I am traveling to Budapest in early May and will be there for 4 days. Does anyone have any &quot;must see/do&quot; items to pass along? I typically like to do as much on my own to get a taste of the local culture so I usually avoid tours. <BR><BR>Thanks,<BR>Mike

We did an independent tour there in Sept 1999 for 3 nights. One must is to take an evening Danube cruise. It was great. All the buildings/statues were lit. They provided ear phones so that you could choose your language and not hear it repeated in various languages. They also had a closed circuit television that provided other insights. It was really enjoyable. We did a walking tour of Castle Hill (we were staying on the Buda side). Also saw the caves there that were used by the germans during WWII. Also did a walking tour on the Pest side. We used frommers (because Rick Steves does not do Budapest). It was okay, but found things outdated on the pest side. Matthias church at the Fishermans Bastion is a must see on Castle Hill. We even attended an organ concert there one night. The casino in the Hilton was also interesting. At that time they were using US currrency, few slot machines and a lot of russians at the gaming tables. Have a great trip, we did. We stayed at the Kulturinov, not fancy in an old government building across from the Hilton. At the time they were the only to on the Hill. I think there might be another now. Happy travels!

We too will be spending a few days in Budapest in May, and I have been using the following site to gather info:<BR>http://www.iit.bme.hu/hungary/budapest/bplinks/<BR><BR>We plan to visit those Roman ruins that are accessible (see www.aquincum.hu if you're interested).<BR><BR>I've e-mailed for tourist info at [email protected] which they will mail to my home address.<BR><BR>Hope this helps.<BR>

topping for mwiacek

Based on our trip three years ago, here are my ideas of the &quot;must see/do&quot; items. <BR>(1) Buda castle area. Skip the inside of the museums, but definitely go inside St. Stephen's. Wander around the winding old streets.<BR>(2) Duna Corso (the walkway along the Danube on the Pest side), both day and night. Recommended outdoor restaurant, weather permitting, is also called Duna Corso.<BR>(3) See the beautifully restored Jewish synagogue. Next to it is a Jewish museum, but more importantly, to the left side as you're facing the synagogue is a portion of the ghetto wall still standing, and behind to the left is a memorial &quot;tree&quot; made up of thousands of names engraved on individual leaves.<BR>(4) Parliament. <BR>(5) Coffee and pastry at Gerbaud.<BR>(6) Guided tour of the opera house.<BR>(7) Performance at the opera, if that's your style.<BR>(8) Get a good map and walk, walk, walk!<BR><BR>Vicky