Budapest Travel Forum

hello friends,
i will be traveling to Budapest on 25th June till 27th June. Could you please advice me as which area will be best for hotel so that all attractions are walkable?..i am bit confused as there are so many different places to see.
I will be traveling with my 3.5 yrs old son and husband. Could someone advice me the things to see (5-6 of the best).

1)what is the name of the area where most attractions are?
2) decent hotel in that area?
3) 5-6 main attractions to see?
4) How far would be the train station keleti P to the area mentioned above?
5) What would be the best way to travel from the above train station to the center of Budapest?

Please do advice
Thanx
Ritu

Can't comment on hotels - we stayed at Carlton, which is about 10-15 minute walk from the attractions in Buda and about the same for Pest.

Remember there are a lot of coffee houses which sell hot chocolate and gooey cakes. For your son try the labyrinth in Buda, which is an underground maze and he might find amusing. Gellert Baths have an outside area - not too sure about the flumes, but seem to think that there might be something suitable for your son - but you must swim in the pool inside - its like an art gallery

The indoor market in Buda is reasonably interesting. Try eating at Szvent st Juan - opposite Burger King - go out of Buda Castle [Museum] and continue heading towards the Danube.

Don't forget Godollo just outside Budapest - a stately home which is being renovated and also of course the Houses of Parliament which is free, not too sure about this for your Son

Remember to take swimming caps as some baths won't let you in without them. Check out Margaret Island - have a feeling there may be some sort of water things you could do with your Son

1) Actually you don't really need a place within walking distance, since the public transportation network is dense, frequent and quite easy to use - at least in the city center. Anyway, if you'd like to see sights like Aquincum or the City Park (Varosliget), you'll need to take public transport.

Still, areas that are closest to most sights are Belvaros (Inner City, or district 5, it's the ultimate center), Var (the Castle Area or District 1, which is actually further away from the sights of the Pest side, but the Buda Castle and its vicinity is at your doorstep), also inner parts of districts 6 (Terezvaros), 7 (Erzsebetvaros), 8 (Jozsefvaros) and 9 (Ferencvaros) are close to sights.

2) You may check the hotel location easily by its ZIP code, most of the times given in the address. The middle two digits denote the district (eg. 1012 is District 1, Castle Area, 1135 is district 13 and so on).

3) not in order of importance:
1. Buda Castle
2. Downtown Pest with Vaci utca, Vorosmarty ter, etc.
3. St Stephen's Basilica
4. Andrassy ut, Heroes' Square, Millennium Underground Railway, City Park and the "Pest Broadway" at Liszt Ferenc ter
5. Gellert Hill and the Citadel
6.. Grand Circle Boulevard
7. Baths of Budapest: Szechenyi, Gellert, Rudas etc.
8. Aquincum ruin area, Amphitheatre
9. Statue Park
etc.

4)5) From Keleti palyaudvar (Eastern Station), your most likely option would be metro M2 (red line) in direction Deli pu. Parts of districts 5,7,8 are on this line, and it's a few minutes ride there (up to 5 minutes). For other locations, you may need to change at Blaha Lujza ter for trams 4 or 6, running along Grand Circle Blvd. For the Castle, change for bus 10 or 110 at Moszkva ter metro (M2) station. Any ride would not take longer than 15 minutes.

I would stay on Margaret Island at one of the Danubius Health SPA's. There are two on the island the Health SPA (the newer one, which I would recommend) and the Danubuis Grand Hotel (the older one - which is also great) The island would be great for the son, there is a water park, there are different types of cars (little ones) that you can drive around the Island. The bus stop is only about 10 yards from the hotel and will take you anywhere in Pest or Buda. Besides that the SPA is fantastic. Have stayed there twice for 3 weeks at a time and it has been terrific.John