Ed Matheny

I have work in Budapest on April 13th and 14th. My wife and I are flying from Atlanta to Vienna on April 7th (arrive on the 8th Thursday). We plan to stay in Vienna Thursday thru Sunday Morning then travel by train to Budapest. My wife will tour alone ;-( on Tuesday and Wednesday then on Thursday late in the day we must return to Vienna for a Friday morning flight back to atlanta. Saved $2000 booking it that way Would appreciate any thoughts on how to design this trip. I've booked a concert in Vienna for Thursday night Wagner will awaken us! Then what? Any advice on transport from Vienna to Budapest? Train seems logical. Should we do it in the daylight? Where to stay in Vienna? Thinking of Marriott as my wife is slightly timid when in Europe and finds some sense security in American hotels. I could probably get away with an upscale European hotel that doesn't REQUIRE European formality in all restaraunts. Any suggestions on how my wife could spend her days in Budapest while I work. We'll have time together at night so nightlife suggestions would be welcomed. Thanks in advance as I'm sure this post will get a reply based on the recent board activity. Thanks again!

s.fowler

In Vienna stay at the Radisson SAS Palais. It's right next to the Marriott, the service is as good as the Marriott, the prices are comparable and it has *heaps* more charm. [I've stayed at both- you could be anywhere while in the Marriott] If the posts are still here do a search on this site for the Radisson. <BR>There is *lots* to do in Budapest. I'll post a short list tomorrow if someone else doesn't beat me to it <BR>

s.fowler

In Budpest be sure to eat at Bagolyvar ["owl castle"], the little sister of Gundels. Again do a site search. I assume your hotel is "set". If not ry the Hotel Victoria on the Buda side. Again do a site search for my comments. <BR>

s.fowler

Sorry for the *spam*. The search function isn't cooperating. Here's the Hotel Victoria website: http://www.justweb.com/hotel-victoria/ <BR>If you need any more info let me know... <BR> <BR>

KJ

Don't miss the following in Vienna: <BR>coffee in a real Viennese coffee house <BR>The Skatzkammer at Hofburg Palace: the royal treasuries. This was the better than the crown jewels in London! <BR>St. Stephens cathedral. <BR>Schonbrunn Palace: a 1200 room palace worth seeing. <BR>Have fun for I sure did!

Petra

Vienna is wonderful in springtime (I hope weather will be fine). <BR>Train from Vienna to Budapest is o.k., it just takes 2 hours (do it in the daylight, so you can see the plains of Hungary, a very special kind of landscape). <BR>Don't miss in Vienna: <BR>Belvedere Castle and Gardens (15 min. by feet from the SAS or the Marriott) <BR>Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Arts) <BR>Karlskirche (St. Charles Church) <BR>Stadtpark (in front of the Marriot). <BR>If you like wine - take a taxi to Grinzing and visit the "Heurigen". <BR>If you like good pastry - go to Demel (Kohlmarkt in the City) and try the Sacher Torte, or go to "Kurkonditorei Oberlaa" (more budget than Demel's) <BR>Visit the "Hofburg", from where the Habsburg Emperors reigned half of Europe. <BR>I hope you will enjoy your stay!

dan

Ed, I would take the train to Budapest. Take it in the evening if it will save you time to do some sightseeing in Vienna, since it sounds like you will be pretty busy. As for your wife's stay in Budapest, I would use one day to tour Castle Hill, including some of the excellent museums there. She could also spend a couple of hours that day relaxing in one of the famous baths. My wife and I spent some time at the Gellert baths. They are quite enjoyable but can be a little hard to figure out. The best way is just to watch what others do. I would use the other day to take a walking tour of Pest from around the Freedom Bridge to the Parliament building. There is excellent shopping on Vaci Utca, which is pedestrian only. There are also numerous good souvenir shops on Castle Hill. Outside of these two areas, she might like to visit Heroes Square and the Opera House. The subways are pretty easy to use, but you can walk to most sites.

dan

She may also enjoy walking around the Jewish quarter, which has some beautiful synagogues. Not far from the Pest walk I was talking about.

s.fowler

A nice easy "day trip" is to the small art colony town on the Danube named Szentendre. It is 45 minutes on the HEV railway from Budapest. [The HEV station is connected to the Batthanyi Ter metro stop on the "red line". Szentendre is seriously charming. Plenty of stores and cafes. Have lunch at the Golden Dragon just off the main square. It is a trip a non-Hungarian speaker could do easily. [Just say the name "sentendre" [sz = s in Hungarian] and make the sign of circ le. If I recall correctly the roundtrip [hence the circle ] was about 200 forints. <BR>

tina

Will a woman alone be hassled at all in Budapest? Are there any areas that are unsafe?

Linda

As long as you stay in the main areas, you shouldn't have any trouble. I did venture out into other areas & had no problems. Just keep normal caution as you would in any big city. Of course, we were there in November so many of the pickpockets had gone south.

dan

Tina, I didn't have any trouble there, but I was always with at least one other person. A Hungarian, who served as a guide for our class, warned us that some areas could be quite unsafe, so I would suggest going to peopled and well-lighted places at night.