Budapest?

[thompso2]

I'll be going to Budapest on business in October, and my DH thought he might join me for a few days afterward, but we're not sure what to see and do while we're there. We'll only have about 3 days, so our plans can't be too elaborate. Can anyone recommend any activities, restaurants, etc.?

[keska]

You'll want to walk along the river and see the Parliament Building and probably St. Stephens Basilica on the Pest side of the Danube. Both are impressive though I never took a tour of the inside of the Parliament.

Then you can cross the river to the Buda side, take the funicular up to see the Palace and Old Town. Up in the Old Town, which is small, you can see the Holy Trinity column, which is a memorial for victims of the 1691 plague, the Mattias Church, and Fishermen's Bastion. They are all right there together.

Most people also walk down to at least see the Gellert Hotel with the famous spa. There's a huge monument on the hillside next to it in a big park and a chapel in a cave grotto.

If you want to shop, you can walk down Vatci utca (Vatci St.). It's a pedestrian zone that is cute to look at but I don't think was particularly special in terms of shopping.

The National Art Museum is up at the Palace but if you don't have a lot of time, I'd just walk and see the sights outside with a guidebook. There is one musuem I think you shouldn't miss and that's the museum memorializing the victims of Nazism and Communism, called the House of Terror. It's very emotional.

I'll post some of my pictures here so you can get an idea of what you might like to see. Do you know where you are staying when you're there?

[keska]

Here are a few sample photos:

Fishermen's Bastion
http://images1.snapfish.com/347667%3B4%3A%7Ffp343%3Enu%3D3269%3E748%3E368%3EWS NRCG%3D32339735%3C4439nu0mrj

http://images1.snapfish.com/347667%3B4%3A%7Ffp339%3Enu%3D3269%3E748%3E368%3EWS NRCG%3D32339735%3B%3B%3C4%3Anu0mrj

Looking from the Bastion to Parliament
http://images1.snapfish.com/347667%3B4%3A%7Ffp33%3B%3Enu%3D3269%3E748%3E368%3E WSNRCG%3D32339735%3C4444nu0mrj

Holy Trinity Square
http://images1.snapfish.com/347667%3B4%3A%7Ffp343%3Enu%3D3269%3E748%3E368%3EWS NRCG%3D32339735%3C4449nu0mrj

St. Mattias Church
http://images1.snapfish.com/347667%3B4%3A%7Ffp345%3Enu%3D3269%3E748%3E368%3EWS NRCG%3D323397363456%3Bnu0mrj

Fountain outside the Palace
http://images1.snapfish.com/347667%3B4%3A%7Ffp33%3B%3Enu%3D3269%3E748%3E368%3E WSNRCG%3D3233973632749nu0mrj

[keska]

Monastery on the Side of Gellert Hill
http://www1.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=47221169/PictureID=1429683311/a=37516136_37516136/t_=37516136

Cave Church
http://images1.snapfish.com/347667%3B4%3A%7Ffp339%3Enu%3D3269%3E748%3E368%3EWS NRCG%3D323397363273%3Cnu0mrj

Part of the Gellert Hotel
http://images1.snapfish.com/347667%3B4%3A%7Ffp339%3Enu%3D3269%3E748%3E368%3EWS NRCG%3D3233973632744nu0mrj

View to the beginning of Vatci Street
http://images1.snapfish.com/347667%3B4%3A%7Ffp343%3Enu%3D3269%3E748%3E368%3EWS NRCG%3D323397363274%3Anu0mrj

[keska]

St. Istvan (St. Stephen's) Cathedral
http://images1.snapfish.com/347668239%7Ffp343%3Enu%3D3269%3E748%3E368%3EWSNRCG %3D3233973642997nu0mrj

Random neat buildings you can see while walking around
http://images1.snapfish.com/347668279%7Ffp343%3Enu%3D3269%3E748%3E368%3EWSNRCG %3D323397364%3A4%3B5nu0mrj

This one is actually the renovated Hotel Europe.
http://images1.snapfish.com/347668279%7Ffp33%3B%3Enu%3D3269%3E748%3E368%3EWSNR CG%3D3233973642996nu0mrj

http://images1.snapfish.com/347668279%7Ffp345%3Enu%3D3269%3E748%3E368%3EWSNRCG %3D3233973652445nu0mrj

[colz85]

Oh Keska, you're making me Hungary-sick! :)

I was there in 1989....I know much has changed. But Budapest is a beautiful, historical city, and there is plenty to do.

A couple of places I remember are the New York Cafe (http://www.gotohungary.com/budapest/cafes.shtml), and Gundels. There are also lots of mom and pop kinds of places...you never know what you may stumble upon.

I would recommend getting a Hungarian phrase book and familiarizing yourself with the language....it's not like any other language, except maybe Finnish. We found most service people like waiters would first greet us in Hungarian, then German, then English. But it's always nice to be able to know a few helpful phrases.

Oh...so lucky! It's really a beautiful city. Sometimes called Paris of the East. And fairly easy to get around on foot.

ETA: Lots of good info here: http://www.budapestinfo.hu/en

[keska]

I know. I miss it too. I spent summer 2003 working there. I always say it's a toss up between Prague and Budapest as to which I like better. Prague is very quaint and beautiful in the Old Town but I think I'd rather live in Budapest. It's got so much going for it and it's not as crowded with tourists.

[thompso2]

Keska and Colleen, thank you both so much!

I think we'll probably try to visit the Gellert Spa (unless you'd recommend another one)?

I've been trying to pronounce the Hungarian phrases in the back of the guidebook I borrowed, but I'm not sure anyone will understand me. ;) I speak German as well as English, though, so I'm hoping we'll manage okay.

I loved Prague and Krakow, so I think Budapest will be amazing -- especially after seeing those pics!

[colz85]

Oh, if you speak German, you should be fine.

Hungarian is tricky. I pronounce it ok because I've heard it spoken in my family. (when gramma and the aunts and uncles didn't want the kids to know what they were saying, usually!) But it's got its own peculiarities, for sure.

[keska]

Actually, you won't need to speak Hungarian at all. All the people working at restaurants/cafes, sights, hotels, stores, etc in the inner circle of the city will speak English. Except for hello and good-bye, I never had to speak Hungarian for the entire summer I was there.

[thompso2]

I just got back from my trip to Budapest, so I thought I would update this thread. You can find my trip recap in my journal (starting at post #887), and I put a few photos online here (http://www.jeremiahblatz.com/personal/pics/jess/budapest-2006/).

For the first few days I stayed at the Budapest InterContinental (http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/ic/1/en/hotel/budhb?_requestid=1375582) for work. The location was perfect, the service was great and the rooms were nice. That being said, once my DH arrived and we were paying for our own accommodations, we stayed at Bellevue B&B (http://www.bellevuebudapest.com/index.php?lang=en&faz=1&aaz=0). We would highly recommend it! It's just below Buda Castle, so it has great views, but it's only a 10-minute walk from the metro, trams, restaurants, cafes, etc. The hosts are very nice and welcoming, and are more than happy to recommend local restaurants, shops, etc. Our room was 50 Euros per night, including a substantial breakfast, and we were glad we chose it.

As mentioned in my recap, we ate at some delicious places and the food prices were quite reasonable. Our top recommendations would be Gerbeaud (http://www.gerbeaud.hu/) (the cakes are a must!) and Darshan (http://www.frommers.com/destinations/budapest/D42333.html) (try the steak fries!) in central Pest, Nagyi Palacsintazoja (http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Hungary/Budapest_Fovaros/Budapest-436839/Restaurants-Budapest-Nagyi_Palacsintazoja_Grannys_Pancake_Restaurant-BR-1.html) pancake house and Horgásztanya Vendéglö (http://www.vendegvaro.hu/37-2130) fish restaurant (try the fogas in mushroom sauce) in central Buda.

We enjoyed the Szechenyi Baths more than the Gellert Baths, though both were nice once we figured out how to navigate the complex payment and locker room system. We just used the main pools, but if we go back we'll try the Turkish baths or maybe get a massage.

Keska is right about it being a walking city. We did make use of its great public transportation system, but we also walked a lot. It's a very pleasant city to stroll in and we had gorgeous weather, so we only went inside places we really wanted to see -- St. Stephen's Basilica, the Matthias Church, the Great Synagogue, the Central Market Hall and the spas, pretty much. (Okay, there were a few more, but not many!)

Anyway, enough rambling, but if you're fortunate enough to visit Budapest, you'll surely enjoy it!

[colz85]

Ohhhhh...thank you for that post and the link to your pictures. I SO want to visit there again...your pictures brought back memories!

And dobostorte ROCKS, doesn't it? My gramma used to make it.

[wander_woman]

So glad you had a good time! Thanks for posting your review and photos. Budapest is a great city. I haven't been there in forever but would really like to go back someday.

[johnny'sgirl]

I'm headed to Budapest this summer (a week in Italy, a week in Hungary, and a week in Romania) and I just wanted to say thanks TONS for the advice here! We're going with our roommate, who is Hungarian by birth (lived in Romania for most of his life though) but I'd still like to know what to see because they may differ from what he thinks we should see (for example, it hadn't even occurred to him to take us to see the different baths.)

So thanks again, and feel free to chime in with more advice if you've got it. :D

[thompso2]

Just in case anyone's interested, my DH finally put our illustrated travel journal online: Budapest - September 2006 (http://jeremiahblatz.com/personal/pics/budapest-2006/).

[johnny'sgirl]

Just in case anyone's interested, my DH finally put our illustrated travel journal online: Budapest - September 2006 (http://jeremiahblatz.com/personal/pics/budapest-2006/).

GOREGOUS. Now I'm dying to go back!! Hubby though... not so much--when we went, they were in the middle of a heat wave and it was above 40C every day we were there (and really humid!) so hubby has slightly less than fond memories of the place. :) Nevertheless, we may go back next summer for a couple of days to visit our roommate's family before continuing on to Vienna. Hopefully the weather will be cooler. :) Thanks again for the pics--they're awesome!!! :D