Following up on an earlier thread. For those of you who have been to both. Would you recommend Vienna or Budapest. Going with a friend. Both of us are into museums and historical sites while looking for solid nightlife.
I was forgetting how large an interval there was between the 1848 revolution and the actual establishment of the dual monarchy.
It's a more interesting city I think because of the river (and Vienna is a beautiful city). Vienna's on the Danube, too, but it's not central to the city because central Vienna is within the old city walls that were not on the river. In contrast, the river is everything to Budapest, as central to it as the Seine is to Paris - and the riverfront especially on the Pest side will remind you of Paris.
It is really two cities, as they once were, both beautiful - hilly Buda and flat Pest.
Among the other many attractions to me -
The unique Hungarian culture and language. And Hungarians are friendly!
The resurrection of the city after 40 years of Communism preceded by years of Fascism.
And it's cheap. The best meal my wife and I had there cost us the equivalent of 25 bucks.
We were there 4 days (one day outside of Budapest) and still left things to see on the table. We never got to Gellért Hill in Buda, for example. Never used the famous baths either. Didn't get to the "Ruin Quarter". Never walked down Váci Utca to the Central Market Hall.
I love Budapest. We gotta go back.
Budapest is unique. Vienna has a lot of things you can see elsewhere. Not that it isn't a great thing to see, but if you've been to Versailles, you've kind of been to Schönbrunn, as on example (Marie Antoinette even lived in both). What Vienna does have over just about anywhere is a brilliant classical music scene, as you might expect.
I do love Vienna, so get to both (and compare this similarities in Pest especially to Vienna, such as the street layout and the coffee houses that were of course copied from Vienna under the Dual Monarchy), but Budapest first.
I've been ~5x in the last 3 years, and have always had a great time! By chance, I had also just put this together for a Chicago friend who went recently, and while jealous stuck here in Chicago, hope you have fun!
-Wasn't sure where you were staying, but if you're able to connect with the Budapest Party Hostel folks, they are awesome people who will show you a fun time, although I'm also convinced Aussies are born with 2 livers!
-Definitely walk up the hill leading to the castle. There is a funicalur trolley as well, but I actually saw a lot of cool stuff walking, and there is a really nice church there too.
-The St. Steven/Istvan Basilica is impressive! It is a long climb to the balcony area, but well worth it as it has some of the best views of the city.
-The Danube/Duna river is also amazing, and highly recommend the boat cruises as a great way to see the city, especially in summer time. My parents did one of those fancy food ones; I did the NYE party one with ~30 friends, and both are really fun
-Geller Spa is crowded, but also very worthwhile, and if possible it is best to pre-purchase tickets so you can walk in
-Parliament area is really nice, as are the bridges.
-Bors Restaurant is some of the best sandwiches I have ever had! Michelin-starred chefs who wanted to make good food affordable, and a soup + sandwich will cost all of ~$7
-Ditto Zing Burger
-There are a surprisingly good amount of food options. I am not a huge goulash fan personally, but we ended up having Thai, Caribbean, Vietnamese (pho hangover cure ftw), Italian, and burgers, all of which are very affordable
-The ruins bars are really fun! I am going to mangle the spelling, but Fogaz and Szimplot are two of the better ones
-There is also a really nice outdoor food market - not the Grand Market Hall - that I am drawing a blank on the name, but any local will know exactly where it is
Edit: Sprack had some awesome recommendations too, and fully agreed! As an aside, they have some bizarre drink in the palinka/rakia vein similar to Malort, which didn't bother me like a tequila shot, but was perplexing.
with my wife to celebrate anniversary. Do you have any recommendations for places to eat and drink? Thanks.
Restaurant Pod Věží sits near/under one of the original towers of the Charles Bridge (on the Castle side of the bridge). It's quaint and has delicious Czech cuisine.
The best meal I had in Prague was as Casa di Carli in the Jewish Quarter very near the Spanish Synagogue. Since you will undoubtedly have many Czech dish while you are there, this is an excellent change of pace.
A friend of mine and I enjoyed the Klášterní pivovar Strahov brewpub, in a restored monastery up near the castle. Good food, good beer.
we lived in the courtyard of the Strahov Monastery (Strahovske nadvori 9). You may remember the little pink house immediately to the left of the entrance portal. St. Roch's church is to the right. The brewpub was built sometime after 2000--can't remember the year.
St. Roch is the patron saint of the Plague. Centuries after it was built to commemorate the end of the Plague, the famous Czech artist, Alfons Mucha, was married in the church. Built in 1458 to be the sexton's house, it houses a small art gallery today. The abbatial church, Church of the Assumption, is where Mozart played the organ during his years in Prague. During our time, the organist was the director of the sacred music department at Charles University. Our time up there was a magical period in our lives.
But very close to the Parliament.
Csarnok Vendéglő, at Hold utca, 11
That was the restaurant I was talking about in my post. A hidden gem!
In Pest also lots of good restaurants on the riverfront and at Vörösmarty Square.
And there’s also that opulent relic of the gilded age during the dual monarchy, the New York Cafe. Well worth the visit.
Thai place. Sounds weird...but apparently there’s a decent Thai community in Prague and this place came highly recommended from the concierge. My wife and I really enjoyed it.
I would say Budapest, I suppose. But its hard to say because they feel very different from each other. I really enjoy them both—have been to Vienna several times and it’s great every time. Vienna wins on museums, but Budapest might be a better choice overall (food, nightlife, cost, etc.).
But they aren’t far apart, so maybe a day trip to one from the other? They are both great cities.
Vienna. Better accommodations, dining, arts, music, scenery, and vibe.
We took a day trip on the train to Budapest to experience that post-Soviet atmosphere. It’s just a depressing place with little appeal. The gypsies in the public toilets trying to charge for the paper towels was a fun story tho!
Budapest and it isn’t close.
but even that city had some gems.
It’s in Transylvania, and becoming a trendy off-the-beaten-path destination in Europe. It is a great town; lots of University students, with an old and lovely downtown contrasted with parts of the city that the Communists built “blocks” in, and herded the citizens into.
I love it there: we are going at beginning of Sept for almost 3 weeks. I love how rural things get in a hurry out of town: my in-laws have a beautiful little cabin there about 1/2 hour outside of town. My father in law keeps chickens: the neighbors have goats, cows, pigs, various livestock. The food is fresh, delicious, and the tuica (Romanian palinka) flows freely.
The Romanian people are an absolute blast: they have a great spirit, perhaps maybe because they’ve struggled more the rest of Europe / Eastern Europe. They really appreciate everything they have, appreciate life, and family. And are generous as can be despite not having much. In my personal experience, if a Romanian only has a single apple to eat, he’ll gladly cut in in half and offer it to you.
Sandwiched in between Bucharest and then Budapest. It was a great little town and I’m sure we missed a ton of stuff. Took a day trip out to the Dracula Castle but whiffed since it turned out to be closed that day.
Former colleague. If Laurentiu is any indication of other Romanians, I could not agree more. Fantastic guy, born and raised in Bucharest, emigrated to Toronto but returns to Romania to visit every year. Has fascinating stories about the time of the overthrow of Ceausescu, which happened while he was in college.
No. All of this is silly. Budapest is a great city. I’m sorry you missed it.
I've been to both and I felt Vienna was fine. It's clean. It has some of the same nice things (like museums and churches) that I can do in a dozen European cities.
There is no other Budapest. I cannot understand how one found it to be depressing.
Budapest is crazy. There's interesting stuff at every turn. There's nothing like drinking in their ruin bars. Also, the women there are gorgeous and do not seem to know it. Very unpretentious people.
