Recently in Budapest Category

Budapest is one of the great historic capitals of Europe, and Le Méridien Budapest's restaurant Le Bourbon matches the city's regal air. Voted one of the city's best French restaurants by Budapest Week for several years running, it is set apart from the others by its luxuriously refined dining room and seasonal menu. Dine under a beautiful stained-glass dome on dishes such as the Hungarian goose foie gras with Tokaj jelly on brioche with apricots and fleur de sel; duck confit à la Parmentier, slow cooked duck leg sandwiched between layers of mashed potato with demi-glace; and royal chocolate sponge cake with crunchy praline and chocolate mousse.

For French with a little less formality, slip into Restaurant Lou Lou, a cozy little subterranean bistro where the candles are always lit and the onion soup is divine. Poultry dominates, with plenty of chicken, duck and goose on the menu, and the dishes aren't strictly French, but that's not stopping owner Károly Rubits from going after a Michelin star.

One of the hottest music venues in Budapest isn't a traditional theater or nightclub at all. A38 is a former Ukranian stone-carrier ship which was reopened in 2003 as a floating culture and performance venue on the Danube River. It has since become a favorite of audiences as well as artists like DJ Krush, Maceo Parker, and Amon Tobin, who come to appreciate the exquisite acoustics, cutting-edge sound system, and multi-level experience of this eclectic destination. The ship, now permanently moored on the Buda side of the river by the Petofi Bridge, has five different bars and performance spaces as well as a roof terrace with great views of the Danube and the city.

On Saturday, August 18, the evening begins at 6:00 p.m. with a fairytale performance on the roof terrace, where kids can enjoy puppet shows at the Puppet Village, pick up some artistic skills at the Stabilo Drawing Corner, and giggle at the antics of clowns and other entertainers throughout the complex. Later in the evening, the dance floor will be packed for an electronica party organized by the crazy tee-shirt company Girls and Mathematics. And even though Budapest is a few thousand miles east of Jamaica, you'll find terrific Caribbean music every Thursday night at the Love Alliance reggae show. A38 is a short cab ride from Le Méridien Budapest, which is located firmly on dry land in the heart of the city.

Sometimes the simplest things are the best. The LA Times has a nifty item on the many informal courtyard cafes in Budapest, Hungary known as kerts, that sprout up in various locations every spring and summer. While Budapest is well known for its abundance of formal bars and restaurants in the town center, kerts are often found in lesser-visited neighborhoods, and feature a casual, alfresco experience with inexpensive food and drink, and often live music as well. Somewhat of a recent phenomenon, one of the original kerts is still going strong after four years. Szimpla (meaning "Simple") is a quaint garden cafe in the Jewish Quarter, one of the city's oldest neighborhoods, and the best neighborhood to find these often elusive destinations. Guests at Le Méridien Budapest might enjoy food and wine under the stars at one of Budapest's great kerts.

[image via the LA Times]

Budapest is often thought of as a medieval city, with castles and art from that period. But as this LA Times article shows, there are also pockets of impressive Art Nouveau buildings and decorations scattered throughout the city. Luckily Budapest has always had great architecture, no matter what the style, so long walks through town offer a lot to see. Le Meridien Budapest is a centrally located hotel, walking distance to the Danube and equipped with spa services and...a chocolate buffet. In case Budapest wasn't already decadent enough for you!

Budapest is an amalgamation of the old cities of Buda and Pest (they incorporated in 1873) on the East and West sides of the Danube. It's had an illustrious and often tumultuous history through European conquests, two World Wars and the rise and fall of Eastern Bloc Communism. It was once upon a time a major stop on the evocative Orient Express and has historically been a transportation and shipping hub. Contemporary Budapest is notable for both it's elegant antiquity and rapid efforts in development to embrace the new global economy--it has the most shopping centers anywhere in Europe. To avoid getting snared by the ubiquitous tourist traps that spring up around these this kind of development, I'd direct adventurous guests at the Le Meridien Budapest to this dining article in The Budapest Sun Online. The paper's Website is also a great resource for Hungarian tourist information.