just typed all this out then realised thread is no longer relevant. but gonna post anyway for lo-pan’s benefit and future reference
hi i live here. it is cheap and cold. i barely know anything because i’m just horrifyingly busy all the time but based on my limited knowledge:
drinking: in the 7th district (where all the ruin pubs are) i like anker’t, liebling, mika tivadar. for something slightly more off the tourist trail there are a few nice places in the 8th - aurora and golya are cool bars that have fun gigs and clubnights, csiga is a nice cafe/bar with decent food, kek lo is supposed to be good. if you’re in the 5th (where the parliament and basilica etc are) most of the pubs are posh and bad but terv is quite nice. if you end up on the buda side of the river the only place i have been is juranyi haz which is a theatre/performance space with a nice cafe/bar bit. apparently there is a cat pub somewhere. for non-booze drinking massolit is a nice cafe and english-language bookshop in the 7th, and espresso embassy in the 5th has good coffee.
eating: second the recommendation for hummus bar, there are loads of them and they’re decent and cheap. mazel tov also pretty good for middle eastern stuff. other food: castro bistro for laidback pub vibe, ket szerecsen for something a bit more upmarket and restauranty. places i have not been but am informed are good: koleves, bors (for “street food”)
activities: the only baths i’ve been to is szechenyi, highly recommended. there’s an outside bit so you have to run out in the cold and nearly die but then when you get in the hot water it’s the best thing ever. go and have a walk round margaret island. take the zugliget chairlift up into the buda hills and go for a nice walk. look at the synagogue, opera house, parliament, basilica, random grandiose buildings dotted all over the place, etc. make sure you take the yellow metro line at some point, the stations and trains are very cute and retro. apparently there’s a huge ice rink in varosliget (city park) at the moment which looks great.
