Photo: Source: User:Godot13 Derivative: User:MathKnight · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Budapest
A grand river city with thermal baths and lively nights, cheaper than most capitals.
A grand river city in two halves: hilly Buda with its castle, flat Pest with the Parliament, the thermal baths and the ruin bars. Good value for a capital. Szentendre and the Danube Bend are a day trip by train or summer boat (check).
Places to see
- Hungarian Parliament BuildingSight · A huge white neo-Gothic building with a red dome and a forest of spires along the river.≈ A$53
Shoes on the Danube BankSight · Sixty pairs of old-fashioned shoes cast in iron, lined up along the edge of the…Free- St. Stephen's BasilicaChurch · A big domed church on a wide square, gold and marble inside, with a side chapel holding a…≈ A$9
Dohány Street Synagogue
When to go
- Jan2° / -4°Some rainQuiet
- Feb5° / -2°Some rainQuiet
- Mar11° / 2°Some rainQuiet
- Apr17° / 6°Some rainBusy
- May22° / 11°Some rainBusy
- Jun26° / 15°Some rainBusy
- Jul28° / 16°Some rainVery busy
- Aug28° / 16°Some rainVery busy
- Sep
Staying and getting around
Good areas to stay
The Inner City and Parliament (District V). Pest's riverside heart: the Parliament, the Basilica, the Chain Bridge and the Great Market Hall, with Margaret Island a short tram ride north. Central but dearer.
The Jewish Quarter (District VII). Old courtyards, synagogues, street food and the ruin bars; lots of hostels. Lively and loud at night, especially at weekends.
Andrássy Avenue and City Park. The grand avenue from the Opera to Heroes' Square, with City Park and the Széchenyi Baths at the top; hostels around Oktogon are a calmer base.
Flying in
Budapest Ferenc Liszt (BUD): Airport bus 100E to Deák Ferenc tér, about 40 min, ≈ A$10. Needs its own airport ticket, not an ordinary single (check); local bus 200E and the metro is cheaper but slower.
Flewaway's estimate for the usual budget way into Budapest; check times and fares before you fly.
Getting around
Mostly on foot. A single ticket is ≈ A$2. The centre is walkable, with metro, trams and buses on one ticket; tram 2 runs along the river. Trains leave from Keleti, but some use Nyugati or Déli: check your ticket.
72-hour travelcard (≈ A$24, 72 hours): Unlimited metro, trams and buses; worth it from about 12 rides (check).
