I went about a month ago. Absolutely fantastic city, really beautiful. I was a little skeptical about finding good food, but in the 5 days we were there, we had fantastic food whenever we went out. Not only was the food delicious but it was well priced and the service and presentation was amazing. We were waited on hand and foot. I never had goulash, but I did try goulash soup and it was lovely...another big thing out there is paprika, I had a paprika chicken dish with egg dumplings on my first night and it was wonderful
The city is actually split into two districts. On the eastern side of the river Danube is Pest, which is the more lively, 'richer' area of the city where most of the nightlife, resturants, etc are. The western side is Buda, which is much more hilly, quieter and has most of the sightseeing oppurtunities; our hotel was here. It's easy to get around....there is a pretty extensive tram network which is simple, quick and efficicent. You buy a ticket per trip which is something like 250 forints and are meant to have it validated in the little machines once you hop on board. However, everyone seemed to jsut jump on and off the trams without bothering with tickets. My guidebook warns that there are ticket inspectors who get onto the trams incognito and then chekc your tickets once the tram is in motion. However, the fine is something like 2,500 forints which works out to about £8 and I never saw a conductor...I have a feeling that enforcing ticket fines is nothing more than a formality. On the metro its a different matter though as you have to use a ticket to pass through the barriers.
If you get a chance visit the Museum of Terror on Andrassy Utca, just up from the Oktagon. It's a museum dedicated to the history of Budapest and Hungary under Soviet oppression, housed in what was formerly the Nazi Headquarters during the war. It's both interesting and sobering and you get the impression that the people of Budapest are very proud of their history.
Other notable places to visit are the Castle Hill district....theres lot of nice little cafés in the streets on top of the hill as well as the amazing Byzantine church and fantastic views over the city. Also climb to the top of Gellarghty (sp) Hill where the Citadella is....there is the most fantastic panorama of the city from up there.
Check out St. Stephens Basilica and make sure you go to the top of the dome...once again, there's some fantastic views over the city, but be prepared for quite a dizzying climb up the spiral staircase.
We also visited Heroes Square which has some fantastic architecture and statues. Nearby in the city park is an excellent resturant, called Robinsons, where we ate on our last night. Might be best to book ahead though, we had to wait for a table. But the food and service was outstanding. Side note: After we had eaten it was too late to walk back to the metro, the resturant staff phoned a cab for us...within ten minutes an MPV turned up (there were six of us) and the cab driver drove us at breakneck speed all the way across the city back to our hotel in Buda. A journey of about 5 miles took 15 minutes and despite thinking we would get raped for the fare, we ended up getting charged a mere 3000 forints (including tip)...which works out to about £10. Fantastic value and excellent service.
There really is a lot to do but it's also worth just going for a wander around to see some of the sights, its a very piteresque city; wide open, tree lined boulevards. Buy a ticket for one of the tourbus routes, we did from our hotel desk. Makes you feel likea typical tourist but you get to see most of the city that way. Good thing to do is take a tourbus ont he first day, then take note of places you can go back to later and view in more detail.
Best thing to do is get hold of a guidebook. I bought the timeout guide to Budapest which ahs sightseeing, eating, accomodation and maps of the city as well as handy info for getting around and communicating with the locals. I can garuntee though, you wont be dissapointed, it was a fantastic holiday. My only regret is that I didn't go for long enough.
Here's some of my pics from the holiday.
The view formt he Citadella. A fabulous panorama that my photography skills don't do justice to.
The Terror Museum
St. Stephen's Basilica...
...and the view form the top. It was raining hard when we got up there but was still well worth the climb.
The view of the fabulous Parliment building from the top of Castle Hill.
The Heroes Monument at Heroes Square.
Hope that brief overview helps. If you wanna ask anyhting specific, Ill try my best to help
Wish I did now, would have been possibly the best lunch break ever.
