Entertainment

From eating and drinking well (and inexpensively) to classical music and opera to rock concerts and discos, Budapest offers pretty much as wide a choice of things to do as you'll find in any city of a comparable size.

Restaurants

The city guide lists scores of restaurants of different tastes and budgets. Just about every ethnic style is available: Mexican, Jewish, Greek, Japanese, French, Slav and many, many others.

The top-of-the-range Gundel, is where visiting royalty and heads of state often eat at. Your local corner etterem will offer an impossibly large menu of usually fried foods and a piled-high plate for reasonable prices.

A tip: Hungarian wines range from undrinkable plonk to award-winning, well-made and delicious Cabernets. If you don't have time to experiment, stick to wines from the Villany region, preferably Cabernet Sauvignons, or Chardonnays from Balaton. The prices are very reasonable. Local beers are also sold at a good value. Try Dreher on draught; a light, lager-style beer.

Cinemas

There are about 24 cinemas in the city ranging from the 14-screen multiplex in West End City Center down to small art movie houses.

At any one time, there are usually around 40 movies playing in English (original soundtrack with Hungarian sub-titles); check the weekly English paper The Budapest Sun for a full listing. Films arrive here relatively early (often before a London release). Dubbing of movies is a big business, and some (usually those appealing to children) are shown only in a dubbed version. The paper can sometimes get it wrong, so if it's not obvious from the cinema's listings, check by asking felirat? ("is it sub-titled?") at the cash desk. Be sure to save some cash to load up on coke and popcorn as many Hungarians love to do.

Opera and Classical Music

You'll pay very little money to hear the Budapest Philharmonic at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music. Concerts are often held at the Vigado Concert Hall, though the acoustics could be better.

Concerts are occasionally held in the domed hall of parliament, and Bach organ music is a delight to hear either in the castle's Matthias Church or the Basilica on the Pest side.

Opera is performed at the state Opera House on Andrassy ut (mainly in Italian with Hungarian sub-titles), or at the 3,000-seat Erkel Theatre on Koztarsasag ter, near Keleti station. The Erkel tends to concentrate on Hungarian operas. During its season, the Operetta theatre on Nagymezo utca generally tends to stage Hungarian operettas.

For tickets, check the Central Booking Office on Vorosmarty square.

Theatre

Hungarians love their theatre and their performances are usually well-attended. Of course, these tend to be predominantly in Hungarian.

The Merlin International, sponsored by the city council, puts on performances in English; these are either by visiting troupes or local ex-pat residents.

Folk and Gypsy Music

Performances are regularly held in the Duna Palota or the Budai Vigado. Many restaurants think that a gypsy band is an expected accompaniment to a meal, so you can get your fill at no extra cost (other than the obligatory tip to the violinist!).

Discos

Petofi Csarnok occupies a cavernous hall at the rear of Varosliget or City Park. This is a stage and disco complex that serves as a venue for local and international rock bands where you can find people dancing the night away every night of the week. E-Klub is next to the Planetarium. It is open on Fridays and Saturdays and is always packed with Technical University students. The ex-pats make for Made Inn which has a nice patio and garden and where summer brings out large crowds. When groups like the Rolling Stones or U2 come to town, they play the Nepstadion, which has the largest seating capacity of any venue in the area.

Children

Children obviously deserve to be entertained as much as anyone. A good area for them is around the Varosliget. Here you will find the Zoo and the Amusement Park (Vidam Park). In the park itself is a lake used for boating in the summer and ice-skating in the winter.

Many of the museums would be of interest to children including the Postal Museum and the War History Museum. Another interesting spot for children is the Buda Castle Labyrinth, an underground exhibition of the city's early history. Alternatively, the Gellert Hotel and Baths has artificial waves in the large pool and the paddling pool is full of very warm water.

Further afield, you could take them up the Cogwheel Railway to the top of the hills, then on to the Children's Railway, where all the signal-men and conductors are children.