Fly in from Ottawa/Sweden/Vienna on June 13,
Stay on June 13, 14, 15, 16,
Fly out to Dubrovnik on June 17th.
Spacious Apartment in city centre
Lónyay St
Budapest, Budapest 1093
Hungary
+36 30 242 7455
From the airport to accommodations
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest
- http://www.lonelyplanet.com/Budapest
- http://wikitravel.org/en/Budapest
- http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g274887-Budapest-Vacations.html
- http://wow.iit.bme.hu/hungary/budapest/bptour/bptour.htm
Aquincum - was a city in the Roman times, its remains are turned into a great open-air museum. It's situated in the Óbuda district of northern Buda. There are some ruins of thermal baths, made by stones and decorated with mosaics and paintings.
Gül Baba Türbéje - is the shrine where Gül Baba (literally Rose Father, from whom the Rózsadomb (Rose Hill) was named) lies.
Kassák Museum at the Zichy Castle shows works of the modern Hungarian artists as well as modern Hungarian art.
Kiscelli Museum - The Budapest Picture Gallery
Statue Park - rather than smash the statues of the Communist era, the Hungarians arranged them with a twist of irony in this park to the south of Buda.
Victor Vasarely Museum - shows many works of the famous Hungarian-born post-modern painter Vásárhelyi Győző (1908-1997).
Castle Hill:
UNESCO World Heritage - Danube Panorama and Castle district
The Royal Palace (Királyi palota) The most popular attraction on the hill, home to:
National Gallery (Nemzeti Galéria) Inside the Royal Palace wings B, C and D houses an astounding collection of paintings
The Fisherman's Bastion and lookout terrace (Halászbástya) For impressive views across the Danube to Pest
Mattias Church (Mátyás templom, aka Church of Our Lady) Dominant neogothic church crowning Budapest's cityscape - nowadays is under reconstruction
Other Museums on Castle Hill:
The Historical Museum of Budapest - Exhibition of medieval Budapest and history of the Royal Palace
The Music Museum - Includes a collection of musical instruments and the Bartok archive.
Military Museum - Uniforms, weapons, maps and other Hungary-related military object from 11th century until nowadays.
Marzipan Museum
Pharmacy Museum - Collection of pharmaceutical object from the Renaissance and Baroque eras
Museum of Medieval Judaism - Presents the medieval Jewish objects of Buda
Pest is the administrative and business centre of Budapest and the whole of Hungary. The main sights here are:
The Parliament Building (Országház) - A neogothic jewel, beautifully situated overlooking the Danube. It is very much worth going inside, but you can only do that during guided tours, which are FREE for inhabitants of EU. Buy tickets in advance. Guided tours are held each day at 10, 12, 14)
St. Stephen's Basilica (Szent István Bazilika) - The main church of Budapest is an important example of neoclassical architecture, recently renovated. The mummified right hand of Hungary first king, St. Stephen is kept in the chapel. The 96 meter high dome can be seen from anywhere in the city and inside is decorated with mosaics.
The Andrássy út boulevard in Pest stretches from downtown to the City Park. It is listed on UNESCO's World Heritage List and has some important sights along it, including:
The State Opera House - This is one of the most beautiful opera houses in the world.
The House of Terror - Housed in the secret police headquarters of the communist era, this museum objectively documents the terror of the Nazi and Communist eras. Visiting is hard work, but essential for anyone wishing to understand Hungary's recent past.
The Hopp Museum of East Asian Art
Ernst Museum - Contemporary Hungarian art
The City Park is at the far end, and is proably the most pleasant of Pest's districts and features several interesting if low-key attractions which are often overlooked:
Heroes' Square - with the Millennium Monument
Museum of Fine Arts - incredible range of European artwork from Greek and Roman times to present.
Vajdahunyad Vera is a castle on a little island on a lake built for the 1898 World Fair
Other Museums in Pest:
Great Synagogue and the Jewish Museum (Dohány utcai Zsinagóga)
Museum of Ethnography
National Museum
Museum of Applied Arts
Natural History Museum (Mainly minerals at display)
Ludwig Museum of Modern Art
Holocaust Memorial Centre
Museum of Transport
Bible Museum
Széchenyi Spa (Széchenyi Fürdő), Pest - Indoor open 6am - 7pm; Outdoor 6am - 10pm. Built in 1909 in the present-day City Park, this is the largest spa in Europe and probably the nicest one in Budapest. A vast bath complex amidst beautiful architecture, it contains 3 outdoor pools, including a large lap pool, at least 3 sauna rooms, and several indoor pools at different temperatures. 3,100HUF entrance fee (with locker) or 3,400HUF (with changing cabin). There's a swimming tube (a whirling corridor): round (outdoors) or rectangle-shaped (indoors) pool with artificial flow, a feature difficult to find elsewhere. Another specialty is a tradition to play chess while sitting in the water.
Gellért Baths, Buda - 6am - 7pm weekdays, - 5pm weekends. While the Kiraly baths may be a more authentic Turkish bath experience, those at the Gellert can't be beat for style - and they are equally popular among locals and tourists. This is probably the finest Art Nouveau pool in Europe, and the baths are beautiful as well as relaxing. 3500HUF for entrance fees to the swimming pool and thermal facilities, and includes cabin rental. During weekdays this price is 4050HUF and includes a 30 min. massage to be reserved in advance. Separate men and woman areas - not ideal!
Great Market Hall (Nagy Vásárcsarnok) at Fővám tér the recently renovated markethall with essential atmosphere (it's at the south end of Vaci). Prices for the same items vary a lot between sellers and aren't set in stone so be sure to compare and bargain.
Absinthe is available for purchase at common liquor sotres.
Caving in Budapest ranges from well lit and renovated Szemlőhegyi cave, where you can even go to parts in a wheelchair, to some of the more extreme tours in the Pál-völgyi–Mátyás-hegyi cave system, where you have to squeeze through several meters long passages with no room to spare.
The Pál-völgyi–Mátyás-hegyi cave system is recommended for the adventurous (and non-claustrophobic) who wants a great taste of "proper caving" instead of the more "tourist friendly" alternatives. The tours lasts between 2.5-3 hours and much of the time is spent crawling or climbing, so some degree of physical shape is needed. The guided tour includes a helmet, headlamp and overall so bring good shoes! Guides are very professional. English guided tours are usually on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays late in the afternoon, but can be pre-booked by groups at other days as well. For booking you need to be with at least 4 people.
Celeritas Shooting Club: http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g274887-d1633513-Reviews-Celeritas_Shooting_Club-Budapest.html
Faust Wine Cellar: http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Travel-g274887-d1605002/Budapest:Hungary:Faust.Wine.Cellar.html
Gozsdu Courtyard (Gozsdu Udvar) - Fun area to walk around in: Great Cafe's, galleries, Jewish shops, weekend art markets and a great Health Club "Holmes Place". Just around the corner from 3 synagogs...the well known Cafe Vian is always worth a visit or on Dob utca the famous Cafe Spinosa.
Budapest is one of the most Wi-Fi enabled cities in Europe. You can find hundreds of free WiFi hotspots all over the city - in cafes, restaurants, shopping malls and hotels, or even parks or busy streets.
In VII district (Erzsébetváros), which is surrounded by Károly körút, Király utca and Rákóczi út, free WiFi is provided by the government all over the district - in the cafes, shops, in the streets.
Wifi Networks
However, there are still some hotels and restaurants using offering paid wi-fi usage, including the following:
HotSpotSystem.com - has both Free and paid (Pro) types of service--chosen by operating (restaurant, hotel etc.). For paid access, internet time can be purchased by credit card right from your browser at the point of connection. Prices are set by operating business but can be like this (example taken from Hotel Astra [116]) 1hr =600ft, 2hrs =960ft, 24hrs =1950ft. Time can not be purchased in other slots, and should be used at once (you can't pause it, nor to use it in several intervals during several days). For Pro access, speed is: 384 / 128 kbit/s incoming/outgoing traffic, and unlimited traffic within paid time. And the time left is only shown in popup that opens right at the start of connection--if you close it, you can't check how much is left
Train?
Cheap Ryan Air flight?
[edit]