Ways to Be a Local

• Learn a few words of Hungarian and wait for an appreciative response.
• Eat at locals' restaurants, even if they seem a bit scruffy, and tip generously.
• Drive assertively but politely, if you dare.
• Be inquisitive about Hungary's history and culture.
• Be polite: local manners are formal with much shaking of hands.
• Don't be brash and ostentatious, especially with money.
• Drink Hungarian brandy without exploding!
• Show an appreciation of Hungarian cuisine and wine.
• Don't stare at Hungarians; they don't like it.
• Remember that Budapest, like the rest of Hungary, is part of Central Europe - not Eastern Europe.

Good Places to Have Lunch

• Astoria Empire (Moderately priced) Address: Kossuth Lajos utca 19-21, Budapest V Phone: 317 3411. Fine food in elegant surroundings in the restaurant of the impressive Astoria Hotel.
• Belcanto (Moderately priced) Address: Dalszinház utca 8, Budapest VI Phone: 269 3101. By the Opera House, serves good international cuisine. Waiters sing well-known operas.
• Corvinus Restaurant (Moderately priced) Address: Erzsébet tér 7-8, Budapest V Phone: 429 3777. Innovative cuisine and cosy atmosphere.
• Cyrano (Moderately priced) Address: Kristóf tér, 7-8, Budapest V Phone: 266 3096. Finely designed interior which served as a film location for Cyrano de Bergerac. Good wine selection.
• Dominican (Moderately priced) Address: Hilton Hotel, Hess András tér 1-3, Budapest Accessible: Phone: 488 6757. Reasonably priced hotel restaurant, good stopping place if you are in the Castle District.
• Fatál (Moderately priced) Address: Váci utca 67, Budapest V Phone: 266 2607. Homestyle Hungarian cooking - cash only.
• Gundel (Expensive) Address: Állatkerti körùt 2 (or ùt 2), Budapest XIV Phone: 321 3550. Hungary's most famous restaurant. Dine in fin-de-siècle splendour. On the edge of City Park.
• Kisbuda Gyöngye (Moderately priced) Address: Kenyeres utca (or ùt) 34, Budapest III Phone: 368 6402. Fin-de-siécle salon serving Hungarian specialities.
• Mùzeum Kávéház (Moderately priced) Address: Mùzeum körùt 12, Budapest VIII Phone: 338 422. High standard of decor and cusine.
• Robinson (Moderately priced) Address: Városliget Lake, Budapest XIV Phone: 422 0222. You pay for the romantic lakeside location by Heroes' Square.

Top Activities

• A boat trip on the Danube (Phone: 353 0558)
• A coach city tour with stops (Phone: 342 2335)
• See Budapest from the sky in a hot-air balloon (Phone: 322 0015)
• A walk around Castle Hill - set a day aside
• Museums: visit some of the many splendid museums
• A romantic evening such as a 'Hungarian Evening on Margaret Island' - Taverna Tourist Service (Phone: 318-1818)
• 'Take the waters' at one of the many thermal baths
• A night at the opera is a real treat
• Laze by the river all afternoon after a good picnic lunch
• Walk in the Buda Hills

Best Views

• Várhegy (Castle Hill) and Gellért-hegy (Gellért Hill)
• The lookout tower on János-hegy (János Hill)
• The lookout tower on Josef-hegy (Josef Hill)
• The dome of Szent István Bazilika (St Stephen's Basilica)
• The terrace of the Bellevue Restaurant, Mariott Hotel

Best for Children

• Állat-és Növénykert (Municipal Zoological and Botanical Gardens)
• Fővárosi Nagycirkusz (Municipal Circus)
• Gyermek Vasùt (Children's Railway)
• Libegő (Chairlift)
• Magic City
• Palace of Wonders:
• Interactive Scientific Playhouse
• Planetárium
• Sikló (Funicular)
• Urania Observatory
• Vidámpark (Amusement Park)