We are going to be in Hungary for 10 days and would like suggestions on hotels in Budapest, sites not to miss and whether we should plan on spending some nights outside of Budapest. Thanks for your help.

There is a good annotated list of hotels at http://www.inyourpocket.com<BR>I recommend the park of socialist sculpture: http://www.szoborpark.hu/indexa.html<BR>I think you might spend a night or two out of Budapest. What takes your fancy depends on you: you might look at notes on Eger.<BR><BR>[email protected]<BR>

St Matthias Cathedral, the Parliment Building, Fisherman's Bastion, the museums on castle hill, the Jewish Synagogue and the old Jewish Quarter, the health spas, walking down by the Danube from the Marriott to the Chain Bridge...a very niice place to visit.<BR><BR>US

If you're into design - pottery - furniture - glassware - etc. be sure to visit the Museum of Applied Arts. A great collection and building.<BR><BR>As for places to stay - I'm partial to the Gellert Hotel - get a room with a view of the Danube, go to their baths in the morning to get a massage and soak. Great location - historic building.<BR><BR>http://www.danubiusgroup.com/

Another hotel possibility and depending on how much you are wiling to spend (and how memorable you want your entire stay to be) would be the Hilton which, in selected rooms, has fabulous views of the Danube and the city. I'm sure you'll get a lot of recommendations about where to stay. I would also consider taking one of the English-language city tours for a good overview (the ones with the upper open deck busses are particularly nice) and you might also consider one of the musical evenings in the city. One word of CAUTION: beware of unscriupulous taxi cab drivers...having a meter in the cab is no guarantee. i would always ask what the approximate price to your destination will be BEFORE you get in.<BR>Enjoy Budapest..lots to see and do.

I'm going to give away a big secret and share with you one of our finds. We spent 3 weeks at a hotel in Budapest 3 years ago, with little more room than a cruise ship room, and this time have found that for the same price the Marriott has long-term stay apartments for business people that might be just as reasonable for a ten day trip. Check out www.execapartments.com. The hotels I otherwise would have considered would have been the Victoria and Hotel Sissi.<BR>As far as sights are concerned, I did post to another similar request, but now realize I misplaced St Stephen's Basilica on Castle Hill (St Matthias Church is there!). <BR>We enjoyed an hour's train ride to Szentendre, which gives you a view of a smaller community, rather touristy but fun. Old Serbian church, cobblestone streets, small Jewish memorial, lots of tiny shops. <BR>Depending on the time of year, I also understand a trip to Lake Balaton is worthwhile. Otherwise Ezstergom (sp?).<BR>We spent 18 days just in Budapest and did not run out of things to see and do.<BR>Vicky

Thanks so much. Can anyone give us any recent information on the Kempinski Hotel? The internet rates are quite reasonable.

In planning for our visit to Budapest found the following site which may be helpful to you: www.Budapest.com

If you are going to be in hungary for 10 days you should definitely not stay in Budapest the whole time. I was there for a slightly longer time period and spent about spent about 5 or 6 days in the city, but that included two day trips - one to the nearby Danube Bend region, and one to Eger (about 2 hours by train). You could easily go on an overnight trip to Eger, spending one day in Eger itself, and one day in the small wine villages around. We went for one night to Sopron (two hours by train from Budapest). It is a very nice small city near the Austrian border. A full day there and the next day in the surrounding area was quite nice. We also went for two nights to Pecs, south of Budapest (about 3 hours by train), spent one day in Pecs, and one day hiking in the nearby hills. A lot of Hungarians go to Lake Balaton for relaxation - reading about it it seemed better suited to r and r, as opposed to being really for sightseeing, but r and r might be waht you are looking for.<BR><BR>My suggestion for 10 days - 5 days in Budapest, including a day trip to the Danube Bend. A trip to Sopron and around for two days, one night. And another trip to something that appeals to you - small city? small town in countryside? hike?, etc.

Kempinski is very nice from the look of it, (yoo will not go too far wrong with any Kempinski) but not on the river like the Marriott or Forum (another name now maybe?)- maybe a consideration for you. Nicest hotel from general appearance and brochures in my opinion is the Meridien as it the newest of the 5 stars (unless 4 Seasons has opened). If you want a good value 3 star - check out Victoria Hotel, lots of positives from others including me on this one.

I just returned from 7 days in Budapest, staying at the Dalfor apartment (booked through budapesthotels.com) I was very pleased with the apartment and it's location (overlooking the Danube and Parliment and close to metro and bus lines) <BR><BR>I agree with all of the above posts. In additioon. Look for the travel guide &quot;Andras Torok's Budapest: A Critical Guide&quot; It's available in bookstores and museum gift shops in Budapest. Written by a native resident of Budapest, it's full of fascinating detail. He outlines 5 long walks that really help you see the major parts of the city and get a sense the culture<BR><BR>I enjoyed the old city market, but Lehel market, (at Lehel ter) even more so - fewer tourists.

Except for a passing reference to Eger in one, none of the posts has mentioned anything outside of Budapest. Just curious, do any of you travel to places other than Budapest? Outside of the city (except for people on day trips to the Danube Bend area) we didn't see too many Americans.<BR><BR>I know that many tour groups passing thru Budapest make that their only Hungary stop (at least for an overnight) as they are touring the major cities of the region (Prague, Vienna, etc.). <BR><BR>I think to be in a country for say 10 days and to spend all or almost all of it in the &quot;main city&quot; puts things out of kilter. Yes, it has more attractions than other indvidual smaller places, but I it is a better balance to visit smaller places as well.

Last year, we spent a few lovely days in Eger. I would highly recommend this charming town which is three hours east of Budapest, by train. Easy train connections. There's great Hungarian wine (Bulls Blood), a variety of intriguing churches, a minaret, a fort, a lovely walking park along the stream running through the town, and an enchanting town center. Near the historic Serbian church there's an unusual museum devoted to a photographer who apparently made it big in the US. I didn't recognize and can't remember his name, though. We were in Eger before Budapest, so we were able to experience small town Hungary first, then the large urban city. In my opinion, Eger is definitely worth an overnight (or two) stay.