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Two Nights in Budapest

I will be traveling through Budapest and would appreciate any advice on passes, hotels, hostels, etc. I've worked out the following itinerary, and am looking to finalize advance purchases soon. Although I may splurge on a hotel room, please keep in mind that I'm traveling cheaply. Thanks tremendously!

Night 1 Monday 22 June
Arrive in morning by night train from Prague
Sight Seeing / Opera or other cultural performance / possible hotel room stay overnight

Night 2 Tuesday 23 June
Sight Seeing / possible hotel room stay overnight

Night 3 Wednesday 24 June
Early flight to Rome

Sincerely,
David

Posted by
11 posts

Kiraly Utca is a great street where lot of nice bars are and where it's lively. There's e.g. the Wombat Hostel located right there. Otherwise there are many good Airbnb opportunities in Budapest, that is often more budget-friendly than hotels.

Enjoy!

Posted by
17645 posts

I like Kiraly utca as well (I always stay very near Kiraly utca), and the Wombat does get good reviews. Most importantly you only have two days. The first day you are going to be tired from not sleeping on the overnight train. You will arrive at a ridiculously early time of the morning and you will stink; or if not, you will by the time you get checked into an accommodation with a shower. So if I am correct in all of that, and if you don’t have too much luggage, you might consider heading from the train station straight to the Széchenyi Bath House. It is one subway connection away (take the M2 to the M1 at the Deák Ferenc tér Metro Station and then the M1 goes straight to the bath house). It will cost you about $1.30 for the metro ride (one ticket, the transfer is free). At the bathhouse get a Cabana Room to change and store the luggage. The bath house will cost you about $18.00 (sorry) for an early morning ticket. Enjoy the morning soaking in neo-classical Hungarian opulence.

Now go meet the manager or owner of the apartment you rented. They will generally let you in about 11am. I would suggest as the previous person suggested that you get a place near Kiraly utca; or maybe between Andrassy ut and Kiraly utca. That puts you pretty much in the cheaper part of the center of town and close walking and metro proximity: http://1drv.ms/1Ji1bD4 In June you might find a nice place for about $65.00 a night, and if you are really on the cheap now you can cook too. It’s June so get a place with air-conditioning and a washer/dryer might help as well (it’s part of how we travel so light).

Cultural? Well, in most of Central Europe the cultural season is wrapping up in June. I checked and there was nothing at the Opera or the Operett for your dates. The Palace of Arts had a few things and while it is a very modern venue, it is beautiful. That leaves the tourist venues like the church concerts and the folk dance shows and the river cruise shows. I can’t help you much with those but you can google for them or check here: http://www.budapestbylocals.com/budapest-concerts.html

For what to do; I would head for Buda immediately after checking in. See the old Castle District, the Hospital in the Rock if that sort of thing interest you. Walk there and walk back. Day two I would devote completely to Pest. You can easily spend a full day in Pest for the cost of a few tram rides, and still not see even a third of the “good stuff”.

(Option B): Get a hotel room. A good moderately priced choice is the K&K Opera at about $125 a night last time I checked (or the Womabat). Leave your bags at the front desk until the 2pm check in time and start seeing the town. I guess if you stayed at the K&K or the Wombat I would still suggest you take your tired stinking body up Andrassy ut towards the bath house. The mansions along Andrassy ut, the Bath House (to use or just to see the architecture), Hero’s Square are all worth the trip up Andrassy ut. Do remember that most if not all of the museums are closed on Monday.

Posted by
72 posts

Did not consider the shower! Tremendous advice. I'll be finalizing my plans very soon, glad for the insight!

Posted by
19 posts

One other thing to keep in mind: the bikeshare system in Budapest (called BuBi) is a fantastic way to cover a lot of ground in good time, while seeing things and taking in fresh air. It's inexpensive and stations are all over the place.

Posted by
72 posts

Thanks so much for the advice / info especially concerning going to the baths right after my overnight train right--SMART! I definitely enjoyed my time in Budapest. My only regret was not arrived during cultural season so I could take advantage of my proximity to the Hungarian State Opera house. Also found Margaret Island to be a nice surprise--great place to stop and rest.

Thanks Again,
David