MINI GUIDE
Budget Budapest
COMPILED BY LORNA PARKES, WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM STEVE FALLON. PHOTOGRAPHS: RICHARD TAYLOR/4CORNERS, SARAH COGHILL, WILL SANDERS, GERGO BIRO, MARK UMBRELLA, PANTHER MEDIA GMBH/ALAMYBudapest essentials The know-how
FURTHER READING
Lonely Planet’s
Budapest
(£13.99) is a
comprehensive
guide, while
Pocket Budapest
(£7.99) is great for a short
getaway. The city is also
covered in our free Guides
app, available from app
stores. We Love Budapest
has the low-down on places
to eat, drink, shop and
dance in the city
(welovebudapest.com).
Pack the amusing novel
Under the Frog by Tibor
Fischer (£8.99; Vintage),
charting the adventures of
two Hungarian basketball
players between WWII and
the 1956 Hungarian
Uprising.BATHING RITUALS
Costs
O Admission charges typically
start at £6.50; in theory, this
allows you to stay for two
hours on weekdays and 1½
hours at weekends.
Getting in & out
O All baths and pools have
cabins or lockers. Most give you
an electronic bracelet that
directs you to, and opens, yours.
O Depending on the time and
day, baths can be for men or
women only. On single-sex
days, men are usually given
drawstring loincloths and
women apron-like garments.
What to bring
O Bathing suits are compulsory
when baths are mixed-sex; if you
don’t bring one you’ll have to
hire one (£3). Many pools
require bathing caps (you can
buy disposables).
O Towels can be
rented (£3);
consider bringing
flip-flops.utca 24–26; from £40).
Offering retro chic at its most
fashionable, Brody House was a
one-time residence of the prime
minister. Its eight unique rooms
are dedicated to local and world
artists (brodyhouse.com; Bródy
Sándor utca 10; from £80).
Family-run boutique hotel
Baltazár provides 11 individually
styled rooms decked out with
vintage furniture, street art and
striking wallpaper, at the northern
end of the Castle District. One
room has a castle-view balcony
(baltazarbudapest.com;
Országház utca 31; from £85).WHERE TO STAY
In Budapest’s Jewish Quarter,
Maverick City Lodge has three
floors of private rooms and
locker-equipped dorms,
decorated in a modern,
warehouse style with white
wood, bold colours and beanbags
(mavericklodges.com; KazinczyTRANSPORT
Qatar Airways flies from
Singapore or Kuala Lumpur to
Budapest via Doha (from £576;
qatarairways.com). The cheapest
(but slowest) route from the
airport to the city centre is to take
bus 200E to the Kőbánya-Kispest
metro station, from where the M3
metro line continues to the centre
(total cost around £2). Budapest’s
public-transport system is safe,
efficient and inexpensive (from
£1; bkk.hu). The Budapest Card
gives free admission to selected
sights, unlimited public transport
and two free guided tours
(24/48/72hr £15/£25/£31;
budapestinfo.hu).One of the 11 unique, great-value
rooms at boutique hotel BaltazárActivities Tours Drinking Entertainment Sights Sleeping