas church and the Fisherman’s Bastion which offers more great vistas over the city.

North of Vaci Utca in Erzsebet Ter (Elizabeth Square) there is a giant ferris wheel which gives a decent view across central Pest.

http://szigetfestival.com/info/sziget_eye_belvaros

Just up from that it’s hard to miss the sight of the huge St Istvan Basilica. The square in front is always a good spot for a photo opportunity. Back in the day we stayed in Zrinyi Utca leading up to the Basilica, the area has been seriously renovated since then!

From the riverside take the tram #2 north past the Parliament (worth getting out for a wander around that area) or continue on to the terminus Jaszai Mari Ter from where you can head across the Danube to Margaret Island. Half way across Margaret Bridge (Margit Hid) is a good place to stop and admire the view looking south. If you walk down the ramp on to the island you’ll be met with a giant musical fountain and lightshow which is a pleasant way to spend half an hour on a warm evening (not in winter unfortunately). The tram #4/6 runs right over the bridge too and is a good option to get to and from the Island.

Take tram #4/6 to Wesselenyi Utca or Metro M2 to Blaha Luizja Ter to visit the magnificent New York Cafe, which has been beautifully restored (unfortunately it was shut for redevelopment the whole time we lived there). Worth popping in for afternoon tea:-

http://www.newyorkcafe.hu/

Drinking

There are stacks of places to go for a swally. For a traditional Magyar experience sorozo are beer pubs, borozo are wine pubs (less All Bar One more like wine in the Greenock sense!) one of the best for that is the Grinzingi Borozo...

http://www.grinzingi.hu/

There are plenty of more up market bars though. As mentioned if possible avoid the Vaci Utca area as you’ll pay through the nose. Anything over £1.50 a pint is extortion

If you’re looking for areas with plenty of places to try out I’d recommend Liszt Ferec Ter (take M1 or Tram 4/6 to Oktogon), or all the way down Raday utca (M3 to Kalvin Ter). Most of the bars in these areas do decent food menus too.

Missing home? Try this place...

http://www.caledonia.hu/en

The ruin pubs are a phenomenon that seems to have captured the imagination of the city's drinkers over the past decade. Simpla Kert is believed to be the best of them, again though it's from after my time so I've not experienced it:-

http://www.szimpla.hu/en

Eating

As with any big city there are a bewildering array of restaurants springing up all the time so a lot has changed since I was eating out regularly there.

If you’re looking for traditional Hungarian, these places were not too bad (keep a couple of quid handy to tip the gypsy musicians though!)

http://eng.matyaspince.eu/

http://www.karpatia.hu/en

Going out with a group can be a laugh at Sir Lancelot’s medieval restaurant...

http://www.sirlancelot.hu/?lang=en

If you fancy a curry, the chap who was the chef at the factory we worked in (Indian owners – they needed their own food) has since set up a wee restaurant at the bottom of Pannonia utca not too far from Margaret Island. No frills but very good food...

http://indiaietterem.hupont.hu/

My ultimate recommendation is the Sunday brunch buffet at Gundel, Hungary's finest restaurant (near Szechenyi Baths). As much of their excellent food as you can stomach for around 20 quid. Best to book a table, and not wear jeans/trainers...

http://www.gundel.hu/en/

There is really too much to recommend food wise. I suggest grabbing a restaurant guide (there are usually loads kicking about the tourist info at the airport or the hotel) and taking your pick. From experience it’s hard to select a bad one.

Edited by Toepoke
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irnbruman

irnbruman

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Loved Budapest when I was there - just stayed for one night before getting the train next day to Zagreb for the Croatia match.

Stayed at Hotel Charles on the Buda side - just a five minute bus ride across the river. It was quite cheap but excellent reviews on tripadvisor. The hotel is the friendliest Ive ever stayed at - got a free upgrade to a big double room with kitchen with a bottle of fizz and a box of chocolates provided, instead of the single room I had paid for,. It was my birthday on the day I was checking out and the hotel had noticed. The guys on reception were the friendliest possible.

Had a fantastic couple of hours at the Szycheni baths , met Nelbo for drinks at night - enjoyed the "Scottish " bar - next day had a wee jaunt on the trams - followed by lunch at TGI Fridays - next to metro station where all the metro lines converge. £4 for a fantastic lunch.

Defintely be back for a romantic weekend when I can find a burd.

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