4 1/2 days in Budapest. Please Help!

Budapest has three Marriott hotels, one of which is near the New York Palace but is not the New York Palace. It would also be the least desirable of the three to stay at. The other two are pretty well located.

The NY Palace is a Boscolo hotel, maybe your points work there and that is really where you are staying. In which case, throw common sense of location out the window and go for it; cause the place is gorgeous.

Still, the day of the week will matter because some things are closed on Monday, the Market Hall is closed on Sunday, the Synagogues are closed on Saturday... etc.

Day 1: Arrive in Budapest @ 1:00pm
Miniversum (interesting choice) ,
Opera House (exterior), The interior is really worth the time.
And; At the far end of Andrassy ut is Hero’s square. Along the way are shops and restaurants giving way to mansions and embassies and finally Hero’s Square, City Park, and the Széchenyi bath house. It’s a beautiful, but long, walk. So, the M1 metro line (the oldest on the continent) runs under Andrassy ut and you can walk a stop then ride for a stop as your energy permits.

Recommendation of where to eat
The common dinner time is 7pm so returning to your hotel and then going out is always an option. If you want to eat at the end of Adrassy ut I recommend http://www.paprikavendeglo.hu/angol/index.html

Day 2:
Morning 3 hr. Free Walking Tour of Budapest ending at Fisherman's Bastion. Includes . Danube Promenade,
Municipal Concert Hall,
Gresham Palace,
Academy of Hungarian Sciences,
St.Stephen’s Basilica
Chain Bridge.
Castle District,
Royal Palace,
Matthias Church
Fisherman Bastion Castle Hill
on own rest of day.

That’s a whole bunch of walking and could be worse depending on where you are staying. The free tours still require a tip and you might be with 6 people or 26 people. If that okay, go for it, otherwise I can recommend a couple of guides. About $120 for a half day.

Walk down the hill or take the funicular. Get on the tram running downstream (river) and get off at the third stop. Sit on the river side, but there are good views on both sides. The third stop is the famous Gellert Hotel. Schindler once stayed here, as did most of the high ranking Nazis. Now you need to look for the 47/49 tram. You want to take this tram back across the river to Pest. Get off at the first stop once crossing the river. You are just about in front of the Market Hall. Depends on the day,

Monday 6.00 am - 5.00 pm
Tuesday-Friday 6.00 am - 6.00 pm
Saturday 6.00 am - 3.00 pm
SundayClosed
Lot of other great markets in town too: http://www.piaconline.hu/new/piacok.php This is my favorite on weekends: http://www.terezvaros.hu/news_details/345/atadtak-a-hunyadi-teri-piacot/0/

After the market hall, get back on the tram, same direction, this time sit on the right, but get a seat looking backwards. You will see the Dohany Synagogue as you pass. When the tram ends walk to the end of Andrassy ut (a couple minutes down the same road in the same direction). There at the end you will find a metro entrance to the M1. Ride it two stops to the Oktogon. At the oktogon you will find the 4/6 tram, take it to the right about 3 stops and you will find your hotel.

Recommendation of where to eat that night?
Lets say Lugas cause its just a short walk beyond the end of the 47/49 Tram line if thats how the timing works out. When the tram line ends you are close to the end of Andrassy ut (just a few blocks further on the same road) http://lugas-etterem.com/etlap/ Very good Hungarian food at reasonable prices for being so close to the tourist zone. If you go back to your hotel first, then go back out, look at my list

EXCELLENT HUNG / JEWISH ($$)
MACESZ HUSZÁR
District VII, Dob street 26.
+36 1 787 6164
www.maceszhuszar.hu

ALL YOU CAN EAT HUNGARIAN ($$$)
TRÓFEA GRILL
District VI, Kiraly utca. 30-32.
+36 1 878 0522
http://kiraly.trofeagrill.eu/

GOOD GYPSY MUSIC / FOOD ($$$)
RÉZKAKAS BISTRO
District V, Sas utca 3
+36 1 318-0038
http://www.rezkakasbistro.hu

Good HUNGARIAN RESTAURANT ($$)
VAKVARJÚ ÉTTEREM
District VI, Paulay Ede utca 7
+ 36 1 268 08 88
www.vakvarju.com/

I NEED! A HAMBURGER . ($)
ZING BURGER
District VI, Kiraly Utca 60

OLD WORLD HUNGARIAN FOOD AND ATMOSPHERE ($$)
PAPRIKA ÉTTEREM
District VII, Dózsa György út 72
+36-20-294-79-44
http://www.paprikavendeglo.hu/

NEW IN-PLACE IN TOWN ($$)
HUNGARIKUM BISTRO
District V, Steindl Imre u. 13.
+36 30 661 6244
http://hungarikumbisztro.hu

GOOD HUNGARIAN FOOD ($$)
BELVÁROSI LUGAS
VENDÉGLŐ
District VI, Bajcsy Zsilinszky u.15
+36 1 302 5393
http://lugas-etterem.com/

MY FAVORITE WINE BAR HAS GREAT FOOD. 150 FEET FROM THE APT ($$)
KADARKA BÁR
District VI, Király utca 42
+36 1 266 5094

GOOD BREAKFAST ($$)
CAFÉ VIAN
District VII, Király u. 13
+36 1 878 1350

SWORD FIGHTS & BELLY
DANCERS & GREAT FOOD ($$)
SIR LANCELOT
District VI, Podmaniczky u. 14
www.sirlancelot.hu
+36 1 302 4456

GOOD CHEAP HUNGARIAN ($)
FRICI PAPA KIFŐZDÉJE
District VI, Király u. 55
http://www.fricipapa.hu
+36 1 351 0197

Day 3

Morning 3 hr Free Walking Tour of Jewish Quarter and Synagogues. Dohány street Grand Synagogue
Kazinczy street Ortodox Synagogue,
Rombach street Synagogue,
Gozsdu Courtyard,
Wallenberg Memorial Park,
Last piece of ghetto wall.
The tour doesn't include inside visits to the Synagogues. How difficult is it to go back and find them and cost to enter vs. booking a paid tour that includes interior visits?
Looking for afternoon suggestions.

This is a very profound part of town. I would sure want a Jewish guide if possible. I’ve taken the tour of the Synagogue a couple of times and always bought my ticket on the spot, but its been a few years. Jewish history is so important a part of Budapest I would do it right. http://www.greatsynagogue.hu/alap.html If you open that link and you read it and you follow ever link and read that too and you are interested; take their Extended Tour. That will take about 4 hours if I remember correctly.

Then walk over to Gozsdu Court Yard for a late lunch. Then head off to Szechenyi Bath house. http://www.szechenyifurdo.hu/aktualis Avoid the shock and get a cabana.

Dinner that night, Try my favorite wine bar Kadarka (good food too) http://kadarkawinebar.com/ Not fancy, but very real and very local.

Day 4
Board Viking Ship at 10:30am across from Budapest Marriott Hotel.
Thinking of walking Andrassy Street and visiting the Market.
Looking for other suggestions and night cruise.

I think I would start the day visiting Vaci utca. Sure, its heavy on the tourist side, but you can do shopping for folks back home. Walk the full length till you find yourself at the Great Market Hall. Hey! You know where you are. Now, walk up the middle of the road towards the river and you will see stairs going down. Take them. At the bottom is a stop for the No2 tram. Always cited as being one of the worlds best tram rides. Get on traveling upstream (left to right). Now you can get off and look where ever you want and hop on the next one, but you want to get to Kossuth Lajos tér (the first stop behind the Parliament and first stop after the tram turns away from the river). Now, walk the street that runs behind the parliament. Get a good guide book to understand what happened in that location in 1956, look more to the right than the left. You have a tour of the parliament the next day. Now, this road you are on becomes Falk Miska utca and as you walk it you will see great antique shops on both sides some like Pintér Antiques (Falk Miksa utca 10) have wonderful basements running from building to building full of antiques.

Café Picard is a good place to stop and eat lunch: http://cafepicard.hu/

At the end of Falk Miska utca, right after the statue of Peter Falk, you will see the 4/6 tram that will take you to the Oktogon (travel away from the river) to Blaha Lujza tér, then walk back about a block to the New York Palace Café. Opulance to die for and, again, great history. Your hotel is just a few feet in the opposite direction if you are staying at the Marriott.

Do your night cruise. But do the drink cruise and eat dinner on the Corso…..

Day 5 .
Parliament Tour at noon.
Shoes on the Danuabe either before or after Parliament Tour.
Looking for morning and afternoon ideas.
Must be back on board by 4:30pm.

Before: Where are you meeting for the tour? If it starts at the boat you cant go far. Maybe to the café Gerbeaud for history, atmosphere, coffee and something sweet. https://gerbeaud.hu/en/contact/ If it starts at the Parliament maybe a walk through the beautiful Szabadság tér (liberty square), see the Russian War Memorial, the US Embassy, shake Ronald Reagan’s hand.

After you might consider walking back over to St Stephen’s Basilica. To the right of the front steps are some of the best, highest quality, souvenir shops in town. http://memoriesofhungary.hu/en/ Further down the pedestrian way in front is a shop that specializes in musical themed stuff. I like the place a lot, they also have a shop on Vaci utca.

Would you recommend buying the Travelcard or Budapest Card based on our proposed itinerary?

I would get the TravelCard.

If it's not too much trouble, could you help me map out the trams and walking directions, please?

Done

Would like to work in time at one of the bath houses, night time cruise, and any other suggestions.

Done

I have loved reading the trip reports that have been posted. Very Helpful!

Invoice in the Mail

Because of where you are staying, learn the M1 metro line and the 4/6 Tram line well.

The Rumbach St. Synagogue was closed for restoration as of May of this year. I believe the work is expected to take quite some time, so I doubt that you'll be able to get inside. The exterior is worth seeing, even though it may be partially obscured.

If you are with a tour guide that focuses on the Jewish area, you should be able to get inside the Rumbach Synagogue and its worth it. The place was total ruins when we first saw it 15 years ago. The Nazis had used it for a stable and I believe it had become a warehouse under Soviet Occupation. Over the years we have stopped by to watch the reconstruction which has been going on for at least 10 years. Only once that i can think of have we not been able to get inside. The last time while we were trying to stare in the windows a gentleman approached and invited us in through a side door from the adjacent building. (actually same building, but different front). If you go here, scroll down to Jewish Budapest, immediately after the grave yard, the first interior photos you see are the Rumbach Synagogue: https://vasvaripalvacationphotos.shutterfly.com/budapest1