Hi!

I'm sure you'll enjoy your trip, Budapest is a very romantic city.
Absolutely walkable, and public transport is cheap, frequent and easy to use.Buy daily or weekly pass which is valid for every means of transport and you do not have any trouble (no need for convalidation) with it.

You must go on the top of Gellert Hill to see the view of the city, during the day and in dark as well. Fabulous.

For booking use booking.com or airbnb , read the reviews. Sometimes the flat is very nice but the building or the neighbourhood can be disappointing.

You shouldn't worry about the language, in tourist sites English is spoken.

If you need any help, just ask me, I'm a local and a tour guide.

We stayed at the Gold Hotel. Pleasant

Hotel clerk recommended Trofea Grill. Not in the "downtown". We asked what it was like. She struggled with the word, came up with 'buffet'. Alarms went off in my brain (I was thinking Old World Buffet, steamtable food, tepid, tasteless), but it was Sunday night, so we went.

A wonderful dining experience. Fresh food, meat cooked to your taste while you wait. The buffet offerings were labelled in Hungarian and English, and tasted FRESH. Lots of desserts as well, and wine with. Reasonable price. I highly recommend it. When we went there 7 years ago, I think there was just one....now there are eight Grills. A sign of success. We went to the one named Kiraly.

You'll love Budapest! Lovely architecture, clean and friendly people. I was there July 2015, here are my thoughts.

Booked hotel thru hotels.com at the Boscolo residence behind the NY Boscolo hotel. Great rate, roomy and great location near the Jewish quarter. Loads of good restaurants within walking distance.

Budapest is totally walkable and safe. We never really took public trans - we just walked everywhere! The best taxi company is called Fo Taxi. You can download their app on your phone and order a taxi if you need.

We took the suburban train to Szentendre (easy to do) and a taxi to Memento Park. There is a shuttle that goes out there that is a much less expensive way to go but we seemed to miss the cut off. If you plan to go there (and you should, it's very interesting) go on their website and find the info for the shuttle or public trans.

Speaking of Memento Park, it would be be better if you went to the Terror Museum before going to the park so you can get perspective, but don't go on the same day (it's quite heady). Make sure you buy the red booklet from the museum to carry with you to Memento Park. When we were there, they had no booklets and that booklet has lots of history and info that you'll need.

If you want to just sit and enjoy the weather or have a picnic, go to Margaret Park. It's just lovely. Also go to Gellert Hill and Fisherman's Bastion in the late afternoon. The views and lighting from up there are are spectacular!

Food - being near the Jewish quarter, there were tons of places to eat. It's a lively area. A few doors down from Szimpla Kerz ruin bar (which has a fantastic Sunday food market) there's a fun outdoor food court called Karavan. Also Ricsi's Jewish Street food on Dob Utca which was fantastic. We also loved Konyvbar and Zeller Bistro for a nicer dinner experience. And we had a huge English breakfast at Circusz every morning.

Enjoy! Hoping to go back this fall

In the Jewish neighborhood is a passageway called Gozsdu utca. There are a ton of restaurants, but we always went to the TINY '2 Spaghi'. The chef is from Naples. They have a limited selection of homemade pastas to eat there or takeaway. He now has a single house wine. It used to be you could sit outside near between 2 Spaghi and the neighboring bar and order you wine from their more extensive list. I'm not sure if you can still do this, but I bet you can.

There was also a plaza called Liszt Ter, about a quarter mile from the market. My memory is that it seemed like a cafe-lined boulevard, populated by the locals. Nice ambiance.

Liszt Ferenc Ter is lovely. And yes, go there! And if you can get tickets to a performance at the Franz Liszt Academy, by all means do! (minimally, try to stick your head in. It's my favorite venue in the world)

But I wouldn't say it is terribly local. One of our "go to" restaurants was Menza (very popular, perhaps a bit $$ for a local). It's in the center of the square. They do take reservations. And they have one of the best "menus" in the city on weekdays at lunch. But you must arrive around noon to get it (they sell out).

So much good information and so many kind replies,..... it's kind of sad that the original poster never got back to read any!

But I'm sure all these tips and ideas are useful to someone else who is planning a visit to Budapest, nonetheless.

From myself, just want to add that Budapest is lovely! We had a great time in the city last September. I would love to return.