hey there fellow travelers mark here
with wolters world today we're in
budapest hungary
you've got the cast up on the hill
behind me you've got amazing
architecture out the city
you have a great thing and tons of stuff
to do when you are here
in budapest but you know me i like to
talk about
the don'ts of when you go places and so
today what we have for you
are the don'ts of visiting budapest and
my first known for visiting budapest is
don't forget to look up while you wander
anyone that likes architecture it's a
dream city for them this is like the
secondary capital the austrian hungarian
empire
so a lot of the emperor's money came in
i mean check out the castle behind me i
mean it's unbelievable
but it's not just limited to the castle
and the main pedestrian streets and
stuff like that no
the whole city has just amazing
architecture that you can check out
whether you're yes going up to the
castle going to
san mateo's church up there and walking
around the castle district
or coming downtown and seeing the
buildings saint stephen's basilica or
saint stephens they have saint stephen's
hand
it's a beautiful church when you walk
around you'll see architecture after
architecture after architecture
that's just wonderful so make sure you
don't just
stay on the pedestrian street and then
walk across the chain bridge
and then go up to the castle and that's
all you do go and explore the city
because the architecture everywhere you
go
is just so cool so make sure you're not
just on your phone watching the maps
just look up wander around get a little
lost find some of these great buildings
here
and you will enjoy that and it's funny
that i talk about wandering around and
getting lost and seeing all the
architecture
when the second don't i have for you is
don't be lackadaisical with your safety
here in budapest
now budapest doesn't necessarily have
the greatest reputation
for being the safest city in europe and
things like that now i'll be honest with
you i've been coming here for 20 years
and this city has made a remarkable
change
especially even the last 10 5 to 10
years it's got a lot safer a lot less
scams and stuff like that
but you do need to pay attention you
know if you're coming out late night
that person wants to help you
probably isn't looking out for your best
interest the taxi drivers i mean i'll do
a whole don'ts about them
but you do need to be careful because
it's a big city so when you're up there
by the castle when there's a change in
the garden all those people around
yeah i mean that's pickpocket like
that's just easy pickings there
or maybe when you're on the pedestrian
street you'll see that okay so you do
need to be careful
especially if you're gonna be here on
the weekends a lot of people come here
on the weekends
for partying because it's a very
affordable place to be lots of good
drinks and clubs and stuff like that
so it can be a little bit rough with
some of the tourists that do come here
so do have a heads up for it but
honestly probably the one way you'll
probably get
the easiest way to get your money taken
from you with you and i don't even
realize you did something wrong at first
is my third dome don't forget to
validate your metro ticket
when you get into the metro so when you
go and take the metro and the public
transportation here goes all over the
city so they got
the trams there's a tram line behind me
you might see some go by there's buses
you got the metro it's one of the oldest
in europe i mean it's cool to take and
stuff like that
but don't forget to validate that ticket
so you'll buy the ticket at the ticket
machine
and then you'll see this orange box
there and you'll just stamp it and go in
there's so many different tickets that
you can buy and stuff like that it can
get a little confusing
so they have ticket people there that
check do you have a stamp ticket do you
have a stamp ticket
and they're all over the place this
isn't like vienna where you like walk on
and like oh no one will catch me
no they've got tons of people checking
so don't get a spot on the spot fine
for not having a validated ticket or you
try to use an old ticket
that's not gonna work so just get like
the 24-hour ticket or the 72-hour ticket
get something like that so you don't
have to worry about you just hop on show
go
and you're good to go okay now my fourth
don't for you is
don't forget to bring your swimsuit look
this city has been famous for
centuries for the waters here they have
all kinds of bath houses here you can go
to
and yes there's a big huge ones you can
go to i'm sure i'm showing pictures in
the background right now
you have those you can go to but the
thing is they're smaller ones as well
so if you don't want to have you and
your 200 closest friends somebody
together
they have smaller ones but i love those
things you get massages there they have
warm pools cold pools just normal pools
out especially if you're here in the
summer time to go to those it's just
like
oh let me enjoy they are really great
and they're for all ages
so definitely go but don't forget you
gotta bring your swim trunks okay
so make sure you have something to go
and enjoy the bath houses here because
honestly
it's one of my favorite parts of the
city now another one of my old favorite
parts of the city was actually
my next stone is don't forget to bring
some going out clothes
this city is famous for its nightlife
for good reason
no matter what you want to do they're
going to have something for you if you
want bars if you want clubs if you want
concerts you want classical concerts
rock concerts
rave kind of things they've got
everything for everybody at night
you want to sit on a square and drink
some palinkas that's the local schnapps
or some of the red what the good wine
they have here that they make in hungary
you can do that and sit back and relax
by saying stephen's basilica just watch
the people go by
i mean it's just awesome but there's so
much nightlife and so much to do in the
evening
that you don't have to worry about it
but i will say is you might want to
bring more than just your t-shirt and a
pair of shorts
because you want to go out and go to
some of the nicer clubs they might ask
you to look a little bit nicer okay
now my next stone for you has to do with
the taxis and i'm just going to tell you
this
don't use the taxis unless you have to
because there's so many issues that
tourists have had
with the taxis i know we came in on the
train here
the guy's like yeah 20 euros i'm like 20
euros where are we going like edgar or
something like that what are you talking
about
guys like well then i guess you're not
going anywhere i'm like are you kidding
me it's like a three euro taxi ride
we want to go you have a lot of uh
frustration with the taxi drivers here
sometimes
my students i have students that are
here right now and they've been telling
me their stories that taxis are refusing
to take them places
so you do need to have a heads up and
you'll see the taxis here
another don't for the taxis is don't
think all the taxes are the same okay
you'll see what are called freelance
taxis it actually says freelancer on the
side
and on the top of the yellow cab it just
says taxi like black sign with taxi on
it
what i recommend is use one that
actually has a company name on the top
and a company logo
on the side those ones tend to be more
on the up and up
also those ones you can get an app on
your phone and just do it that way okay
so you can use that to get around okay
because
don't think all the taxis are the same
also i know a lot of people think well i
don't use taxes anymore i use uber well
don't expect to use uber when you're
here it's actually not in the city
anymore
even though you wish it would be the
uber is not here there's no lift none of
those things right now
so just get the app for the taxis and
use that if you do need to use them
or if you're going to be going places
from your hotel or coming from the
airport
maybe a range with your hotel transport
to make life a lot easier
because they probably are going to do
they'll have better luck finding a good
respectable taxi for you
then probably you will now one of the
little things that some people like to
point out to me when i'm here
is you know i keep saying budapest
budapest budapest that's how we say it
in english
but the thing is don't call it budapest
to the locals because for the locals
it's budapest like an sh at the end
budapest okay so just letting you know
for that one
if you want to be like cool with the
locals it's one of the things you can do
and i guess kind of going along with
that silliness is don't confuse
bucharest which is in romania with
budapest which is here in hungary where
i am now
i've been to both places budapest is way
better for tourists than bucharest
no offense romania there's some cool
stuff in bucharest but budapest is
definitely
definitely a much different city than
bucharest and the locals won't really be
like too happy with you if you do call
it bucharest
so remember you're in budapest not budka
rest all right
now another thing with this budapest
kind of thing is what you need to
realize is
over there on the hill that's buddha
this side of the river is peshed okay
and the thing is well the donut i have
for that is don't think they're the same
though they're one city now there's
definitely a different vibe in each one
over there on the castle in the buda
side yes you have the castle the church
over there
seems like nicer hotels and things like
that but there's very little shopping
there's a lot fewer restaurants and
stuff like that
but it is kind of a much more calm
setting over there whereas here on the
pesh side
man this is where the pedestrian streets
are the shopping streets are a lot of
the clubs and bars and stuff like that
this has got more of the action over
here so it's more like during the day
you're kind of enjoying over there and
then tonight you come over to pest okay
so
just want to give you a heads up for
that as that could influence where you
stay and where you pick your apartments
and stuff like that or your hotel
now my next stone for you is if you're
going to be going up the hill you'll
notice that
the castle's way up there and you're
like do i have to walk up there no you
don't have to walk up there there's a
funicular that goes up
and my dope for the funicular is don't
worry about the weight yes it takes some
time to wait for the funicus to come up
and down and take people up
and there probably will be a long line
but it takes you right up there
drops you off right at the castle and
you're good to go so
don't worry it's worth the wait now if
you don't want to do the weight
you'll see there's like golf carts like
extended golf carts that will offer you
like oh hey
we have a hop on hop off service we'll
take you up there we'll bring you back
my don't for that is don't expect to get
up and down as quick as you think you
would
hence why i recommend taking the
funicular okay because when you go up
they leave when the golf cart's full
they take you up there and they go every
five to ten minutes kind of
and the thing is though if you're here
busy season yeah there's like 30 people
waiting to get that next
mini golf cart kind of thing to go back
down
you might wait for two or three or four
turns before you can actually get on one
and i did see quite a few tourists
getting upset with each other on there
so do have a heads up for that
also if you're going to take the little
golf cart thing up there or you know the
little shuttle up there
if you're sitting on the back don't
freak out because the cars are coming up
with you like this you're like oh my god
i'm gonna die i'm gonna die and then
they pull over to the side so just have
a heads up
now when you are up there on the castle
there are museums up there all kinds of
stuff my next jump for you would be
don't feel that you have to go to all
the museums up on the castle hill
okay up by the castle or in the castle
because some of them i mean they're good
but some of them are a little bit too
extensive if you know what i mean so
have a heads up for that
but definitely you want to make sure you
go over to matthias's church and you see
the look out there
it is gorgeous that's your instagram
budapest
kind of thing because from there you can
look over and remember i talked about
the architecture
the coolest architectural feature of the
city is the parliament the hungarian
parliament
looks like it's straight out of some
like old batman movie it is so cool
probably one of the coolest definitely
the coolest parliament i've seen in the
world
but it is awesome you get a great view
from up there so definitely
maybe just use the cass area to explore
but it is kind of a neat place to go so
definitely go up there another museum i
definitely say to
don't skip i guess i would say is don't
skip the house of terror
now the house of terror i know when i
first say it i'm like no no no it's not
a halloween thing
the house of terror is actually kind of
a museum of terror in terms of the
fascists the communists when they ran
hungry
what are all the horrible things they
did and so you start to understand more
about hungarian history
and what went on here and you really
learn a lot when you're there
i've been there a few times it can be
very moving and really informational
they got all kinds of stuff to help you
out in english and hungarian if you want
hungarian too
but it is really really an amazing
museum so if you're going to go to one
museum here
that's the one you don't skip go to the
house of terror okay
now my next stone for you is when you
come to budapest most people just kind
of stay in this historic area like i
said
they go from the castle to saint
stephen's basilica and that's about it
maybe walking on the pedestrian street
my don't for that is you know i said
don't forget to wander but don't forget
to explore
outside of budapest itself there are
some pretty cool day trips you can go to
agar
and which is about two and a half hours
on the train i know it seems long but
it's not that long if you got your own
car it's a lot faster
to get out there and you can see the the
castle ruins there and the cute city
the good cute village town i don't know
it's about the town size kind of thing
to see another place also there's roman
ruins
just outside the city you can see when
you're here do you know there's actually
underground caves thermal caves
underneath here
yeah you can go down there and see the
caves i mean it's just really a cool
thing and so
just make sure you don't just see you
know the things you see from outside
going to see
more outside the city and speaking of
little hidden things
if you're walking around and you get a
chance to peek in some of these
buildings like
just going into the entryway you are
going to see some of the coolest
architecture
inside just like the waiting area kind
of thing like oh man look at that
look at that because it is such great
architecture outside of the buildings
but also inside so if you can see some
of those like atriums and stuff
definitely go check it out totally cool
the foyers totally awesome
now my next couple donuts actually deal
with the food when you're here one donut
is
don't be anti-paprika okay don't be
anti-peppers
okay look the hungarians love peppers
they love paprika they love that spice
you'll see a lot of your food in a lot
of your sauces a lot of your soups will
have a red tinge to it
that's because of the paprika and more
paprika and maybe a side of paprika that
you can put in two more put out more
paprika
they love it here and it's in not all of
the hungarian foods here but
a lot of them okay don't be surprised
now there is great food and you want to
have some
so make sure you have the goulash you
have the chicken paprikash okay
you're going to have all this really
good meat with a cream
based paprika sauce and pepper sauce and
you'll have that
but the thing is it's really good but i
will say this
don't feel bad if you get burned out of
it because it can be a bit much okay
don't be shocked if you think you see
more italian restaurants here in
budapest then you see hungarian
restaurants here and it is crazy there's
italian places all over the place
so if you do get tired of the paprika
you have other options okay but
don't get tired of it go and enjoy the
local food because it's so
good and if you don't want that get the
pancakes with meat inside that's so good
oh and
another don't don't skip dessert oh man
the sponge cake
oh my god the sponge cake it's like a
trifle kind of thing with a sponge and
cream and sponge oh it's so good
so good i ate it too fast i didn't get
the picture so i'm sorry for that
but i did get pictures and video of the
stresses i had that's here
they make awesome strudel when you're
here it is so good so
don't skip out of the desert okay and
what's cool is you don't have to worry
about skipping down the desert because
don't think you're gonna bust your
budget when you come here to budapest
now i'm not saying budapest is super
cheap no like the rest of hungary that's
pretty super cheap
but here in budapest it's an affordable
place i find the price is very fair
especially for such a cool city with so
much to do you actually do
your money goes pretty far here so just
this matter of like paying attention to
the bill to make sure what you're
getting
is honestly we've had a great time here
we haven't spent hardly any money when
we've been here
so it's been great and that's why i
understand why so many tourists come
here
for a weekend away i see a lot of
backpackers here you know like college
kids coming to backpacking
and buddies coming for their weekend
parties and stuff like that because
it's cheap there's lots of stuff to do
there's a great nightlife all these kind
of things
it's really great and you don't have to
bust your budget so that's awesome
and my last note for you is don't expect
to use your euros
look here in hungary they have the
hungarian foreign okay so they have
their own currency
and though you'll see prices in euros a
lot of places
not every place takes euros here okay
so you're gonna have to get some money
out all right now also you may say well
i'll just pay with credit card
again and i guess that would be another
don't don't expect to be able to use
your credit card
everywhere now a lot of places you can
okay but not everywhere so do have a
heads up and get some money out
and i guess i should probably talk about
the don'ts with the money to finish off
for real
is one don't expect all the exchange
houses to do the best job for you
make sure you're looking at the exchange
rates and the commission to see what
gives you the best exchange rate overall
that's gonna be important another don't
i have for you is don't
take the conversion at the atm when you
go and you go to the atms you'll put
your card in they'll give you these
crazy amounts you're like no no
other amounts to get them out that you
really will actually use like you know
take out like a hundred euros worth of
stuff instead
take that out and then they're gonna
what they're gonna do is they're gonna
say hey do you wanna have that converted
to your local currency
because you can take it out and we'll
charge you in euros for it or we'll
charge you in dollars for it
do not do that always decline the
conversion don't do the conversion
because they will totally rip you off
we're talking like 10 to 20 percent
difference
in the exchange rates so let your bank
back home let them do that
not the atm okay so don't mess around
with that because that can make this
relatively cheap vacation
a bit more expensive all right so i hope
this helps you know a little bit more
about coming to budapest
what you don't do when you're here but
what you don't not do when you're here
as well
huh we like to keep it positive here in
walters world anyway i got to take off
i've had a great time here in budapest i
hope you do too
if you want to learn more we got a video
on the mistakes of budapest that people
make
we've got a video on what to eat when
you're here we've got what you should
know before you go to hungary
all kinds of stuff on our website at
waltersworld.com we're also on twitter
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appreciate your like subscriptions we
hope you have a great time here in
budapest
but we know you will even if you're
anti-paprika
like my dad oh my god i can't bring my
dad here because he hates peppers and
i'm just like i ain't gonna deal with
that
anyway bye from budapest oh hey if you
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walters world to find out more and i'll
say bye from budapest
or sorry budapest bye