The GF and I are going to spend some days over easter in Budapest - any insider info on where eat, shop, drink etc? We're both into old rubbish and local foods, so info on flea markets and such will be appreciated

Of course, I am going undercover and will be trying to land some great specimens; feel free to show the watches you've gotten from Hungary - I know of at least one gorgeous black dial seamaster on here

 

Is there not a story about nos watches 30t2 and 33.3 10 years ago found in a tincan in a Wall?
Would Love to se one of thoes.
If you like botrytis vine you should wisit the tokai institute on the old pest side

 

Ah, Budapest is almost my second home. Have you ever been there at all? If not, I'll write a short list of stuff. The only thing I can't tell you is were to look for watches. I know of a place that does vintage Omegas, etc, but I've never been - only seen their merc online.

 

I'd be interested to hear about your trip after Easter, it's somewhere we fancy a few days in as well.....

As far as watches go, this one came out of Hungary

A nice box containing an even nicer solid 14k watch

 

Budapest is a fascinating city. I did travel to the outskirts (by taxi) for a flea market at which there are some watches sold, but there was nothing of a high grade the day that I was there. There are a couple of small vintage watch shops, as well.

 

Sounds great!

It's our first trip there, so will have to experience "a little of everything" I think
For now I have researched a few Michelin-starred restaurants, they are shockingly cheap compared to what I am used to from Denmark.

@Skrotis , I'll keep my eye on walls with loose bricks...

 

Ah, you're from Denmark. Being from Sweden, I'm not sure I'm allowed to help


Nah, ok. Costas you've probably read about. Book well in advance. Really worth going to. Gundel is a classic. Worth going to but service can vary. If you go there, you must try the Palacsinta Gundel (they serve it in any traditional restaurant though), which is rum flambéed filled pancakes. The street where Costas is situated is a good eat and drink street. Also Hóllo utca and the jewish quarters (Erzsébet város) - more for drinks than good food There's a third Michelin restaurant, but I haven't been yet. Around Szent István Bazilika you'll have some nice bars and restaurants, but the ones that face the water are probably not open yet - it'll be too cold.

If you go watch shopping, remember that the Hungarian view on honesty can vary quite a bit.

There's a lot to see, it's a beautiful city. You can always have lunch at the Four Seasons Gresham Palace. You must visit the baths, either Szechenyi or Gellert. Easter can be surprisingly cold, so pack atleast something warm. There was an amazing brunch at the Meridian, but they've been bought up. I don't know if they still have that brunch. They had a long meat bar where they cooked what you wanted, a pancake bar, free flow.

Menza at Liszt Ferenc tér is a good place to have in mind. The decor is really cool and the food is good enough to make it the sort of place you go to when you want something to eat for lunch when you're walking around.

Lunch or coffee or drinks at the New York Café at the Boscolo Budapest Hotel. Staying there is usually very very good, but it's not the guaranteed excellent stay it should be.

Centrál Kávéház is a must if you like cakes. Traditional austo-hungarian café. The whole neighborhood is renovated and a pleasant walk. Lots of small restaurants and cafés.

If you want a small taste of what Budapest used to be like, behind the iron curtain - walk Margid híd (Margarete Bridge) and up along Margit körut to what used to be Moszka tér, now Széll Kálmán tér. Unfortunately they're redoing it so the old communist era buildnings are probably all gone now, but it'll give you a glimpse. Stack you phones with some photos of what the square used to look like. Then afterwards, it's a beautiful walk up to the palace area. Then you'll be really tired. If you like real history, you don't need to waste time doing a tour of the palace. It was all but ruins after the war and the current building is more of a toned down replica. The rooms in the palace have been largly modernized.

Hotels - there are a lot of really good hotels. If you're going five star, I'm not sure you can go wrong. Four star can vary a lot. Zara Continental is very good (or I think it's called just Continental Hotel Budapest now).

Being a Catholic nation, you would think the easter weekend have shorter opening hours, but as far as I can remember, it's not the case.

Remember: "sz" is "s" while "s" is "sch", so as to confuse everyone (because Hungary.)

 

Can't tell you how much I appreciate all the help

 

Because?

 

Well, because of friendly neighbourhood rivalry, I guess?

There is, of course, a matter of some our territory that needs to be returned, but in this case I'll let the past be past and be grateful for the help

 

As I recall the Central Market Hall was a nice stop, food on the first and lower levels and trinkets on the second. Great pastries, it is fairly touristy but not to the point that it's not enjoyable.

If you're into the Turkish baths I know there are a couple that are open to both genders and are a fun way to experience a little culture. I went to the one on nearest Chain Bridge around 5am and it was a great experience.

 

No worries - I love it when people go to Budapest!

Indeed, give us back stuff! Oh, you mean Scania? Well, you can have Landskrona if you want to

It's like a French guy asking a British guy for help. Age old rivalries

 

I had this site bookmarked. They don't seem to have that much of interest at the moment though: http://10ora10.hu/

I seem to remember another from instagram, but I cannot find it. Will try to figure it out.

 

I completely forgot the important part!

Beer - From one Scandinavian to another, Hungary actually makes pretty good beer eg. Sopron. Not like that water you get in the UK or the US.

Wine - Hungarian white wine can be pretty good. There's excellent red wine, so trust the better restaurants to serve you good Hungarian red wine. Also visit a vine bar, like Innio at the Basilica. There's a good one on Andrássy út, but I can't recall the name. You can try and buy to take home. Prices on really good wines are somewhat international though.

Sparkling wine - ask for the Italian or French variety and let's leave it at that

Sweet wine - Tokaji Aszú. Very nice sweet wine that's a lot lighter than many dessert wines. Nice served chilled. The cheaper ones are infused with sugar and won't store well. The number of Puttonyos is not as much a mark of quality as it is of sweetness. However, the recommendation is to store them # of Puttonyos +1 years, so more Puttonyos tends to mean better. A good bottle can be stored for quite a while. I drank one from 1999 about a year ago and it was excellent. Stored at room temperature!

Spirits - Pálinka and Unicum. Unicum first - very spiced (like 40 spices). Tastes exactly like you'd imagine. Pálinka is basically a fruit brandy. The name is protected to mean a fruit brandy from Hungary, but any Hungarian would call it Pálinka if it's made from eg. nuts (which is really nice). Quality varies, as you can imagine. The bad ones are horrible. Árpád Pálinka is a good one. Common ones are apricot (Barackpálinka), pear (Körtepálinka), cherry (Meggypálinka - "medj") and plum (Szilvapálinka). But there are a lot of varieties. A decent restaurant won't serve you the bad stuff. Try some!

 

Say what?! Do you buy your beer at convenience stores when you travel? Both countries have plenty of excellent beers, along with the type of swill that can be found in every country.

 

Threads like this one always make me wonder why you would need the rest of the Internet outside of OF?
You can get info on every topic here.

 

Best city in Europe..... Already so much good advice I will just say that the Szechenyi baths are a must do. The wife and I were a bit skeptical and immediately regretted not going sooner. Lots of great things to do throughout the city!!

 

Excellent! I'm going to Budapest at the end of feb.

Hopefully I can plan some vintage watch places to stumble across!

 

Went there for my stag do 6 years ago. I don't think the places we frequented would go down well with your girlfriend.