Brahmin

I will be in Budapest towards the end of the month for three days. What should I see and do? I generally want to take it easy and not rush around. i will be staying at the Hilton Budapest.

Any advice for airport transportation?

Thank you.

JR14

When I lived in Budapest a couple years ago, airport transportation meant a taxi to and from the small airport. When leaving the airport, you had to wait on line to pay your fare at a kiosk just outside the airport doors before going to a taxi. Someone who's been there more recently might be able to confirm if that's still how it works. I'm sure there are also options if you want to hire a private car -- just be careful to avoid scams.

As for things to do in Budapest, Buda Castle and the Fisherman's Bastion in Buda and the Parliament in Pest are usually considered must-sees. You could also visit some thermal baths -- at this time of year, I'd avoid the Szechenyi Baths (which are mostly outdoors) and try out the Gellert Baths. If you enjoy museums, there are plenty of beautiful ones in the city. Basically, once you get beyond the major hits, what you do will depend on your interests.

Planning will also depend on which Hilton you're staying at. From what I'm seeing, one is up in the castle district on the Buda side, and the other is right in the city on the Pest side. You will probably want to figure out public transportation (i.e. the metro, bus, and tram system), take a sightseeing bus, or figure out private transport to get around, since the most popular sights in the city are a bit far from each other.

stut

If you're arriving in T1 (which is mostly the low-cost airlines), there is a rail link from there to the city (via Kobanya Kispest metro interchange). From T2, you can either get a bus to to there or to Kobanya Kispest for the metro if you want public transport.

Otherwise, there are taxis (yes, you reserve at a kiosk) and, unusually for Europe, a US-style minibus shuttle service. I've only used the latter a few times, and they did take a fairly roundabout route, for an average saving over a taxi. I guess it's the luck of the draw.

As for what to see, JR14 has summarised the good stuff. You can do decent day trips out to Eger or Szentendre quite easily by train.

The In Your Pocket guides are great for this region:

http://www.inyourpocket.com/hungary/budapest

UAPremExecflyer

If you tried a simple search using "Budapest" you'd find several comprehensive and informative threads:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/europ...light=Budapest
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/europ...light=Budapest
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/europ...light=Budapest

EmailKid

I found the bus from T2 to metro pretty easy. Ditto on the way back. And yes, I flew in Biz both ways on TATL legs

rudycantfail0

I was there as a first time visitor a month ago. Terminal 1 is now closed, so you will be flying into terminal 2. The train is not walkable from terminal 2, so your best public option is to take the bus (there is only one at the airport) to the metro. There is a transit desk land side which was super helpful. They will sell you a combo bus/metro ticket and direct you where to go. I forget the exact cost, but it was only a few $$. This is what I did, and I was at my hotel less than an hour after collecting my bag, including one metro transfer. The other option is a shared shuttle. There is a desk inside baggage claim that you can't miss. It is reasonably cheap (about 20 USD with return to the airport) and will drop you right at your hotel, and pick you up there for the return. This got good reviews from a couple of people I talked to. Taxi is obviously the easiest, but will be 30-40 USD one way depending on your exact destination.

With 3 days, you'll have plenty of time to hit the highlights, and spend some time wandering along the Danube. The main sights are enumerated elsewhere, so I'll leave you to the links above. Have a good time.

exilencfc

When I was there most Metro stations had ticket checkers who were very thorough so make sure you've got a ticket and keep it handy. The bus/metro combo is pretty easy though you have to cross the railway to get to the platform and I don't think there is a lift to get onto the footbridge. Once in Budapest one of my favourite things to do was just riding around on trams.

JBord

Good summary. One of the Hiltons is right next to the castle and near Fishermans Bastion.

Other minor to-dos I'd add: walk across the Chain Bridge. You have to cross the Danube at some point, Make sure you walk at least one way. I also recommend St. Stephen's and there's a nice square just outside with a few bars to have a cocktail while you rest. As I recall there is a street off that square with a number of trendier restaurants too, but it's been a couple years since I've been there and forget the name.

jaymar01

Agreed the Transit Desk: located outside of Customs is probably the best thing to happen to Budapest in the last ten years!!!

Assuming you’re staying at the Hilton next to the West End Mall, (as opposed to the Hilton on Castle Hill), you might as well take local transportation from the airport. The metro stops right there. As others have mentioned take the 200E Bus from outside the terminal to the final stop. You will now be at the Kőbánya-Kispest metro station. Take the metro (you can only go in one direction as you’re at the end of the line) to Nyugati tér station. The Hilton is right there.

You’ll find Budapest is a small city with awful traffic in the city center. Take public transportation. At the airport, purchase a three-day metro pass, and you’ll get unlimited transportation on all the subway lines, trams, and busses. Cost is about $15. With it, there will be no need to buy a separate ticket to get to your hotel.

Just flash the card to the inspectors stationed on the metro entrances or exits, and you’ll be good to go.

Budapest is a great walking city. A couple of my favorites are Andrássy ave from Deak ter subway exit to the City Park, and Vaci Street from Deak ter all the way down to Fovam ter.

Travel on tram line 2 for views of Buda Castle. Other tram lines that could be traveled just for the scenery are 19 and 41

Caving. The caves aren't too beautiful but the experience is really cool! Go for the caving-crawling one that is 3 hours, the others are just casual walks for families and old people.

Ruin Pubs are a Budapest institution. Most are around the old Jewish area, near Astoria metro stop. Szimpla ruin pub is one of my favorites. They also have a nice farmers market there on Sunday mornings.

If you want to see some old “Communist” history…visit the Hospital in the Rock, and the House of Terror, the former headquarters of the State Security (Hungarian KGB).

Definitely, visit the Great Market Hall. Go upstairs to the ma-and-pa restaurants, and have a bowl of authentic Hungarian Goulash for about $3.

JBord

I'll second this, can't believe I forgot it!

You'll want to try everything. Some of the sausages are very good too, and everything is affordable.

Tizzette

I'm not much for figuring out bus routes to get around so I kept City Taxi in my phone: +3612111111. If you are out and about and needing a taxi, you need to call City or Fo Taxi rather than taking a chance on getting ripped off by some random cab you hail on the street. You never have to wait long. The sales places for tickets for buses and trams are not marked, but I found them to be sold in little grocery stores. Last month, the traffic wasn't that bad so using taxis was easy and quick. Great Market Hall has a fun cafeteria style restaurant on the second floor at the top of the stairs, they even have a three piece combo playing Hungarian musical at lunch. There's a Night Market with a band and lots of great street food and crafts at the Ter (square) at end of Vaci Utca that's near the Great Market Hall. It appeared that many locals eat dinner there and it was pretty lively even on a weeknight. Although there are at least a dozen indoor baths at Schenengi (sp), for a do-over I would choose one of the old Turkish baths for the atmosphere. We stayed at the Intercontinental in Pest but stopped at the Hilton in Buda for lunch and preferred the Buda location, although the Intercontinental is a fantastic hotel. The tourist's Budapest isn't much different than any modern European big city, so to get more flavor of Hungary take a side trip to a small town such as Eger.

JBord

Yes and no. Easy, fun city for a first timer, but London, Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna it is not! Even going outside the city center feels like a different city to me.

allenaatan

Hi all,

Thinking of doing a day trip from Vienna ( i know its's 5-6 hours both ways)... would late night trains be available/ advisable? Just wanted to be able to get a flavour of the night time Christmas Markets. Would be happy to just walk/tram around, see one or two sights and have a meal or two.

Gagravarr

The Bahn.de website (generally the best one for looking up European train times, but doesn't have quite everything...) suggests that the last train from Vienna to Budapest on a weekday is the 19:48 EuroNight service from Wien Westbahnhof to Budapest-Keleti, arriving 22:49. "Subject to compulsory reservation, 2nd class only seated accommodation". So, you'd need to book a seat on it in advance, but otherwise should be fine

If you leave earlier, then there are regular Austrian RailJet services running, journey time also about 3 hours.

jaymar01

The Austrian/Hungarian railways offer a joint promotion that you might consider.

It's called a 'TripTicket', and for about 33 Euros includes a round-trip rail ticket between Vienna and Budapest. In Budapest, you can use the public transportation free-of-charge for two days, and then you can travel back to Vienna.

I pretty sure the ticket is good for any train.