Budapest Travel Forum

Hi!

I will be coming to Budapest for a day from Vienna/ Wien. Could anyone suggest places that one could visit for a day?
also, is there any souvenier that is unique to budapest (just curious to know)?
Looking forward to getting some inputs...Thank you!!

Hello!

I would suggest you go on some kind of a guided tour (with bus, or with private guide) as you come to Budapest, just to see as much as possible and experience as much as possible in a day. If you have the chance the big Market Hall is quite typical hungarian, if not a short walk from the St. Stephens Basilica, through the Liberty Square and ending up at the Kossuth Square where you can find the Parlament and the Museum of Ethnography is a great trip. Afterwards you could jump on tram 2, and travel along the Danube and see the Castle, the Gellert Hill , the Chain bridge and so on!

Then I would eat in a restaurant that serves typical Hungarian food. Maybe the Matyas Pince or Karpatia (close to the Ferenciek Square).

If you want something typical hungarian, maybe you should try to get hold of some paprica, or some wine from Eger or Tokaj...

Have a nice day, and hope this could be at some help!

I was going to suggest that if you only had one day in Budapest, then just stay another day in Vienna instead. BUT, the guide ideas isnt bad. I know an excellent gentleman; Andrew Illes (http://www.guideinbudapest.com/). Not knowing what we were walking into on our first trip to Bp we played it safe and hired a guide for one day - Andrew. We generally dont care much for guides, but this was our first trip to central Europe and we didnt have a lot of time. Andrew turned out to be an excellent decision. He is polite, well educated (very well), understanding and puts on a wonderful, informative and fun trip.

You've received some very good suggestions. I second the idea of going to the great market. You can see (and purchase) unique souvenirs there. You can also get a quick meal at the cafeteria style restaurant.

For souvenirs I suggest porcelain and ceramics (Herendi, Zsolnay figurines) or Hollohaza. The Herendi yellow rose is great. Embroidery is also great. Also Tokaj and Egri wine are excellent suggestions. Hungarian paprika is fantastic - like nothing you can get anywhere else.

Matyas Templom (Mathias Church) in Buda is to me more memorable than St. Stephen's (except if you can view the right arm of St. Stephen). I have never been inside the Parliament, but would like to go sometime.

Unfortunately, one day in Budapest is a small amount of time, so a guide is a good idea. There is good information at budapestinfo.hu/en and similar sites.

Hoping that you have a full day, here is my list of things to do : Start from Heroes Square, Walk down to Andrassy utca, Visit Szent Istvan Basilica, Walk down to Vaci utca, Walk through Danube river bank to Chain Bridge, Take Funicular to Castle, Walk around Castle Area (Fisherman Bastion, Szent Mathias Church) and if you have time visit also Citadel. If you are with a car, you may shorten the trip and have more time for shopping and food. You can find a lot of souvenirs in Vaci utca. Tokaji wine and some magnets would be great, plus there are the wooden toys which you can hang and they are so cute. For the restaurant, go to Szent Jupat near Moskva Ter. Great food, fantastic prices. Check out my tips for more details on these suggestions. Enjoy Budapest :)