I am planning a trip to Budapest for my birthday but am concerned about going in November. Does anyone know if November is a bad time to go? Would early October be better. (those are my two options) Also, I am looking for recommendations on where it is better to stay -- Buda or Pest? We would like to be in an area with night life. Thanks!

Never been, but my friend who was born there and goes back often says it's better in October than November, because it can get pretty cold. She says it depends on if its a strong winter coming on.

She said Buda is more historic and nicer, while Pest is more city life, so I suspect, more night life.

We just came back from a trip that included Budapest this week and I think Surfergirl is probably right that Pest would have more night life. We stayed on the Pest side in the Intercontinental. We had a view of the castle from our room that was wonderful especially at night. There did not seem to be much going on in Buda but we were only there during the day so I could be wrong. If you stay on the waterfront on either side it is a quick walk to the other side so I'm not sure that it matters which you choose. Our favorite evening was a boat cruise on the Danube. It was wonderful with all the buildings and bridges illuminated.

October is better than November.. November can be quite cold and rainy.. October can still have sunny days but cold mornings.. Also in November the days are shorter! So the earlier you can go in the autumn the better. I think the best time is September. The summer is too hot, unbearably.. September is lovely though... warm sunshine and the light is beautiful.. the trees changing their colours..

I have been to Budapest (Sopron and Szentendre) in November. It was cold but I try to get more travel days than I have from work so we go to Europe over Thanksgiving. An advantage is lower rates and less crowd. As another poster said, it also means early darkness.

We stayed on the Buda side - lots more hills/steep streets to climb as we made our way to the hotel. we're not nightlife people outsdie of eating in those old restaurants.

K&K Hotel Opera. 1/2 block from the opera house; short walk to Jewish Quarter, Chain Bridge, Deak Ter, St. Stephen's Basilica and Liszt Ter (good night-time area). It's on the Pest side.

We stayed on the Pest side near the river in Early November 2002. We had one very rainy day, one very warm and gorgeous day, and two kind of coolish overcast days. We thought the weather was just fine, better in Budapest than Prague or Vienna for that time of year.

We were in Budapest this past May. We stayed on the Buda side but if I were doing it again I'd opt for the Pest side as it is closer to everything both daytime and at night. The Buda side however gave us a great view of the Parliment and the bridges.