Budapest Impressions?

My husband and I really liked Budapest and thought that it was a great destination for 2-3 nights. We enjoyed trying one of the baths (we picked Szechenyi Baths), shopping in the Great Market hall, touring the House of Terror (former secret police headquarters), strolling along the river, and the eating the interesting food. I would recommend it! It might be out of the way for the rest of your trip but we also really enjoyed visiting Ljubljana, Slovenia.

I agree with the above comments. We really enjoyed a few days in Budapest and the baths were a highlight. The city was not filled with tourists which was a pleasant change (especially compared to Prague). Our meals were very good--Duran open face sandwiches are great. It is probably one of the least expensive places to visit in Europe. Our B&B was 65 euros I think--great location next to St Matthias Church. The Great Market was an amazing place and not to be missed.

I am going to side with the posts above. The baths, the Terror House, the wine tasting in a cave, the Buda side in general, and the architecture were all amazing and educational. I would revisit again. Our B&B was also around 65 euro, in Nov/Dec and was also a part of our lovely experience. I loved Budapest more than Vienna. Who knew that Hungarian wine was some of the best wine I have ever tasted. Especially what is translated into "Bull's Blood". Yum.

Thank you all for the insightful comments. Still planning and will consider all the positive remarks. Thanks again.

I have to agree. We loved Budapest on our visit last year. Our visit was only for three days, and I wish that we had more time. The baths, market, and walking around town were our highlights. Plus, going up to the Fisherman's Bastion (the free area) at sunset was amazing, and not crowded at all.

I agree with the comments above based on a visit in 2008 of three nights in Prague and five in Budapest. Two further comments; I would highlight that Budapest seemed peaceful compared to Prague which was teeming with 20ish travelers. And a personal favorite which was the Opera in Budapest. We purchased tickets online and really enjoyed it.

Been to Budapest several times, liked it, but after there last time, we went down to Ljubljana, Solvenia and Croatia. We did the same trip and then dropped down to those countries, and they were amazing. It was my favorite places in Europe, until.....I went to Turkey last summer

I love Budapest. I have been to Europe twice (summer of 2007 and last year), and both times I made it to Budapest. The food is good. Plenty of sightseeing (including a trip to the Parliament building, the baths and Lake Balatan). A night river cruise was fun. I enjoyed being a temporary local. To be fair, Budapest is "rebuilding", and I found plenty of crumbling buildings and shady streets to walk down, but the city is building as fast as they can. Huge, new shopping mall by the main train station (can't remember the name though). And it's a fairly cheap city to visit, too.

You can find some recent trip reports here too I just went through them also:

http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/38115/budapest-accommodation-palatinus-oktogon-or-astoria-area.html

http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm?topic=34346

Thanks again to all who have responded. We value your comments.

Yeah, Budapest rocks! ;)
www.budapesttips.co.uk