Budapest

[cowbite]

I'm off to Budapest for 5 days on Monday. I'll be getting the obligatory guide book but they tend to just give you the usual beaten path to follow. I wondered if anyone here had any suggestions of things that the guide book might not tell me about. Things to see or do? Good places to eat/drink/dance?

Thank-ee :cool:

x

[belboid]

Marquis de Salade (http://www.frommers.com/destinations/budapest/D42120.html) is a fucking brill place to eat!

[Paulie Tandoori]

There's a great (mainly) vegan restaurant called Wabisabi on Visengrad (i think) - lovely food, relaxing surroundings and cheap prices.

The thermal baths at Széchenyi are well worth a visit imo - they are single sex on week days i.e. men or women only depending on which day, and then mixed usage over the weekend.

There was some decent bars we visited but can't remember details off top of my head - will try to get back to you with details. Actually, I remember one we liked which was called the Bambi bar, very cold war/Eastern European looking but cheap beers and tasty omlettes.

Watch out for your change in metro stations cos the attendants will try to fleece you if you pay for tickets with large denomination notes.

Oh, and the House of Terror was an extremely moving place to go see - it examines what happened to Budapest over the last 50 or so years of Nazi/Russian control. The building is where the secret police used to be located.

Have fun :)

[CyberRose]

Go to the castle, then find the dungeon/labyrinth and explore until you find a room with an alter-type thing in it with a trickle of liquid coming out of it - its real red wine!!!

[rubbershoes]

the thermal baths are excellent. we wnet to the Széchenyi Baths and thoroughly enjoyed it though it's all rather baffling. allow yourself a whole afternoon there

[Cadmus]

pay the tram fare.

not many people speak proper english but the ticket inspectors are fluent as fuck.

dance some cszardas, eat dried spicy sausages...

Edited to add: don't miss Café Gerbeaud (http://www.gerbeaud.hu/)

[tastebud]

onemonkey and i came back from just over a week in budapest last week.
unfortunately, i can't really give you any info. as we spent much of our time at the sziget festival.
however, i can say that it is a really lovely city.
very relaxed (but you really do feel how relaxed it is), and friendly.
i know that there are bars open all night (we found one in the end, after walking for quite some time, on the evening of our arrival) that are pretty friendly.
-beware: do not make the mistake of over-dosing on cheese. fried cheese is a very common vege option. it will make you unwell.
i spent about 2 hours on the loo one night! :o
have a great time!
:)

[tastebud]

the thermal baths are excellent. we wnet to the Széchenyi Baths and thoroughly enjoyed it though it's all rather baffling. allow yourself a whole afternoon there
onemonkey said they were really cool.
i was rather unwell in bed so couldn't make it.
many other people we met at the festival rated the baths really highly too.
i think they are especially friendly if you are gay and you attend on gay day.

[belboid]

onemonkey said they were really cool.
i was rather unwell in bed so couldn't make it.

same thing happened to me, it was a right pisser!

I`m sure it will be in the tourist books,but...the statue park is a must! two buses, but well worth it.

and theres a bar in the subway near the museums (?) that is well worth a visit too.

Dont buy any zwack unicom tho!!

[miniGMgoit]

Go to the Communist Museum.

Its just outside Budapest its self but is an easy bus ride. Its just a field with all the old bronze statues in it. Its a very surreal place undeed.

The Zoo is quite good to although the bears were doing that rocking thing :(

Just go for a wonder. Some of the buildings are amazing.

Hungarian is a bit tough to get your head around though.

[cowbite]

This is great, thank you everyone. I'm really excited about my trip now :D

[belboid]

Go to the Communist Museum.

Its just outside Budapest its self but is an easy bus ride. Its just a field with all the old bronze statues in it. Its a very surreal place undeed.
thats the statue park.

not just being pedantic, I think there is also a 'Museum of Communism', but it's really really shit, and pretty right wing.

[oisleep]

i like the way they've done the statue park, just chucked them all in a barren patch of land without any big fuss or spin on it, unlike the dubious stalin-land recently opened just outside vilnius in lithuania

[rhod]

Had a bit of a flying visit through Budapest earlier this year & would love to go back.

Couple of the touristy spots are actually well worth visiting:

Central Market - very impressive, with huge variety of stuff (& cheap)
Heroes Square - Quite emotional place to be when you know about the recent history of the place, when the Russian tanks rolled in. Bordered by a couple of decent art museums.


Wanted to try some of the restaurants mentioned in the guidebooks, but got a bit frustrated as they seemed to be closed. Eventually had a very pleasant snack in the Astoria Hotel in very opulent surroundings. Has been used in a few films. Again, not badly priced considering you are in the middle of Budapest.

[davesgcr]

There is a very fine railway operated by children at the top of one of the hills - its called the Pioneers Railway - about 3 miles long and it has great views of the city.Get there by tram - do a circuit and come back down on the cliff railway.

Seriously - worth doing as a "Communist" era legacy.

The Russian style Metro cars are good - very art deco.