I am going to be beginning my three week European trip in Budapest. My girlfriend and I originally planned on spending a couple of days there but cut our trip down to one night because the Hungarian Formula One Grand Prix is going on the weekend we arrive and room rates are expensive if not impossible to even find a room. We will be arriving off the red eye in the morning and will be staying at the Hilton in the castle district. I figure we should be able to start sight seeing around noon, and then we leave the following afternoon to Vienna via train.

My question is if you have one afternoon, one evening and a couple of hours the following morning, what would you do in Budapest?

I booked the Hilton for it's location and would like to leverage it as much as possible by stayig on the Buda side.

Your first day, you can walk up the Castle Hill and wander around, going to the history museum or art museum or military museum, or visitng a church, or hanging at a cafe in a medieval building (there are two or three cafes like that). In the evening, if you're still alive and kicking, you can go to a musical event--opera if it is your thing or a folk music/dance concert if you are not. They are on the Pest side, but it is a short walk across a bridge. Then the next morning, because there is so much to see in Budapest, I would suggest a bus tour to see what you'll want to come back for the next time.

Vera

I had one day in Budapest and walked along the Danube stopping at shops and cafes and soaking up the scene, river views and architecture. Also, don't try walking from the river front to the train station...it is a LONG, hot walk, and not very interesting.

As you are in staying in the Castle District, I would suggest you start off there. It is a nice area for 2-3 hours (more time needed if you go into the museums/galleries in the palace). If you need refreshments, try the Ruszwurm, a historic cafe with nice cakes and ice creams, just round the corner from the Hilton.

You can then head across the river into Pest. There are a number of ways to do this. One way is by the little Varbusz's (buses) that go to Moszkva Ter (Moscow Square) and connect to the metro (red line)for the journey into Pest and trams (routes 4 & 6 are the most useful). You need tickets though and these must be validated when you get on the bus. You'll need additional tickets for each journey you make or a day pass. Alternatively, you can take the Funicular down to the base of castle hill. The base terminus is by the Chain Bridge (Lanchid) and from there you can walk across the bridge into Pest. As you walk across, you'll see Parliament on your left and the Duna Korso (promenade) with its hotels on your right. A walk along here is pleasant and you get some nice views of the Buda side.

On the Pest Side, tour of Parliament is nice if you can fit it in. Otherwise, I'd recommend St Stephens basillica, the Great Market Hall, Heroes Square and the city park behind it. If you like bathing, you could also go for a dip in the famous Szechenyi baths (furdo).

Nightime is lovely by the Danube as many buildings are illuminated by clever use of floodlights. Two good views are from Gellert Hill (Buda side) across from Castle Hill and the promenade. But the best way is by a boat trip up the Danube. But do this when it is properly dark to get the real magic. Boats leave from the Vigado ter (square) pier and the ticket office is there.

If you want to sit and relax and enjoy a drink/meal, its probably best to do this in Pest where choices are greater. The areas around Raday utca (street) and Liszt Ferenc ter (square) are popular. In summer, there is also what is known as a "Kert" or Garden scene, which are basically open air bars, some with music etc. Some popular ones this year are on Margitsziget (Masrgaret Island).

One excellent feature of the Hilton is that they offer an excellent weekend brunch (all you can eat plus champagne and orange). A fairly inexpensive way to sample good quality Hungarian (along with international) fare.

I have just come back from a trip in central Europe and we had a 2 night stay in Budapest. In reality it meant we got to the main train station at about 4:00pm on a Wednesday and booked out at 9:00 am on the Friday so we only had an evening and a day there. We stayed in the Astoria which was just 10- 15 mins walk to the Danube. So we booked in had a shower and change went to find somewhere to eat. Then had a lovely walk in the eveneing by the Danube. It was really nice, we debated about taking a boat trip but decided to just walk along the bank. We were on the other side from the gellert monument etc etc the were all light up in the dark, It was magical. I had borrowed the DK eyewitness travel guide so armed with this we decided not to do a bus tour they next day. We bought the 3 day travel ticket when we arrived in Budapest the night before this allowed us to hop on and off trams, underground etc as much as we liked.The guide recommends a few tram lines that are very good for sightseeing. They are the purple line no.2, the green line no.4 the yellow line no.6, the orange line no.18 the blue line no.19 and the red line no.61, we did not get around to doing the no.61 line but did manage the others. I would say that if you are pushed for time and could only do a few do the purple line no. 2 and the blue line no.19 these both go along the Danube but different sides so you get to see quite a few intresting sights. Then try the yellow line no.6 or the green line no.4 they go a similar route.
They go very regular every couple miutes and you can get off and stop to take photo's then just get back on the next one coming down.

The red line metro is being worked on now, so part of it is by bus now. It's a bit inconvient but the only tricky part is finding the right bus stop.

Yes as I found out to my cost, was going to jump on the red metro for 2 stops to out hotel. The lady at the info desk said the bus was just outside and directed us to a stand number.
A long comes a bus which seemed to indicate it was the one we needed. It was going the wrong way. We had a lovely detour out in to the country, I thought don't worry we will stay on and just go back. Wrong he made us get off as he was ending his shift. We had to get another bus back wich went a longer route but did stop were we wanted to in the end. The metro and trams them selves are much easier to understand which ones to get on. It all added to the fun and we did get to see some really nice countryside.