Difference between revisions of "Budapest and Vienna"

Revision as of 00:14, 9 April 2018

Budapest

There are many, many great hotels in Budapest (and even more shitty ones), I'll only recommend one (and I've stayed if a few dozen): the Corinthia Hotel Budapest. This place has it all, glam, history, one of the best restaurants in the whole country, it's close to everything (esp. the 'Octogon' subway station) and it has a awesome spa. If you give the staff notice, they'll pick you up from the train station in a limo (they did that for free for us), price should be around $200/night, which I think is very reasonable for this place. I recommend a 3 night stay.

What to see

River cruise

The best way to get your bearings around Budapest is to take one of the many 1-hour river cruises up and down the river first. If you got there in the morning, it's best to have the hotel arrange that for you, including a taxi to get to where that cruise starts. The metro system in Budapest isn't like Munich, it's entirely adequate, but you'll need some bearings first to use it. Once you got that, it's easier to navigate the different subways to get where you wanna go, and also get from the different places to the next.

The following is a list of things to see, more in priority order than geographical order. You'll have to plan your day trips to make sure you're not wasting too much time waiting for the metro or hopping from one train to the next. There are a few tips at the end of this list.

Spa's and baths

Budapest, with its Turkish history, has some 600+ spa's. There are two that are noteworthy

1. The Gellert Spa (http://gellertspa.com/), which although showing its age (and problematic Communist management in the past), it' still a must see. It's at the southern end of the Budapest downtown area, right on the Danube river at the Liberty Bridge.
2. the Szechenyi Spa (http://www.szechenyibath.hu/) is what you'll typically see on any post card from Budapest. You'll have to spend a few hours there, just to marvel the architecture. If there is a long line, try to upgrade to a massage, you can skip the line that way.
3. if you went with my hotel recommendation, you'll have one of the best private spas in the basement of your hotel.

Opera house

The opera house is right around the corner from your hotel. If possible, try to get tickets, it's the best sounding opera house in Europe after the Scala in Milan. If the place looks familiar, it's probably because you've seen it in a dozen or so hollywood movies as a movie location

Parliament building

Budapest has the largest parliament building in Europe (for real, it's larger than the Parliament in London). You'll have to get a guided tour, which is well worth it. When you're done, come around the southern side of the building towards the Danube river. You'll see shoes along the promenade - the history why they are there is at this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoes_on_the_Danube_Bank

Buda castle

This can be a day trip in itself, but it's on a steep hill, so use the funicular that starts at the Széchenyi Chain Bridge (literally a chain bridge) to get up there. After walking around up on the castle hill, make your way to the Fisherman's Bastion. There is a nice bar up there, have a drink and enjoy the view.

Gellert Hill

A large park on a steep hill overlooking Budapest. It's quite a hike to get up there, so if you're already spend from walking around all day, I'd recommend making a reservation for evening dinner at the Citadella Restaurant up there, take a cab to get there an hour early, walk around a bit, and then have dinner at the Citadella restaurant. Make sure to request a table by the window when making the reservation (you may have to make that reservation a day or two in advance), the view from there is unbeatable, and the food is excellent.

From the Great Market Hall via Vaci Street to Vörösmarty square

The Great Market Hall is a huge hall of all sorts of Hungarian food and other items, located basically across the Liberty Bridge from the Gellert Spa. Enjoy some real Hungarian Salami, Hungarian Duck Liver pate and caviar. They also have great hungarian wine, and other hard liquors. The market is closed on Sundays, and closes already at 3PM Saturdays, otherwise open until 6PM. When you get out, make your way to Vaci street (basically across the market), and walk up all the way to Vörösmarty square. There are hundreds of shops, restaurants and bars along the way. Once you make it to the square, stop in at the famous Café Gerbeaud