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Table 5 · 08-08-2013, 11:01 AM

I can offer a little insight hopefully. My family has an apartment in Budapest (we're Hungarian) so I've been there quite a few times....most recently last week!

In terms of where to stay, most of the action is in the 1st, 5th and 7th districts. The 5th is probably where you want to be, but it's probably also going to be the most expensive. In generally though Budapest is fairly cheap, unless you eat/stay at the most touristy places.

Keep in mind that Budapest has an absolute huge amount of history (it was founded in 895)….it's kind of daunting (founded by Celts, taken over by Romans, taken over by Magyars (ie Hungarians), then taken over by Turks, then the Austrians, then the Nazis, then the Commies, then finally gaining independence again). If you're into those types of things, I would recommend reading a little bit of history about the country, so you can get a sense of what's what.

It's a city that was built for an empire, so lots of things are built on a big scale. Unfortunately with half a century of communist rule, a lot of the buildings are not in the best of shape... but slowly that is changing. Keep in mind there are a lot of really cool things hidden away every where…. a building may look rundown from the outside, and then you walk in an it's spectacular.

Some things to see:

- Great Market Hall, its on the end of Vaci Utca, which you'll probably go to at some point. There's a lot of good food upstairs. It's a bit of a sh*tshow in terms of seating, but some great Hungarian "fastfood". Try Langos or Palacsinta.

- The #1 Metro line is the oldest metro in Continental Europe (only 2nd to London in the world), so its a really neat little architectural piece. It's right on Andrassy, which you will inevitably be on, so go downstairs to look at the stations. The Metro in general is easy to use, so take advantage. Although Budapest is pretty walkable.

- Go to one of the many Baths. There are a lot of great ones, although the the Széchenyi Baths are the biggest and probably easiest to access. It's balls-hot there right now, so this will make things better (was hovering around 40c last week when I was there).

- If you're into Opera, do a tour of the Opera house. One of the nicest in the world (I thought it was way nicer than the Scala in Milan).

- Budapest is known as a party city, but I don't really know much about where to go because unfortunately its past my bedtime. I do know that during the summer, some of the baths tend to have "spa parties" which is basically a bunch of half-naked adults getting drunk while in the pool. Think Vegas, but with fancy statues everywhere (and unlike Vegas, they are real). May or may not be your thing.

- The Alexandra Bookstore / Paris Cafe on Andrassy has a really beautiful Seccessionist-era cafe on the top floor. It's the nicest cafe I've ever been to. Also, free Wifi! Definitely don't pass this place up if you are on Andrassy. The New York Palace coffee house is pretty great too.

- The views are great from the Buda side, but if you can try to go up to the top of Gellert Hill/Citadel, ideally at night. Stunning views from up here. Try to go to Buda in the afternoon, when there are less tourists. You can take the funicular up, but I recommend walking down through the zig-zagy streets of Buda to get back down (it will be north of the Castle district). Looks of great little streets….this is much more of a local hangout, and is in many ways, a really niece reprieve from the rest of the city. If you walk down, there area around Baathany Ter has some good cheap restaurants.

- The Parliament Building is really great. There is a huge amount of construction outside of it right now, but do a tour if you can. The interior is pretty stunning. Even if you don't go in, you can get great views of it from Buda.

- I've heard the Terror House is a really good, but depressing, museum about oppression in Hungary…mainly focusing on Nazi and Soviet occupation, and the 1956 Revolution. If you're not into history, it may not be your thing though. You can still see bullet holes in the building from when the Russian tanks rolled in.

- You'll see a good chunk of Commie blocks left over from that era coming in from the airport or train, which for a lot of westerners is kind of fascinating.

- Ive never done a river cruise (dinner or otherwise), but it sounds like something that could be nice if you want to relax. They also have some boats that are nightclubs as well.

- Oh, and good luck trying to speak Hungarian. Hell, good luck even trying to read it. Lol.

A couple photos I took last week that might give you a small taste of the city:

Great Market Hall

Budapest by Thomasaurus, on Flickr

Széchenyi Chain Bridge: This thing was built in 1830 something....a few decades before the Brooklyn Bridge. Was a pretty big feat at the time.

Budapest by Thomasaurus, on Flickr

Alexandra / Paris Cafe - Home of great coffee and free WiFi.

Budapest by Thomasaurus, on Flickr

Some random shots of Buda (the older part of the city).

Budapest by Thomasaurus, on Flickr

Photo-4 by Thomasaurus, on Flickr

Budapest by Thomasaurus, on Flickr

Budapest by Thomasaurus, on Flickr

If you need anything more specific, let me know.

08-08-2013, 11:01 AM	#2
Table 5 Franchise Player Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: NYYC Exp:	I can offer a little insight hopefully. My family has an apartment in Budapest (we're Hungarian) so I've been there quite a few times....most recently last week! In terms of where to stay, most of the action is in the 1st, 5th and 7th districts. The 5th is probably where you want to be, but it's probably also going to be the most expensive. In generally though Budapest is fairly cheap, unless you eat/stay at the most touristy places. Keep in mind that Budapest has an absolute huge amount of history (it was founded in 895)….it's kind of daunting (founded by Celts, taken over by Romans, taken over by Magyars (ie Hungarians), then taken over by Turks, then the Austrians, then the Nazis, then the Commies, then finally gaining independence again). If you're into those types of things, I would recommend reading a little bit of history about the country, so you can get a sense of what's what. It's a city that was built for an empire, so lots of things are built on a big scale. Unfortunately with half a century of communist rule, a lot of the buildings are not in the best of shape... but slowly that is changing. Keep in mind there are a lot of really cool things hidden away every where…. a building may look rundown from the outside, and then you walk in an it's spectacular. Some things to see: - Great Market Hall, its on the end of Vaci Utca, which you'll probably go to at some point. There's a lot of good food upstairs. It's a bit of a shtshow in terms of seating, but some great Hungarian "fastfood". Try Langos or Palacsinta. - The #1 Metro line* is the oldest metro in Continental Europe (only 2nd to London in the world), so its a really neat little architectural piece. It's right on Andrassy, which you will inevitably be on, so go downstairs to look at the stations. The Metro in general is easy to use, so take advantage. Although Budapest is pretty walkable. - Go to one of the many Baths. There are a lot of great ones, although the the Széchenyi Baths are the biggest and probably easiest to access. It's balls-hot there right now, so this will make things better (was hovering around 40c last week when I was there). - If you're into Opera, do a tour of the Opera house. One of the nicest in the world (I thought it was way nicer than the Scala in Milan). - Budapest is known as a party city, but I don't really know much about where to go because unfortunately its past my bedtime. I do know that during the summer, some of the baths tend to have "spa parties" which is basically a bunch of half-naked adults getting drunk while in the pool. Think Vegas, but with fancy statues everywhere (and unlike Vegas, they are real). May or may not be your thing. - The Alexandra Bookstore / Paris Cafe on Andrassy has a really beautiful Seccessionist-era cafe on the top floor. It's the nicest cafe I've ever been to. Also, free Wifi! Definitely don't pass this place up if you are on Andrassy. The New York Palace coffee house is pretty great too. - The views are great from the Buda side, but if you can try to go up to the top of Gellert Hill/Citadel, ideally at night. Stunning views from up here. Try to go to Buda in the afternoon, when there are less tourists. You can take the funicular up, but I recommend walking down through the zig-zagy streets of Buda to get back down (it will be north of the Castle district). Looks of great little streets….this is much more of a local hangout, and is in many ways, a really niece reprieve from the rest of the city. If you walk down, there area around Baathany Ter has some good cheap restaurants. - The Parliament Building is really great. There is a huge amount of construction outside of it right now, but do a tour if you can. The interior is pretty stunning. Even if you don't go in, you can get great views of it from Buda. - I've heard the Terror House is a really good, but depressing, museum about oppression in Hungary…mainly focusing on Nazi and Soviet occupation, and the 1956 Revolution. If you're not into history, it may not be your thing though. You can still see bullet holes in the building from when the Russian tanks rolled in. - You'll see a good chunk of Commie blocks left over from that era coming in from the airport or train, which for a lot of westerners is kind of fascinating. - Ive never done a river cruise (dinner or otherwise), but it sounds like something that could be nice if you want to relax. They also have some boats that are nightclubs as well. - Oh, and good luck trying to speak Hungarian. Hell, good luck even trying to read it. Lol. A couple photos I took last week that might give you a small taste of the city: Great Market Hall Budapest by Thomasaurus, on Flickr Széchenyi Chain Bridge: This thing was built in 1830 something....a few decades before the Brooklyn Bridge. Was a pretty big feat at the time. Budapest by Thomasaurus, on Flickr Alexandra / Paris Cafe - Home of great coffee and free WiFi. Budapest by Thomasaurus, on Flickr Some random shots of Buda (the older part of the city). Budapest by Thomasaurus, on Flickr Photo-4 by Thomasaurus, on Flickr Budapest by Thomasaurus, on Flickr Budapest by Thomasaurus, on Flickr Budapest by Thomasaurus, on Flickr If you need anything more specific, let me know.