Why should I go? Because it’s less twee than Prague, and has
a platoon of heavily built ladies ready to give you a good pummelling at the
slightest provocation. Yes, Budapest is a capital of proper medieval beauty
and knot-busting massage, and now comes with a side order of post-communist
trendiness, too.
You should pick your strategy based on your mood. If you want traditional,
stay in a grand hotel, kick-start the weekend at an ornate coffee house, eat
plenty of goulash and wind down in a health spa so old-school and
no-nonsense, they still think mango is something you eat. If you want
trendy, check into a boutique bolt hole, eat nouvelle cuisine, go to a spa
where they know that mangos are for wrapping people in, then celebrate your
clever choice of weekend destination in a bar that would be too cool for
London.
Where do I stay? If there’s one thing worth splashing out on
in Budapest, it’s a night at the Gresham Palace Hotel (00 36 1-268 6000,
www.fourseasons.com; doubles from £136, B&B), which does trendy and
classic at the same time. This tour de force of art-nouveau design emerged
in 2004 from a £65m restoration that has left it sparkling down to every
last Zsolnay tile and stained-glass window. Service is impeccable without
being snooty, as are the state-of-the-art spa and swimming pool on the top
floor. Drift in and out of super-relaxed consciousness with views of the
Chain Bridge and old Buda.
On the Buda side of the Danube, opposite the uncannily Londonesque houses of
parliament, is the Art’otel (487 9487, www.artotel.de; doubles from £136, B&B),
part of a small chain of “hotel-galleries”. A seven-storey facade is joined
by glass walkways to four interconnected 18th-century town houses at the
rear, with a lush green courtyard in between. Rooms at the front have
panoramic views across the river, while rooms in the older section are more
spacious and have views of the Matthias Church and the castle.
If you’re after eastern European prices, go for the Hotel Kulturinnov (224
8100, www.mka.hu; doubles from £44, B&B). On top of Castle Hill, in
Old Buda, the hotel is in the heart of sightseeing territory, opposite the
Matthias Church and the Fisherman’s Bastion. Its spacious L-shaped corridor
of 16 rooms, hidden in the bowels of the ornate Hungarian Culture
Foundation, was once used as student accommodation. It’s far cleaner and
better furnished than a dorm, but it still has that relaxed, potted-plant,
baggy-jumper feel about it.
Where do I eat? Off the main road between the Opera House and
the Academy of Music is Liszt Ferenc Ter. Since this square was
pedestrianised in the 1990s, bars, cafes and restaurants have sprung up at a
bewildering pace. If you like your decor retro, try one of the square’s
favourites, Menza (413 1482), a trendy canteen with blackboard menus and
hideously hip 1970s wallpaper. It serves Hungarian home cooking and American
club sandwiches, at a few pounds a main. For a more traditional foray into a
world of goulash and chicken paprikash, the celebrated Gundel (468 4040,
www.gundel.hu) occupies a mansion by the zoo. Expect artwork by Hungarian
masters, gypsy bands, Magyar favourites and local twists on international
cuisine.
Then there are those coffee houses. Budapest was doing cafes before Paris, and
some of the more ancient ones have been beautifully restored. Try the
art-deco Gresham Kavehaz (268 5100), in the Gresham Palace hotel, with its
delicious Turkish sweetmeats. Central Kavehaz (Karolyi Mihaly utca 9; 235
0599), in the centre of the shopping district, is worth a visit just for its
glorious decor.
What do I do? In a weekend, you’ve time to tick off many of
the essentials. Get the best views across the Danube to Pest from the
funicular, or siklo, which climbs up Buda’s Castle Hill, drop a coin into
the box to light up St Stephen’s hand in the Basilica, take lots of photos
on the Chain Bridge and have a picnic on Margaret Island, a manicured refuge
from the traffic between Buda and Pest.
Just make sure you leave time for a spa — because if you haven’t tried a
Hungarian spa, you haven’t lived. The Gellert Baths (466 6166; entrance £6)
is a good place to start. The curative waters run from under Gellert Hill
into this art-nouveau opera house of bubbles and bodies, and in the
sex-segregated areas you can strip off completely and indulge in no-nonsense
treatments and soakings. Or try the Margaret Island Spa (889 4752,
www.danubiushotels.com; day tickets from £13). Waters here steam up from the
ground at 70C (but thankfully are cooled to 37C for bathing). The team of
masseurs, physios, doctors, dentists and plastic surgeons will rub, treat,
drill and cut years off your life.
Or you could just go for a steam bath.
How do I get there? It’s much cheaper than it used to be now
the no-frills airlines have joined the fray. Malev Hungarian Airlines (0870
909 0577, www.malev.hu) flies there from Heathrow, Gatwick, Cork and Dublin;
British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com) flies from Heathrow; EasyJet
(www.easyjet.com) flies from Gatwick, Luton, Bristol and Newcastle; Jet2
(0871 226 1737, www.jet2.com) flies from Manchester; Wizzair
(www.wizzair.com) flies from Luton; and Aer Lingus (0818 365000,
www.aerlingus.com) flies from Dublin. Ferihegy airport is 12 miles from the
city; airport minibuses are good value and reliable, dropping off and
picking up at your hotel (20 minutes each way; £9 return). Fixed-rate taxis
cost about £15 each way.
