MY WIFE AND I ARE TRAVELING TO VIENNA,PRAGUE AND BUDAPEST IN SEPTEMBER AND WOULD APPRECIATE ANY ADVICE FOR THESE CITIES RELATIVE TO HOTELS ETC. THANK YOU
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Budapest - I would recommend the Marriott which is on the danube and has beatiful view from every room. it is located just by the shopping area too. The Hilton has the best location - inside the Castle area.
Prague - Last time I stayed at the Hilton which is a beatiful hotel but is a bit away from the center(10-15 minutes walk). The InterContinental is much closer.
Both cities are beautiful. take about 3-4 days in Prague and the same for Budapest
Prague - Last time I stayed at the Hilton which is a beatiful hotel but is a bit away from the center(10-15 minutes walk). The InterContinental is much closer.
Both cities are beautiful. take about 3-4 days in Prague and the same for Budapest
Original Member
Budapest has a number of great hotels. Both the Marriot and Hyatt are excellent and are located near the Danube. They are easily accesible to public transportation, great shopping at the Vaci Utca, and of course, the Gerbaud Cafe!!!!.
There is a new Hilton that will be open soon attached to the new Western Mall, which is very close to great shopping and public transportation.
Also close to this Hilton is the Family Hotel, which is apartment style accomodations, and very reasonable.
If you are interested in a great spa the new Helia Hotel has wonderful thermal waters and is extremely reasonable, just not conveniently located. It is very clean, unlike the Gellert which is a wonderful hotel but has that centuries old smell from the waters.
Hope this helps, I have much family still in Budapest, so feel free to e-mail, if you have any questions.
There is a new Hilton that will be open soon attached to the new Western Mall, which is very close to great shopping and public transportation.
Also close to this Hilton is the Family Hotel, which is apartment style accomodations, and very reasonable.
If you are interested in a great spa the new Helia Hotel has wonderful thermal waters and is extremely reasonable, just not conveniently located. It is very clean, unlike the Gellert which is a wonderful hotel but has that centuries old smell from the waters.
Hope this helps, I have much family still in Budapest, so feel free to e-mail, if you have any questions.
I am Hungarian and go to Budapest often. For someone who has never been there, would recommend the Hilton, Intercontinental or Marriott. The Kempinski is the best but does not have the view the others do. (There will be a Four Seasons opening in a few years which will top all others). Try the "Wild Rose" restaurant in Buda.
When I went to Vienna a few years ago I stayed in a hotel run by a family who owns 4 hotels in Vienna, many of them well reviewed. I enjoyed my stay and the service/rooms/breakfasts were lovely.
The family is named Pertschy. I stayed in the Pension Christina, but they have 4 hotels in the region. I believe the Pension Pertschy is the most ideally located.
Their website is : http://www.pertschy.com
Also I would recommend one of the tours I went on where they take you to dinner and then to a Mozart concert with the Mozart Orchestra. It was pretty touristy but the music was wonderful and I'm picky because I am a musician myself. I was very pleased with the caliber of the orchestra and the opera soloists who performed with them. The orchestra dresses in period clothes & wigs and is in a wonderful theatre.
This was advertised in the usual tour books, you could work with the hotel to schedule it.
Enjoy and have some Sacher torte for me at the Hotel Sacher!
The family is named Pertschy. I stayed in the Pension Christina, but they have 4 hotels in the region. I believe the Pension Pertschy is the most ideally located.
Their website is : http://www.pertschy.com
Also I would recommend one of the tours I went on where they take you to dinner and then to a Mozart concert with the Mozart Orchestra. It was pretty touristy but the music was wonderful and I'm picky because I am a musician myself. I was very pleased with the caliber of the orchestra and the opera soloists who performed with them. The orchestra dresses in period clothes & wigs and is in a wonderful theatre.
This was advertised in the usual tour books, you could work with the hotel to schedule it.
Enjoy and have some Sacher torte for me at the Hotel Sacher!
Ditto to apirchik's comments. Budapest Hilton is awesome. Even though Praha Hilton is not right in the Zentrum, it is still a great property, but I'm a long-time Hilton fan, so I have to include that disclaimer. Have a great trip. Try to add Salzburg to the trip and you won't be disappointed!
In Memoriam
In Vienna, I found the Lipazzaner Stallions a bit of a yawner, but Mass with the Vienna Boys Choir was wonderful. Best get tickets ahead of time, and they're often not there during the summer (on tour).
The Schatzkammer museum (imperial trasury) at the Hofburg was good, but they had the worst accoustiguide I've ever found (basically a contraption like a palm pilot, so it's visual...which doesn't make sense when you're trying to concentrate on the artifacts
). The Silberkammer museum (court silver and tableware) was surprisingly enjoyable.
In Prague, visit the old Jewish section even if you're not. The cemetary is quite a sight, as is the synagogue that's been converted to a memorial for the Holocaust (listing the names on all the walls, looking like a Torah scroll). I was there just before Madeleine Albright "discovered" her family roots; the NYTimes had a photo of her a week later coming out of this memorial.
And in Budapest definitely visit the Doheyny synagogue - it's spectacular, and was just renovated with something like $4 million of Tony Curtis' money (his forebears were Hungarian Jews). My tour visited three churches, the last of which was pretty dark and dank; I've always wondered why they didn't visit the synagogue instead (unfortunately, I can guess the reason: I'll bet too high a percentage of non-Jews would resist the idea).
As for cities, I stayed at Pension Wild in Vienna. Great location just outside the Ring, and fairly cheap (I think my single was about $60). But ask for one of the renovated rooms - much better than the older ones. (I realize most FlyerTalkers assume $200/night is cheap, but that's way over my budget!)
The Schatzkammer museum (imperial trasury) at the Hofburg was good, but they had the worst accoustiguide I've ever found (basically a contraption like a palm pilot, so it's visual...which doesn't make sense when you're trying to concentrate on the artifacts
). The Silberkammer museum (court silver and tableware) was surprisingly enjoyable.In Prague, visit the old Jewish section even if you're not. The cemetary is quite a sight, as is the synagogue that's been converted to a memorial for the Holocaust (listing the names on all the walls, looking like a Torah scroll). I was there just before Madeleine Albright "discovered" her family roots; the NYTimes had a photo of her a week later coming out of this memorial.
And in Budapest definitely visit the Doheyny synagogue - it's spectacular, and was just renovated with something like $4 million of Tony Curtis' money (his forebears were Hungarian Jews). My tour visited three churches, the last of which was pretty dark and dank; I've always wondered why they didn't visit the synagogue instead (unfortunately, I can guess the reason: I'll bet too high a percentage of non-Jews would resist the idea).
As for cities, I stayed at Pension Wild in Vienna. Great location just outside the Ring, and fairly cheap (I think my single was about $60). But ask for one of the renovated rooms - much better than the older ones. (I realize most FlyerTalkers assume $200/night is cheap, but that's way over my budget!)
For a different feel to your visit, stay in one of the nicer pensions in Vienna and Budapest. You will get to know a little bit more about the city/culture.
My brain is working overtime to remember my trip to Vienna and Budapest, however, for some off beat things to do...
In Vienna, in the center of the city, is a large cathedral. Take the tour of the catacombs. Very cool! You will see the remains of hundreds of unidentified people who died during the "black plague." Also, a great view from the Steeple.
Budapest - The Var (castle) is neat to see. Great views of the Danube and Pest (or is that Buda?). Talk to someone who knows the city well for some restaurant tips. Though it has been a few years since I was there and prices have gone up, you could eat at a small, family restaurant (of very high quality) for just a few $$$ per person. However, you have to get away from the more touristy areas.
Have fun!
My brain is working overtime to remember my trip to Vienna and Budapest, however, for some off beat things to do...
In Vienna, in the center of the city, is a large cathedral. Take the tour of the catacombs. Very cool! You will see the remains of hundreds of unidentified people who died during the "black plague." Also, a great view from the Steeple.
Budapest - The Var (castle) is neat to see. Great views of the Danube and Pest (or is that Buda?). Talk to someone who knows the city well for some restaurant tips. Though it has been a few years since I was there and prices have gone up, you could eat at a small, family restaurant (of very high quality) for just a few $$$ per person. However, you have to get away from the more touristy areas.
Have fun!
In summer in Vienna there is a place in Stadtpark called the Kursalon. Every evening there are open air concerts by a waltz orchestra, and there are dancers there dressed in waltz costumes to show you how the correct Viennese waltz is danced. Then they open up the dance floor for everyone to give it a try. It's romantic waltzing in Vienna under the stars. I'm not sure how far into September this goes. Perhaps the concierge at your hotel could help.
Prague - a great city, and try to check out the puppet theatre (not as silly as it sounds), but:
Beware the taxis!
Some of these are the biggest con men around. All taxis are supposed to be metered, but rates are different for in town and out of town journeys. There is a little LED symbol on the right of the meter to denote which tariff you are on. This is always obscured by at the very least a fag packet (cigarettes!) and on occasion has been completely obliterated by paint or plastic blanks glued in place.
This means they can charge you for a long distance journey (from which they would return empty) for short journeys in town. The situation is so bad that many hotels have their own taxi fleets with honest drivers, albeit more expensive than public taxis.
Beware the taxis!
Some of these are the biggest con men around. All taxis are supposed to be metered, but rates are different for in town and out of town journeys. There is a little LED symbol on the right of the meter to denote which tariff you are on. This is always obscured by at the very least a fag packet (cigarettes!) and on occasion has been completely obliterated by paint or plastic blanks glued in place.
This means they can charge you for a long distance journey (from which they would return empty) for short journeys in town. The situation is so bad that many hotels have their own taxi fleets with honest drivers, albeit more expensive than public taxis.
Took the train to all three last summer. Since noone else talked about hotel in prague will reccomend the white swan (can't remember the name before translation bella something) however it is a best western and i'm sure you can look it up. It was about ten minutes from downtown. However the appeal was price...about $60 a night. Rooms are what you expect from a best western. But who is living in the hotel anyway? Also has private western bathrooms (major important in eastern europe). As for taxis, the previous poster is correct. Haggle for a flat rate. At first i paid about $20 to go anywhere after about a day i found out $10 will do the trick. One other piece of advice. DON'T EXCHANGE YOUR MONEY FOR EASTERN CURRENCY. I don't mean don't do it there; i mean don't do it at all. Everything is cheaper in dollars or duetschmarks. Everybody accepted both currencies. Also eastern currencies are very difficult to change back to dollars. I reccomend some duetchmarks as the food car on the train to budapest takes them and not dollars. Lastly, REMEMBER CUBAN CIGARS ARE LEGAL AND AVAILABLE IN EUROPE... and this makes cigarman VERY happy 
[This message has been edited by cigarman (edited 06-08-2000).]
[This message has been edited by cigarman (edited 06-08-2000).]
Re: Currency, Vienna - DO change your dollars in a local bank for Austrian Schillings. It's a great exchange rate at the moment. Otherwise wou will get the same reaction as if you tried to use ATS in Washington!
[This message has been edited by mileonaire (edited 06-10-2000).]
[This message has been edited by mileonaire (edited 06-10-2000).]