buda vs. pest
 

Having just seen a photo of what I believe to be the Chain Bridge in Budapest, a slight panic has me searching for a little more detail about the choice of a hotel in Buda (Hotel Victoria) vs. one in Pest. This appears to be a BIG bridge, not a cute little walkable river crossing! (I've read the archived material on Budapest but still don't have a good sense of the lie-of-the-land (and river).<BR><BR>I will have my cast removed and be in regular shoes by late August travel date but will still need to be a little sensible about how much hoofing I will do. Should I attempt a change of hotels to the Pest side? My one main destination in 3 days there is the Ludwig Museum which is near enough to hotel on Buda side but many other general sights seem to be on Pest side. I'm just dithering here...can anybody let me know about my distance concerns. Thank you.

It takes about 10-15 minutes to walk over each of the bridges in Budapest. I walked over the Freedom Bridge daily. But, don't worry, buy a metro pass, and you can take the bus over the bridge. I don't think the Chain Bridge has tracks for trams, but the Freedom Bridge does. How far is the Hotel Victoria to the Chain Bridge? If its up in the castle district, you might have to switch to another bus, tram, or take the cog tram up the hill, so you might want a hotel closer to one of the major stops. Check out the hotels on or near Vaci Utca on the Pest side. And, make sure you find one that has an elevator.

My mistake, the Chain Bridge is accessible by tram. The Elizabeth Bridge does not have a track for the trams.

Thanks Leslie, this all makes me feel somewhat better. From the photograph I saw it could have been the Golden Gate! Do you know if taxis are either hailable on the streets or otherwise easily found. I'd like to walk as much as possible and then grab a cab if I overdo it. I think the Victoria Hotel is very near the Chain Bridge and the tram sounds like a good idea, especially for outbound. The hotel definitely does have an elevator! Any further info about taxi situation will be appreciated.

Trams operate over the Margit, Szabadsag and Petofi bridges. Only busses operate over the Szechenyi (=chain) bridge.<BR><BR>I'm not familiar with the Ludwig museum, but would observe that if it is the the castle area, it probably will be uphill from your hotel.<BR><BR>In general, there are many worthwhile sights in Budapest, and they are sufficiently separated that you are unlikely to walk between them, even if recovery from whatever required a cast was not an issue. So, switching hotels just to avoid walking the bridge is not advised. <BR><BR>The advice on the transit pass (which don't think valid for the cogwheel tram up to the castle, or for the children's railway) is good. As for cabs, they are generally available, but read cautions in older threads about choice of taxi. Hailing one on the street always results in a higher charge than calling City Taxi, Fo Taxi, Taxi 2000, or one of the other established firms -- even in one of their cabs. Some taxis (not one of the majors) will rip you off.

Only catch cabs at offical pick up points. Sometimes independent cabbies will be there also - negotiate before departing, they will try to over charge you. A list of offical cab services can be found in most guide books.

Thank you all so much!<BR><BR>As an experienced and generally intrepid traveller, not sure why so nervous about this destination. 4 months with 3 broken metatarsi has certainly highlighted one's limitations and this will be my major first travel once back on my feet (literally). Also somewhat concerned about language--in what language would one most likely be negotiating with the cabbies? I have decent German and French but my Hungarian will be pathetic at best!<BR><BR>FYI for Rod, the Ludwig is the Museum of Contemporary Art located in one of the wings of the Royal Palace. I will be accompanying some artwork to the museum and look forward to seeing their collection as I hear it is quite impressive.<BR><BR>If anyone of you could answer my question about language I promise I will stop being such a worrywort/nudge and leave you all in peace! Thanks again.

We've visited Budapest 2 times and never had any particular language problems. I speak college French (from many years ago) and really really basic travellers German. We also go it alone, take local transportation and have had a great time. Last time we stayed in an inexpensive hotel right on castle hill--a marvelous location. It was called the Kulturinov, I believe, and was in a wing of the Hungarian Cultural Center. Rooms were clean and basic but just fine. Several morning we woke to the sound of students practicing for their performances and recitals--made the stay much more fun.

To expand on Mark's point, it is also very convenient to call one of the better local cab companies (F&ouml; Taxi (tel. 1/222-2222) or City Taxi (tel. 1/211-1111)). Many nights I was at the Opera or a restaurant and called a taxi--it usually took five-10 minutes to arrive.

To all of you with experience in Budpest: When you telephone, do you speak English? German? French? HUNGARIAN? Which language did you use most or at all? Julie, did you just speak English? I'm sorry I don't speak anything but english and spanish but mostly in Italy and France or Germany I have found most people speak English. Is that possible in Budapest? Danke. (half of my German vocabulary!)

When I prepared for my trip (theater tickets, hotel, restaurant reservations) I spoke English, most often without any difficulty; while there I mostly spoke English (even with taxi dispatchers), and only had problems in some smaller museums.

When I prepared for my trip (theater tickets, hotel, restaurant reservations) I spoke English, most often without any difficulty; while there I mostly spoke English (even with taxi dispatchers), and only had problems in some smaller museums and shops (try buying a pair of cufflinks on a Saturday afternoon).

Once again, thank you all for putting my fears to rest. I have regained my original enthusiam for visiting Budapest for the first time now that my panic attack has subsided! Your many useful details have done the trick.

We visited Budapest last summer while I was recovering from knee surgery, so I can understand your trepidation! We found the public transportation to be all that we needed to get around--using mainly a combination of the subway & trams. The trams (streetcars) are a wonderful, quick way to see the city & get to most parts of both sides of the river. As for language, I speak English, Spanish & some French, and we did not have a problem communicating at all. We found that for the vast majority of people we met, English or German was their second language. Just learn the simple phrases like please, thank you, good morning, goodbye, and they will take you through most situations! Have a wonderful trip--it is a truly beautiful city.