Budapest recommendations

holmyster

Anyone got any recommendation on where to stay and interesting things to do in Budapest for 3 days in February mid week.

jameshayes

Budapest is cool, full of old buildings and history,

There is the opera house, it has a great story behind it, you should get the tour, only a few quid, and they run hourly.

The venicular(Sp?) will bring you up to the top of the mountain, great views.

The house of horror is great and I suppose the Baths are a must.

Finally I would recommend walking across the river! It's bigger than it looks!

P. Breathnach

Some of my experiences: www.iol.ie/~draoi and follow the Budapest links.

You can expect it to be cold! Bring warm clothes, because you should not miss out totally on the fun of rambling around a city that is visually very interesting.

Yes to the House of Terror for indoor stuff.

Get passes for public transport and use metro and trams a lot -- especially the trams, because you can see things from them. But be sure to use metro line 1 at least once, because it is the cutest metro I have seen anywhere.

If you are energetic, climb Gellert Hill for a fantastic view of the river, the bridges, and the city.

I usually use apartments in Budapest. Most people prefer Pest, because it is livelier. Good locations are near Octogon, or near Kalvin Ter/Central Market.

indiana jones

agree about the trams and trains. just be careful. we got caught without a ticket by two middle aged women who were watching out for ticket dodgers. you can hop on hop off without a tkt and sometimes its hard to see where to buy one and there is no barriers to stop you getting on without a ticket so its tempting not to bother. they were charging us 40euro each but we practically ran away from them while they were allegedly calling the police.
the big indoor market is really nice by the river, its in all the guide books and when we were there in winter last year there was a really big outdoor icerink near heros square so hopfullly its still there.

flycruise

Hotel Erzsebet is a three star hotel in Budapest, only a few mins stroll from city centre - 3 star, basic but location is bang on. 3 star Ibis Centrum is close to metro and restaurants and eventhough the same star rating, it's a little more comfortable but can sometimes be more expensive...

Creachadóir

How many of you are going? The IBIS isn't in a great area in Budapest. I'd recommend booking an apartment over there. There are a lot of apartment that you can book for a week or less (take a look at reviews in on tripadvisor). A lot of the hotels are very expensive in the centre, however, you can get a lovely apartment right in the centre.

I stayed in the Riverview Apartment in Budapest. Just off the main street, but very quiet. View of the river. Walking distance to the Buda side, but in the Pest area, right off the Vaca Utca. It's just a studio apartment, so really only suitable for a couple. Supermarket under it. One of the owners is English, and his wife is from Hungary. They live in Hungary, and were very helpful, and friendly. They were in the process of getting another place when we were there, maybe it's bigger. Anyway if you google Riverview Apartment, Budapest you'll find it.

It's very very cheap to get a bus to the city centre from the airport, and easy to do, so I'd recommend doing that. It's a beautiful city. Definitely go the thermal baths!!

P. Breathnach

There's more than one Ibis hotel in Budapest. The one on Raday utca is in a good location.

I agree that is is a good idea to go for an apartment. This is one agency I used, and I was happy with them: http://www.budapestlets.com/

dudara

We're heading to Budapest in about 2 weeks. We've booked the Andrassy hotel (5*, but only costing €105 a night).

It's nice to know that there's a funicular in the city. It's a joke between us that if there is a funicular we have to take it.

Are there any thermal baths that are mixed? i.e. men and women bathe together? The guide book seems to say that most are segregated.

Redegg

What great tips here. Am heading over alone on the the 5th of February and am going the hostel route. Cannot wait!

Lucy Lu

I stayed in these apartments last August, they are very nice and very central. We got them for 135 euro per apt per night and they can sleep up to 4 people.

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/buder-millennium-court-budapest-marriott-executive-apartments/

anthonymcg

Was there in October. Had great craic on a segway tour which lasted about 2.5/3 hours. Linky here

Pinkchick03

Here are the thermal baths that I went to when I was in Budapest:

http://budapestguide.net/2007/09/04/szechenyi-thermal-baths/

They are not segregated and they are near Heroes square which is well worth a visit.

You should go to the Citadella at night time and see the beautiful city lights, oh and Buda castle is fabulous too.

Oh and go to Margaret Island (Margitsziget) it is an Island between Buda and Pest - it's fabulous

Check out this link it has a lot of got stuff that I would thoroughly recommend in Budapest http://budapest.gotohungary.co.uk/budapest/sights

By the way I'm so jealous - I loved Budapest!

Oh and keep your eyes open for pancake restaurants - they are fabulous!

wakejiver

Amazing city.. a bit grey and the demeanour of locals can be a bit cold, but without doubt one of the most beautiful cities in Europe to visit. I recommend a few things. Make sure you visit the Gellert and book yourself in for a Siam Thai massage while you are at it.. You need to book this in advance but you can call them on 36-1-385-1728.

Take a good tour when you land to get to grips with the city first thing. If you are feeling very brave rent out a Trabant and go driving around the city.. Tel: 0036 1 302-4382 to organise this.

Instead of taking a boat tour and paying through the nose why not take the schedule passenger service operating on the Danube from May to August (Thursday to Sunday 9am to 5pm) which is an excellent and inexpensive way of seeing the city from the water. A couple of Euro per ticket.

Make sure you check out the American Embasssy website for their tourist advisory on places to avoid.. either getting ripped off or harshly treated..
http://hungary.usembassy.gov/tourist_advisory.html

As for accommodation, I travel over to Hungary about 3 times a year and we always stayed in rented apartment accommodation even if we are going for 3 days. Better value for money all round and we use a company called http://www.budarentals.com.

Enjoy Budapest as it is truly a gem among European gems.

Redegg

Few tips:

Buy Travelcard when you get over there. 3 day for about 10 euro. Worth it.

House of Terror was very good I though. Student rate too here.

Rudas baths were a bit dirty and seedy I thought esp on men only days.

Szechenyi baths near hero square are amazing. Out door spa is a must!!

Walk across the chain bridge and walk up to the Castle. Worth it and that little lift this was an absolute rip off!

Fat Mos blues bars is also very nice if you want to eat out. Hard to find I thought though!

Dan_B

Spoon restaurant is excellent.
It's on a boat moored across from the royal palace.
Book it in advance though, it's very popular.

-11 when I was there in feburary '06 so wrap up.

Tiriel

Lucy Lu wrote: »

I stayed in these apartments last August, they are very nice and very central. We got them for 135 euro per apt per night and they can sleep up to 4 people.

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/buder-millennium-court-budapest-marriott-executive-apartments/

Just booked an apartment here! Thanks!!

simonw

I was in Budapest the start of march this year, and I have to say, if you are going to the house of terror, DO NOT GET THE AUDIO GUIDE! i like history and thought i'd love the museum, but that audio guide ruined it for me, FAR too much detail about hungarian history, and we were all bored stiff by the time we were leaving. I recommend the baths up past heroes square, you won't want to leave!

We stayed in Boomerang Hostel on banca utca, cool location, cool owner, free bottle of wine when we arrived! I'd definitely stay there again.

As for nightlife, there's a pub called Szimpel or something like that hidden about 2 streets behind the synagogue. Very cool, the building is being fought over in court i think, and in the mean time, these ppl have turned it into a pub, with like garden furniture and mad stuff, its a good spot. Just make sure you get a table with no wobble, I lost a pint over my lap!