Budapest - view r.g.
1. Easy to socialize in the iconic Széchenyi thermal baths
2. The party district with its ruin pubs – no entry fees and the drinks are cheap (thanks to the weak Hungarian currency)
3. Lángos, a Hungarian street-food specialty of deep-fried dough, typically seasoned with salt and garlic, and perhaps sour-cream or cheese
4. The spectacular parliament building – even more impressive than Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster in London
5. Walking across the Chain Bridge (built between 1839 and 1849)
6. Taking a bike ride through the city at night
7. Visiting the cave system at Pálvölgy (full of stalagmites and stalactites)
8. Budapest is cooler than Vienna, more lively than Prague, and safer than Rome, Barcelona or Paris
9. Náncsi Néni is a great, non-touristy restaurant which is perfect when the weather is warm, though it’s a long way from the city center
10. Local people (especially young people) are easy-going and enjoy talking to foreigners
1. Restaurants often overcharge tourists (it’s always worth double-checking your bill) – especially a problem in more touristy restaurants
2. Apathetic service in many shops
3. Scam taxi drivers (called hyenas locally). Never ever take in ‘independent’ taxi which is not part of a company network, even if it’s painted yellow like the others
4. The deep melancholy you sense on the metro on a weekday
5. Prostitutes soliciting on Váci utca, one of the most touristy streets of the city
6. Budapest is listed as the fifth worst city in Europe for overtourism
7. Crooks selling baking powder and crushed basil as ‘drugs’ in the party district
8. Working-age beggars and their drinking buddies downtown, who are mostly homeless by choice (it isn’t hard to find work in Budapest)
9. Poor price-quality ratio in many touristy restaurants downtown
10. Gloomy housing blocks built in the seventies
