Budapest is an amazing and yet overlooked city. There’s really no reason why this stunning, elegant city should be any less popular than, say, Prague, and yet it somehow seems to be forgotten in the conversation about gorgeous Eastern European cities. So we’re here to say that this is one city you do not want to miss out on. The architecture is outstanding, there’s so much to do, and the whole city is incredibly, almost eerily, peaceful. You won’t have to fight your way through the hoards of people that push and shove you around in other cities. Just relax, and enjoy.
Transport
Getting into the Country
Flying
You’ll come into Ferihegy 2, and there are several options from here. There is of course the taxi option, and make sure you get an official one if you do. But apart from that, there are several minibuses that you can take. There is the Centrum minibus which will take you from outside each terminal to the city centre, next to the Deak Ferenc Ter Metro stop. This is the central metro stop, where the three metro lines converge. There is also the option of the airport minibus which is more than twice the price of the Centrum minibus, but will take you to any address in Budapest. You can sign up for these in the arrivals hall. The cheapest option is to get the bus from the airport which goes to Kobanya/Kispest train station (which happens to be the last stop, so it should be on the bus!). From here, you can get the blue metro line all the way up into the centre of the city.
Trains
If you’re getting a train into Budapest from other countries, you will most likely come into Keleti station. For advice on getting international overnight trains, have a look on our article and story about that, because it’s a very specific way of travelling and you should probably prepare yourself for it. But when you get into the train station, just a word of advice: don’t use the taxis that congregate at the front of the station. They don’t have metres and you have to fix a price with them. Needless to say, you will never get this price down to anything remotely reasonable. Instead, head to the left hand side of the station as you come out, and around the side you will find a taxi rank with metered taxis. Much better. Have an address ready for where you want to be taken. You can pay in Euros for the non-metered taxis (although you will of course be well and truly ripped off) but you will need Hungarian Forints (HUF) for metered taxis. US Dollars really don’t work here. Try and change some before you arrive.
Public Transport
Metros
They’re very good. Very clean, pretty efficient. Don’t run incredibly late, but then nor do any of Europe’s metro systems. But you can get more or less all over the city on these – except up the hill on the Buda side of the river! When you get to the hill, you’ll understand why – there would be no powering something so big up that mountain. But they do run to the other side of the river, so you can get off at Moskva Ter on the Buda side and walk up the hill. What you need to be aware of is that the ticket inspectors are insanely strict about tickets. You can buy your tickets in singles or in books, and if you’re staying for a few days it’s a good idea to get a book of ten, more so that they are handy rather than in the hope of saving much money. But the tickets are unstamped, and before you even get on the escalators or step foot on the top stair on the way down to the metro platform, you MUST validate your ticket in the tiny, non-marked ticket stamping machines. You’ll see that a lot of locals don’t do this: they have monthly passes. The evil ticket inspectors lurk at the bottom of escalators – and sometimes even at the top – and will demand to see your ticket. If you can’t produce a valid one then you will be given an on-the-spot-fine of 5000 fts. The locals get charged 2000, by the way – the inspectors are indeed on commission. Don’t get caught out here – it’s such a simple thing but seems to get nearly everyone at some point.
Trains
If you’re travelling from Budapest to another part of the country, doubtless you will use a train. The ticket buying is pretty straightforward, and you should look for the carriage number and your seat number on it. The carriages on are marked by pieces of paper in the windows. The toilets are none too clean a lot of the time, so you might want to take some hand sanitizer along with you. If you are in a cabin with locals, they will undoubtedly want the window closed, and you’ll probably want it open. You’ll lose this argument, so try not to sit in the direct sunlight at least.
Funicular
Just the one, but definitely worth mentioning, because the funicular goes up the hill to Buda Castle! It is slow, there’s usually a long line of people and you have to pay for the pleasure, but if you really can’t face walking up that hill, then this is the mode of transport you’ll be looking for. As you cross the Chain Bridge, you’ll see it straight ahead on the other side.
Tourist buses
Just a suggestion – Budapest is deceptively large, and you can get a tourist bus around if you can’t be bothered to walk it and just want to see the major sites.
Bike
There are a couple of places where you can hire bikes in the city centre – look out for signs. Apart from Buda hill, Budapest is incredibly flat and also has some very nice parks. Cycling is a lovely way to see it.
Walking
Budapest, as mentioned above, is bigger than you think. You really can’t walk all of it. Well, actually, you can, but you’ll lose valuable time and energy. Luckily, the metro is remarkably good about taking you to the main sites. So, here are the bits you can walk:
If you get the metro to Deak Ferenc Ter, you can walk to St Stephen’s Basilica, and from there to Chain Bridge. It’s perfectly possible to walk over the Chain Bridge and then up the hill to Buda Castle, and over to Matthias Cathedral. At a leisurely pace, the walking alone for this should take 40 minutes to an hour.
In another direction, from Deak Ference Ter you can walk to the Synagogue, which takes about 10 minutes.
What is definitely not worth doing is walking over to the City Park. It’s an amazing place, and you should definitely go, but for heaven’s sake, get the yellow metro line over there. It will take you directly to Hero’s Square, at the entrance to the park.
As for the Parliament building, there is a metro stop just outside it – it’d be a shame to waste it.
Stuff you should definitely do
St Stephen’s Basilica
An absolutely stunning church, complete with the mummified hand of St Stephen. Lovely views from the top. There are often weddings going on in the afternoons, which is an incredible spectacle.
Matthias Cathedral
The main church on the Buda side, up at the top of the hill. An incredibly intricate church (though unfortunately often covered with scaffolding) with beautiful roof designs from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Flank by the Fishermen’s Bastion – a series of fairytale castle-esque platforms that give beautiful views over the Pest side of the city. Unless you’re a master photographer, it’s probably best not to pay the fee to actually go on top of the bastions – you can see just as well from the cafe between the bastions.
Synagogue
The second largest Synagogue in the world – it was always going to be good. It’s complete with a Jewish museum inside.
Hungarian House of Wines
Have a look at the Travel Story about this one – it’s a dangerous place. A 4400 ft ticket will get you 2 hours all you can drink in the cellar. Yep, that’s right. One word of warning – they don’t like people getting too boisterous. As has been experienced.
Heroes Square
Time for the camera to come out – on the edge of City Park you will find yourself surrounded by massive, austerely frowning statue of the ancient leaders of Hungary. Very impressive, and right by the museum.
City Park
An incredible expanse of parkland containing dozens of museums. Some are less fascinating than others (agriculture museum etc, although I’m sure some would find it scintillating), but there are some great art museums around. You can also hire a boat and go for a row around the lake. It’s a lovely place to relax in.
Thermal Baths
Budapest is famous for them, weirdly enough. The Gellert Baths are the big ones, which are located in the prestigious Gellert hotel on the Buda side just over the Independence Bridge. It’s all about the Roman style columns and mosaics. Very glittery and shiny, and men and women’s bathing is generally separated. If you don’t want to go in the baths you can pay a little bit of money and go in to have a look at gorgeous surroundings.
Another famous (and slightly cheaper) baths are the Szechenyi baths in City Park. They have a selection of outdoor baths, of varying temperatures, and they are mixed.
Museums
The House of Terror Museum is Budapest’s excellent tribute to the Soviet’s Communist rule of Hungary. It is very moving and slightly harrowing, but you may have to queue up to see the sights.
The Fine Arts Museum is an excellent collection of art, the most impressive being from countries other than Hungary.
The National Museum is an in-depth museum covering the last 1000 years of Hungarian history.
Eating and Drinking
The question of food in Budapest can get quite expensive. Be very careful when you choose where to eat, and if possible avoid the main sites, which are usually surrounded by rather wealthy areas and extortionate restaurants.
One particular restaurant that we feel we really must recommend is the Trofea Grill. There are two of these amazing places, and essentially what they offer is an all-you-can-eat AND DRINK buffet of outstandingly good food. There really is every type of food you can imagine, and there are even raw meats marinated in various things that you can take to the grill and they will cook for you. The drinks include beer, wine, champagne, juice, water, tea and coffee, and they will often throw in a glass of free Tokaji at the end. On top of this, the service is surprisingly good. The whole thing varies in price depending on when you go, but the most you can expect to pay is 4899 fts. Check out their website: www.trofeagrill.com
Nightlife
Weirdly, not as good as you’d think, given that everyone goes on about what a great stag destination it is. It has some strips clubs that will rob you blind and call the police if you refuse to pay, but normal, everyday drinking is expensive. You have to get away from the main places, but they are findable. Just a quick thing to mention – bars are often referred to as “cafes”. They’re not cafes. They’re really not.
Beckett’s - V. Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 72
A complete ex-pat “Irish” pub, so if that’s not your thing, don’t come here. But the atmosphere is relaxed and friendly, and the staff are nicer than most.
Chili Bar - IX. Tompa u. 7
Nice atmosphere, and yummy snack food/sandwiches at decent prices. Free wi-fi, too.
Pót Kulcs (Spare Key) - VI. Csengery u. 65/B
If you can find this place, you might just enjoy it. The door is unmarked, so you’ll have to do a bit of searching – don’t be afraid to go through unlikely doors. It’s usually pretty smoky, but the drinks are remarkably cheap by Hungarian standards, and the atmosphere is oh-so-relaxed. You can wear exactly what you like, which is nice.
And a few hints...
Student cards are absolutely invaluable here. You will definitely use them, and get some serious discounts. Don’t leave yours at home!
Rude wait staff are par for the course here, as with much of the rest of Eastern Europe. The concept of service hasn’t quite dawned on them yet. Never mind, the plus side of this is that you are under absolutely no obligation to tip, and our advice to you would be to try to find the whole thing as funny as possible. If there is (unusually for Budapest) a service charge added to the bill and the waiter/ess was really horrendously behaved, ask to have it removed. If someone is just unbearably rude – the kind of rude you wouldn’t be to people you dislike and are under no obligation to be nice to (it does happen, I’m afraid) – speak to the manager about them. There’s a limit to what you should put up with. But expect surly behaviour, and don’t take it to heart.
Restaurants on the Buda side, or at least at the top of the hill, are disgustingly expensive and should be avoided. If you’re up there and desperately need a snack or a drink, there is a small supermarket near Matthias Cathedral. Grab something there and wait for the next meal.
In case you skipped past the bit about metro tickets, REMEMBER to validate them. A 5000ft fine is not a laughing matter. This cannot be emphasised enough.
With all this information under your belt, go off and have a wonderful time!