the building was inaugurated at the end of the 19th
century, effectively sealing Hungary’s sovereignty,
it had working lifts and the country’s first central-
heating system.
There were no such comforts in the ancient,
dank labyrinth hidden in the rock beneath Buda
Castle (
labirintus.com
),
which the dice picked for
me that afternoon. Locals say Dracula was once
held prisoner here and there’s a mock tombstone
engraved with his name in one of the chambers.
Putting my faith in chance again, I used a die
to find my way around in the gloom, with odd
numbers guiding me left and even ones sending
me right. The stale air, creepy music and dead ends
didn’t help, but somehow I found my way out.
Only that evening, when hunger struck,
did things get complicated. I rolled the dice and
punched the numbers that came up into Google,
along with the phrase "Budapest restaurant". The
first result was 50Bar
bar.biz
),
a restaurant way
across town with live DJ sets and a funky outdoor
terrace. That’s when I hopped onto the ill-fated
tram and found myself stuck between stations, still
feeling hungry. Was it a sign that I should just give
up trying? To decide I reached into my pocket and
threw the dice down one last time...
The best Facebook
recommendations
The Iparmüvészeti
Múzeum (Museum of
Applied Arts; imm.hu)
is brilliant.
Jenny Hallström
House of Terror
Museum (terrorhaza.
hu), Menza restaurant
(
menzaetterem.hu) and
Hungarian State Opera
House (opera.hu).
Nelson Neves
Hungaroring race track
(
hungaroring.com)!
Paul Norton
The Statue Park
(
szoborpark.hu), a bus
ride out of the city to
the south-west, where
all the Communist-era
statues were dumped.
Robin Thompson
Restaurant Mátyás
Pince (matyaspince.eu),
with true gypsy music;
Gerbeaud (gerbeaud.
hu) for the nicest cakes.
Karin De Bruin
After the sun goes
down, you must see
the city fromMargaret
Bridge, and also from
Buda Castle.
Anikó Nagy
WHERE
TO GO
Budapest
need to know
(
123
)
thermal springs in the city, spewing 70
milllion litres of water every day
(
3
)
number of cities here – Buda, Pest and
Óbuda – before being united in 1873
(
2
)
the city’s Great Synagogue is the second
largest in the world (behind New York’s)
easyJet
flies to Budapest from 6 destinations. See
our insider guide on page 161. Book online
at easyJet.com
easyJet Holidays
Two nights, B&B, at the four star Conti-
nental Zara, departing on 30 January from
London Luton. The trip costs £98 per
person. easyJet.com/holidays*
Lord Apartments
with fully equipped kitchens, free wi-fi –
and guests rate it as suberb. Book online
at hotels.easyJet.com
*
FOR T&CS SEE P175
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