Budapest vacation

Great sites to visit: Matthias Church, Fishermen's Bastion Parliament, Gellert Hill and Heroes Square. Visit the spa at the Gellert hotel -- it is a great experience. Gundell Restaurant is a really nice upscale restaurant for a fraction of US prices.

Quick Tips:

Take a city tour on yor first day. This is a good way to get an idea of the city. Don't try to cover both Buda and Pest on the same day. Try to leave at least a days for each. Take a walk across Chain Bridge at night -- it offers a great view if the city.

Best Way To Get Around:

We took trams everywhere. It goes to all major sites. You can get ripped off by taxi drivers if you just hail a cab. The best way is to get phone numbers of taxi companies and call ahead.

The hotel is located on the Danube river. Very beautifull building. Friendly staff, nice lobby where they have live music playing every night.

Our room vas clean, but small and a little old looking (actually, the hotel looks like it needs some renovation). Still, the room had a little balcony and a nice river view.

The location is also good: There is a tram stop two steps from the hotel and it only takes 5-10 min to get to downtown. In fact, Gellert is the most famous hotel in Hungary. It's mostly famous for its spa.

The spa has several pools with warm mineral water and a regular pool. It also has men/women sections which have mineral pools. You can also get a very cheap professional massage - but it does not look so good. There is no privacy: I saw a woman getting a massage, lying naked in front of everybody in the dressing room.

Don't go on a weekend - it is crowded with locals.

The spa is very big and stunning but it also needs a major renovation. It is state owned, so don't expect friendly treatment.

This is considered the best and most expensive restaurant in Budapest. The room is very elegant and retro looking with paintings and wooden tables. The large band of musicians played classical and folk music. Service was smooth and well paced - we were treated like royalty.

The gourmet six-course menu with accompanying wines was wonderfully prepared and cost about 60$. I loved their Goose liver and Saddle of Deer.