European vacations

Properties
Population
10.1 million
Languages Spoken
Hungarian 98.2%, other 1.8%
Capital City
Budapest
Currency
1 forint (Ft) = 100 filler
Country
Hungary
World Region
Europe

We were looking to use our Marriott points so we booked the Marriott Budapest. It turned out to be an excellent choice.

The Marriott Budapest which sits on the Pest side has glorious, open balcony views of the Danube below the picturesque Buda hills. The hotel itself is very nice with a large rich dark mahogany lobby and lounge in the hotel has brilliant,panoramic views of Budapest as well.

In addition, the hotel is very convenient walking distance to the nightlife and shops (Vaci Utca) in Pest which was a huge plus. Also, just below the hotel is the piers for the boat rides on the Danube–which proved to convenient as well. The tramways and subway stations are within walking distance.

We went to Budapest with Vienna Sight Seeing Tour (http://www.viennasightseeingtours.com), and to Prague with Royal Tour.

We were very disappointed with Vienna Sight-Seeing Tour. There were only 7 of us in the tour. The tour was actually done by Euro Bus company. The bus company uses the same bus for the tour as well as for transporting bus passengers from Vienna to Budapest. The bus had to make a detour to Vienna airport to pick up more passengers.

Upon arriving Budapest, the bus made a detour to Budapest Euro Bus terminal to drop them off.

As a recent college graduate, I went with a group of friends on a cheap survey of Europe (i.e. backpacks and hostels). Budapest was probably our best stop! The food was excellent and our accommodations were first class.

We did stay at a hostel in Budapest (the Catalina Hostel, I believe). The six of us, for $8 each, stayed in a very clean apartment, complete with kitchen and private bath. I had preconceived notions of hostels and this definitely exceeded my expectations. The hostel owner also met us at our train station, helped us get our tickets for our next destination, and gave us instructions on how to get around the city and what was good to see. Plus, our apartment was right in the center of Buda, so we were able to walk everywhere within 10-15 minutes!

Vienna and its neighboring townships are some of the kindest, brightest regions in Western Europe. The streets of ‘Wien’, as it is called in German, are clean, populated and very quaint. There is am old-world charm about the place that reminds me of stories I read as a child about colonial America and Britain. The diminutive sidewalks and shopfronts are a welcome change from the more industrial cities of the U.S.- even the financial district is clean, bright and upbeat.

My roommate from college and I visited Budapest in July 1998 for a few days during a 3-week whirlwind tour of Europe. Budapest wasn’t originally part of our itinerary, but a friend convinced us to go, and I’m glad we did.

We stayed at the Hotel Ernitus, formerly known as the Marco Polo Youth Hostel. $17/night. Mind you, we were on a budget. There were hardly any other guests, and the rooms were very clean. Breakfast was amazing: OJ, coffee, tea, bread, salami, cheese, jam, and cereal.

If you happen to visit Vienna and Budapest during your European trip, and would like to visit the opera house, I recommend going to the Budapest State Opera House–it is just as beautiful as Vienna”s, only it”s much much less expensive.

Though, perhaps not as widely known as Vienna”s opera house, Budapest”s opera is one of the best opera houses of Europe. It was initially built in 1884 after 9 years of construction, and it was built exclusively by Hungarian designers. It actually used to be called Kings Hungarian opera theater (Austro-Hungarian emperor Franz Josef was present during the opening ceremony). The opera house was reconstructed from 1980 to 1984, and hasn”t changed its look since then. It is absolutely beautiful inside and outside.

Review Topic: Practical Information

My most recent journey to Hungary was in September, 2000 when I traveled to Budapest for a few days from Zagreb.

Driving through the countryside, you notice large fields for agriculture until you reach the area of Lake Balaton, one of Hungary’s most known tourist attractions. Road signs are practically in Hungarian and German in this region because Germans and Austrians are Lake Balaton’s biggest guests.

I went to Budapest not knowing how much time I was going to spend there. I ended up spending only two and a half days, but one of them was spent in the Castle District. There were many other things that I wanted to visit in the city, and I had only planned on a few hours on top of the hill, but the district ended up captivating me so much that I ended up spending a good part of a whole day making it one of the few places that I gave any quality time to in the city.

I enjoyed Budapest quite a bit. Nice architecture, friendly people and an awesome nightlife. Cheap prices.

Upon arrival, I was lost and couple Hungarian old ladies offered me directions, in Hungarian. I managed to understand their body language and arrived to the hostel. In the next few days, I was welcomed by similar hospitality. Not as close and welcoming as I experienced in Bulgaria, but very nice in comparison to my treatment in Romania.