Budapest

Bobon

Well People, off to Budapest on Easter weekend. I realise this might not be the best time to see a city with the weekend thats in it but its the best I could do. Could anyone recommend things to do while I'm there, bars to drink in, restaurants to eat in, cost of living (I hear its cheap) ,the do's and dont's etc.. Much appreciated.

Dyr

Food is cheap and generally speaking very nice for the price. If you want to be cheapo visit the food halls in the shopping malls, good variety and cheap as chips. tbh i dont think i visited a restaurant that wasnt reasonably priced and very tasty. Theres a few on the main streets that stay open late and have tables on the street but i think they weren't as good value as others

Go visit the old part of buda and take a trip on the cable car thingey up the hill to it. There a set of underground tunnels around there that are now tourist attractions that are worth visiting but the entrance to them isn't exactly obvious. Visit this place http://www.terrorhaza.hu/index2.html. Theres also the public baths and the zoo as well. Beer wise borsodi, the dark version rocks, try palinka and unicum too for spirits. they do short trips up the danube on boats too.

A lot of the city is old and grimey which i quite like but keep your wits about you as you should visiting any city you dont know, as there can be a fair few bogeys about

johnny_ultimate

Its a very nice city alright. Was inter-railing during the summer and Budapest had possibly most to do out of anywhere. The Baths are a must do - go for around a half day and you'll have a great time - every temperature one could want is catered for
If you are staying in a hostel, they might have details about caving. One I was staying in organised it along with a few other hostels and it was great fun. Fairly physical - well, perhaps for an unfit wee one like me - but very much worth it.

rediguana

I had a very pleasant time in Budapest in February 2006. It would have been better if people (taxi drivers, tram police) hadn't been trying to scam me all the time though. Validate your ticket when you board the tram, unless you want to be frog-marched to an ATM to pay a bogus fine.

The spas are great in Budapest. I went to a few. The names of all of them escape me right now.

monkeyfudge

Whenever I'm in Budapest I try to get to this restaurant.

http://www.mofarguru.hu/

The menu has 192 pages in it... how cool is that?

Bobon

Thanks for the replies. Some valuable info here. Will type a review up on the other travel thread when i get back. Cheers

matt25

I was in Budapest a few month ago and was really impressed. It is a beautiful city - definitely not the poor Eastern Europe I was expecting. Building are beautiful.
Accommodation - I'd recommend renting an apartment: budapestlets.com were great - cheap and right in the city centre.
We got a 7 day train/tram/bus ticket, saved any hassle with working out how much each journey costs - €14, you can get 3 day also. Public transport is so much fun. Lots of old trams and undergrounds. The no. 2 along the river is nice to ride. Also take the yellow undergroud to Hero's Square and the baths beside there - they are the best. Also Rudas were good, but single sex most days.
I'm not a museum/art gallery person, but if you are there's lots. If you are over near the Gellert Hotel, worth checking out it the cave church next to it. The parliament is one of the most beautiful buildings I've seen in my life, wasn't able to do a tour because we hadn't booked, might be worth checking out.
Did caving - it was brilliant - not everyone's cup of tea, have a look at this website: http://barlangaszat.hu/angol/faq/index.htm
Restaurants: All our meals were brilliant. Make sure to get some goulash. There's a restaurant on a boat called Spoon, well worth checking out, though not cheap.
Found nightlife to be a lot quieter than Dublin. Bars seem to be well spread out, so there is no real going out area. Marxim was a cool bar on the Buda side.

Have a great time!