Budapest accommodation: Palatinus, Oktogon or Astoria area?

I stayed in the Oktagon area and walked everywhere. You could easily walk to city park for a bath in the Szchenyi Baths (highly recommended) and walking to Pest side was a long walk but doable. I only took the metro to go to the train station and to get to Szentendre.

I rented a flat in the Leptivaros area with a little under ten minute walk from Parliament and about five minutes to St. Stephens. The area was great, but there were no breakfast places nearby, which was a problem since I was not in a hotel.

Oktogon is a nice area, plus it is on Andrassy, so easier to find eateries, but personally, I wanted to be near the river.

Palatinus is good, but I think a little too far out, but it depends exactly where- you really want to be 5 minutes or less walk from the metro. Astoria is a good area, central.

If you are interested in nightlife, then Astoria is near the ruin nightclubs in the Jewish Quarter, but Octogon is near the theatre district and also a short metro ride from the Godor Klub.

I would probably opt for Oktogon, personally. Great area, central for trams and metro, and tons of food.

The Gerloczy Cafe, Gerlóczy utca 1, recommended by Rick has a great, cheap breakfast. Try the Hungarian omelette's- to die for! Great coffee too. You can sit outside if it is nice, or cozy up inside. Reminiscent of a Paris cafe.

As another tip, we did a day trip to Bratislava, which was very worthwhile, if you are interested in seeing another slice of Eastern Europe.

Mike

Be aware that I ate at the Gerloczy Cafe last month and they overcharged us both for drinks and for things we never ordered. Please review your bill carefully if you eat there.

Be sure to climb gellert hill, the view is great.

We stayed at the Ibis Hotel. Parking was available.
We walked all over downtown. It was easy to take the local bus with help from the hotel clerk.

Def. the Oktogon area for its ease to get around the city. Head to the Market for sure. I had gret streudel there of all things.!!!

I think if I had to do it again I would choose Oktogon as I felt it had the best access to what my interests were.

That said I stayed near the Jewish Synagogue last time at Danube Guest House and that was fantastic as well. Plus it had the benefit of having B+B hosts available to offer suggestions and tips.

Oktagon area was great.....right in the middle of everything.....including lots of subway lines. We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast called Kapital Inn which was wonderful. We also hired a tour guide out of the RS Prague guidebook - Peter - who was fantastic.

We also stayed at the King's Court and had a very nice time, I think Oktogon is a great area to stay, though the Palatinus House - next to the river also looks like a great choice. We are returning soon and plan to rent the Palatinus.

My opinion is that the best and most charming area of the city - not touristy yet is the Palatinus House area.

We have visited Budapest several times and we have been told, that Oktogon - Andrássy is a very nice area to stay, as you have easy access to all the nice restaurants and also the City Park and the river is easily accessible. We plan to come back in the Summer and have booked the King's Court.

Never had time to write the report... Sorry for the delay...
We have visited Hungary last October.

We stayed at the Astoria Residence (budapesting.com) and it was fine. The chap who rents the room is a wonderful resource. He met us at the airport and we took a taxi back to the city. I would highly recommend the taxi. Just ensure you use the phone to book one. Airport taxi is likely your best bet.

The room was great. Marton is amazing. He helped me so much to make my trip a reality, to connect with family that I never knew. He was such a gentleman that he assisted us with the luggage. Lots of hot water, access to wash clothes, fridge for your food and Marton even did little extras that we could never have gotten from a big hotel. If you need posh then this is not the place for you. Take face clothes if you like to have them. I do not know where you are from but I had wished I had taken some. As for the location...it was so perfect. I really was afraid to take the transit....although it did look easy...so we walked all over. Besides, as I think I may have said before it helped to burn off the food and drink! Quiet as anything at night.

We found the people to be helpful. In Budapest so many speak English, even if only a few words helped. As for walking along the streets we found that the Hungarians and others are not so inclined to move aside but rather they wait for you to move or at the last moment they will pull in their shoulder. As for getting them to crack a smile...well...some did and most would not, perhaps the aftermath of communism?. The drivers in Budapest are very daring. Be sure to look before you attempt to cross with the green walking sign that no one is about to come around the corner. If there is the slightest chance they can get through they will. For the most part though they were curtious to pedestrians. The streets were very clean.

We had NO issue with our bills being padded at restaurants. Bathrooms very clean in public places, tissue available. Some do require around a 70-100F tip. We found that the currency used really is the forint. Most places do not accept Euro. Perhaps it was the places we went to. The exchange places along the streets charged us no commission and were paying about the same as the bank. Szenchenyi Baths were something else....a bit of a maze trying to find our way out to the common bathing area. But let me tell you the tour to get there was fascinating as you would pass by all of the indoor tubs, clearly labelled with the temperature. Outside are the lap pool and varied temp. pools. The mineral bath was 38C and marvelous. Your skin felt like velvet afterward. Yes the baths inside could be a bit loaded with skin etc. however this clearly is due to the medicinal purpose of it for the Hungarians. Bathing caps are only needed in the lap pool. Flip flops are worn so be sure to take a pair. The bathrooms (WC), were okay by my standards, just be sure to wear your flip-flops. When you are outside there are entrance doors at either end of the building. At the end where the mineral pool is that door leads to the older baths with all of the pillars etc. very beautiful. The other door lead to the newer baths, not as pleasing to the eye but just as delightful. So go and have a good time. We went twice, spent our last day there before getting on the plane for the trip home, take your gear for showering afterward and there are no pictures allowed, we watched some tourists the first time and the Hungarian bathers were not pleased, and justifiably so. You will get a refund at the baths depending on how long you stay, we gave our slip to the attendant, he put it into the machine and the slot is outside his area, so for those who had the experience of having your refund kept...while it was unfortunate... that was not our experience.

We found buying food etc. cheap. Be sure to grab a basket should you enter a grocery store as they will watch you in case you are a theif. Take a bag to put your stuff in as they are not readily given. Margit Sziget was nice but I loved City Park. Heroes Square and the Vajadhunyad Castle are a must. Have a drink or meal at the little restaurant along the water at the castle. There is so much to see and do, Budapest is great. We walked all along the Buda side as well. The view from Fisherman's Bastion is worth the 400HUF to see, Matyas Templom is amazing. The climb up to the Citadel was a good way to work off the pastry we ate along the way. Be sure to try the Pogasca (?spelling), they are biscuits with cheese or cracklings (pork rinds with a bit of zip). Everything was so good. Parliament is a must. Be sure to take your passport and there are no bathrooms there so go before you get there. If you are there for 0900hrs, as someone else advised you should be able to get in for the 9:45 or 10:00hrs English tour. It only lasts about 35minutes. Gives you the facts. Do not try to use flash taking a picture of the Crown! People did even after being told and this does not make the guides very happy. We saw every thing I wanted to in Budapest other than the Lanchid lit up at night but after full days of walking and a heavy meal at supper the bed was just too inviting. We felt very safe, not pestered and my husband who did not ever wish to go to any European countries loved Hungary and would go back.
We took the IC train out to Szombathely my mom's hometown....it was all good. My trip of a lifetime has been realized and I now have an inner peace. The House of Terror Museum tells the story of the communist occupation and the Hungarian's who joined along, and the price of not joining the "party", just like my mom told me. A moving exhibit and yes....get the headsets!

We did not but the little Hungarian I can speak and read helped us, along with the fact that I had heard the story from a firsthand witness, my mom.

So for those of you off to Hungary.....enjoy! You will be so happy you went.

Thank you for the great report! I'm going through all the Budapest reports, as planning to return and wanted to pick some places from other's experiences. I have got what I needed so thanks a lot!

Thanks very much for this narration of your trip there...moving, enlightening, very interesting; please do tell more. I'll be taking the train from Vienna to Keleti pu at the end of May, in just a little over 2 months. It will be my first time in Budapest.

Check out Marton's list about places to visit and activities in Budapest, it is a very complete list you can follow while you will be in Budapest:
http://budapesting.com/best_of_budapest

Anyone with a good Hungarian restaurant recommendation - hm? :)

Check out Koleves ... not far down the street from the big synagogue. The wonderful people we rented a room from recommended it highly. High-energy, very good food, reasonable prices. Also near some of the ruin pubs, if you're interested in that. We are there several times -- great goulash.

http://www.koleves.com/container.php?lang=ENG

Absolutely Astoria!!

Hi,

I have created a mass transit/tourist site map for my use, as such a map is not available in Budapest or else where.
I designed it in microsoft Word so it downloads anywhere. It only shows the mass transit you need to get where a tourist would go.

Can't attach here, if you want me to send a copy, I am at [email protected].
wayne

Strange post, why don't you put that map online somewhere?

When I visited my daughter in Budapest in 2000, we walked (during the day) from her apartment two blocks from Heroe's Square to the Great Synagogue in Astoria as well as the Market Hall. Most of the major sights are not far from each other if you don't mind walking. And the public transportation system is very good. I'm not sure it matters where your base is.

Also, I'm putting in a plug for Cafe Gerbeaud at Vorosmarty Ter. Divine pastries and a rich history!

We're planning on stayin gin the Oktogon area as well - it seems like a good central place to be. I can't wait to go!!

You can stay anywhere within the Central Market - Margaret Island - Heroe's Square triangle and walk to most sights...

We plan to visit Budapest, Prague and Krakow or Vienna at the beginning of next year and currently reading through the threads! If anyone can give us info on which is a better choice - Krakow or Vienna, that would be very helpful. We like history, but I guess both places have a lot of historical sights ;)

I would leave out Vienna, Krakow-Budapest-Prague is a better combination!

koleves is a very nice restaurant and I wouldn't forget the Szimplakert bar, which is very close to it and they have delicious langosh there.

Just got back from Budapest and loved it. Stay in Oktogon. It is really close to metro, trams and is very central. We stayed at the Corinthia which went above my expectations. Their spa, pool area was wonderful, much better than any of the baths. The Opera is right there and Franz Litsz square is a great place to eat.

I also stayed in the Oktogon area, and it really is a central. It's walking distance (or a short tram/metro ride) to most major Pest sites, as well as to the chain bridge which will take you to Buda.

I would go for Astoria or Oktogon, both very centric and close to many good restaurants, bars.