Magical Nights of Budapest

We visited Budapest in May 2015.

Transportation

Budapest is a major European city, so there is no dearth of flights into Budapest. The airport itself might leave something to be desired, but that probably depends on the Airlines you are flying with. We took Easyjet and got out of the plane somewhere in the middle of the airport, from where we had to walk like 1km to get inside the airport. But I guess nothing surprises the experienced traveler nowadays - air travel is a chore which needs to be completed somehow to get to the more enjoyable parts of a holiday! Of course, this might be different if you can afford to fly Business class ...

Points-of-Interest

As a tourist, the best place to stay in Budapest is to stay in a hotel close to the Chain Bridge.

The chain bridge is an architectural marvel and often listed as one of the primary attractions of Budapest. So try to book a hotel close to the Chain Bridge. We stayed at the Sofitel (which was earlier Hyatt) and its Bridge view rooms indeed provide a magnificent view of the bridge (e.g. the pic above was taken from our hotel window).

There are actually multiple bridges in sequence connecting Buda and Pest. The primary one is of course also the most majestic - and hence is easy to recognize. For example, check out the Bridge entrance below:




The other attractions e.g. the Parliament (below)

and Fisherman's Bastion (below) are also within walking distance. The Bastion is a very interesting place in its own right. With multiple cafes, lookout points, and the impressive fortified structure - it is easy to spend a whole day in the Bastion.

Budapest Nights

The whole area around the Chain Bridge looks mesmerizing at night, hence the many night shots. The lights on the Chain Bridge, Parliament House, and Fisherman's Bastion remain ON till around 1am at night - giving it a magical feel as soon as the sun sets.

Another option to explore Budapest at night is to take a cruise. There are multiple cruise lines which cruise the Danube at night. Some also offer the option to have dinner on the boat. We would really recommend taking one of these as they offer the possibility to enjoy most of Budapest's attractions at night without much legwork - which you can then save to enjoy the nightlife :) Below are some pics from our cruise:

The happening spots, e.g. the street Váci utca, which is like a really long street filled with cafes, restaurants, and souvenir shops; are also within walking distance of the Chain Bridge. So it really pays off to stay at a hotel close to the bridge.

If you keep walking along Váci utca (from the Chain Bridge), you will reach the Great Market Hall (below) - which is more like the flea market where you can get souvenirs at bargain prices. You can already see the prices of souvenirs dropping as you get closer to the Great Market.

  

While Váci utca and the Great Market are good for street shopping, check out Andrassy Avenue for the more trendy and expensive shops e.g. Louis Vuitton, Burberry, and Silka (a local Hungarian fashion brand). A good and easy way to reach Andrassy Avenue is to take the public transport to the Opera (below)

Other places of interest, at least if you are interested in panorama shots of the city (below), include the Gellert Hill lookout points.

     

Bokodi-Hutoto Lake

Tourism in Hungary is still developing! As a result, it is currently very Budapest centric - there is not much by way of information or organized tours to places outside Budapest - at least for the foreign tourist who does not speak Hungarian.

We tried to search on the interest for inspiration w.r.t. to  places to visit outside Budapest. We stumbled upon this article "12 Beautiful photos to make you wonder why you haven't visited Hungary yet" - and I am including the link here as it might be interesting for others as well.

We selected Egerszalok and Bokodi lake - out of which we finalized on Bokodi lake - as Egerszalok was even farther away from Budapest. Although Bokodi lake is closer to Budapest, there is actually an organized tour to Egerszalok - link - so you can check it out if you are interested.

Finally, we booked an private tour with a local driver and set out one fine morning to visit the famed Bokodi-Hutoto lake. Unfortunately, our fears w.r.t. unorganized tourism outside Budapest were well founded, and we did not manage to reach the lake viewpoint depicted in the article. Even our local driver gave up after one hour of trying - it seems that all car roads leading to the lake have been closed - and the only way to reach it is by foot. We only managed to reach a tip of of the lake - so check out our consolation pic of the lake below and let us know if you managed to reach there on your trips.

 

Indian Restaurant

As with all our tours, we also tried to check out at least one Indian restaurant here.  We tried Salaam Bombay which is located just behind the Four Seasons hotel, very close to the Chain Bridge. The restaurant has a good selection of food (menu) items, however the food is just about average. Also, be sure to book in advance as it seems that they have an arrangement with a local Indian tour agent; so the whole restaurant is often booked for Indian tourist groups.

Monte Carlo - the royal way of gambling

We visited Monte Carlo during Easter 2015.

Transportation

Monte Carlo, or rather Monaco does not have it own airport. So the closest airport for all practical purposes is Nice, France. It takes about 45 minutes by car or bus from Nice to Monte Carlo, and you can get express buses from the airport to Monte Carlo which cost 20Euros one way (and 30 Euros return).

You can also take a train from Nice train station to Monte Carlo - takes about 30 mins - and costs 8 Euros. Of course, the problem here is that then you would have to again take a taxi / bus from the station to your hotel. In this regard, the buses (from Nice Airport) seem more flexible as they drop you at the Casino - from where most hotels are within walking distance - or you can also request the driver to drop you in front of your hotel if it is on the way (might depend on the driver's mood though).

We also noticed quite a few hotels in Monte Carlo offering helicopter rides from Nice airport to Monte Carlo. We did not dig deeper to get the prices and all, but it might be an option if you want to start the sightseeing process as soon as you land -:).

Both Nice and Monte Carlo are on the Mediterranean sea coast - so there are many ferries as well connecting the two cities.

While Monaco is a separate country - from a Visa point of view - it can be considered as a part of France. So apply Schengen Visa policies to decide if you need a Visa to visit Monaco. That is, if you are arriving via Nice; your Schengen Visa will not be stamped again while entering Monte Carlo.

Monte Carlo

Monte Carlo is a city for the rich and famous - so you will see plenty of luxury yachts docked at the port. The fact that it is close to Nice and Cannes only adds to its attraction for the privileged lot.

Monte Carlo is also famous for its Casino. The whole area around he Casino together with Café de Paris and Hotel de Paris can be considered as the center of activity in Monte Carlo. (Incidentally, all three establishments seem to be owned by the same group: SBM Monaco). This is where the crowd gathers as soon as the sun sets in Monte Carlo - some to play and dine in luxury - others to marvel at the flashy cars parked in front of the Casino.

Size wise, the Casino is quite small - as compared to say the Casinos in Las Vegas. However, the old style opulent interior decorated with wall sized frescoes provide the additional "luxury" quotient.

For people interested in taking pics of the Casino interiors, try visiting it in the morning 10-12. There is a 10 Euros entrance fee - but it is waived if you are staying in certain hotels in Monte Carlo - so check that before paying. The 10 Euros entrance fee also applies if you are visiting in the evening when the Casino is open, but then you are not allowed to take a camera inside anyway due to obvious privacy reasons.

Accommodation

Given the rather small size of the city, one can still find accommodation of all types - ranging from the budget B&B to the ultra luxury hotels. As our goal in this trip was to splurge in "man-made luxury" - rather than running around in scenically beautiful, but "difficult to reach" parts of the world - we decided to stay in one of the ultra-luxury hotels in Monte Carlo: Hôtel Hermitage.

From the foyer designed by Gustavo Eiffel (below), to the magnificent port view from the Crystal Bar terrace, to the Bvlgari (Bulgari) toiletries in the washrooms  - the hotel is luxury personified. We were even given a personal tour of the hotel upon arrival which was unlike any hotel we had stayed before (including the Hiltons, Radissons, of the world).

Nice, France

We spent only a day in Nice, so we did not get a chance to explore the city in depth. The city is famous for its azure (Mediterranean) coastline. The coastline is rather stunning and it is easy to spend the whole day just walking along the coast - which stretches into many kilometers.

This is clearly also the main touristic part of the city. If you are looking for a street name to tell the taxi driver, try 'Promenade des Anglais'.

Speaking of taxi drivers, beware of them!! One would expect that given this one of the most expensive localities in France, the taxi drivers would at least go by meter price. However, that is clearly not the case - may be because of the economic downturn or the influx of immigrants - but if you see a taxi driver trying to be overly friendly (talking too much), keep your eyes on the meter or at least verify that he is going by fixed or meter price (if you haven't already).





If you keep walking along the coast (more or less after the statue below), you will start seeing streets full of shops, malls, and restaurants - ideal for evening walks.

For quick sightseeing tours, there are both the Hop-on / Hop-off buses and the "Petit" (small) touristic train / tram (below) - both having stops along the 'Promenade des Anglais'.

The train is recommended esp. if you are interested in capturing panoramas of the city and coastline - as it gives a 10 min stop at a viewpoint on top of the hills from where you can get a magnificent view of the city and coastline below.

A few more pics to finish with ...

Snowy weekend in Les Diablerets (Glacier 3000), Switzerland

We visited Les Diablerets, a charming ski resort close to Gstaad, in February 2015.

 

Les Diablerets

Winter in Switzerland is ski-time - with almost everyone heading to a ski resort during weekends or whatever holidays they can manage. There is no shortage of ski resorts in Switzerland, both small and big (less or more expensive in that order). Gstaad clearly counts as one of the bigger and more well known ski resorts in Switzerland.

However, if you are more interested in the snow and scenery, and not so much in shopping and nightlife; it might be better to stay in Les Diablerets. It is connected by a 45 min bus ride to Gstaad, but is actually closer to the main skiing region / peaks - Glacier 3000. There are also many small peaks to ski or toboggan in Les Diablerets - so it ideal for (ski) beginners as well.

Les Diablerets is well connected by buses / trains. The Swiss Railways website SBB is very user friendly - just search by the station name 'Les Diablerets' (train station pic below). Just to give an idea, Les Diablerets is part of a state called Vaud - which lies in the French speaking part of Switzerland - so it would e.g. be easier to reach from Geneva than Zurich.  


 

The city itself is very small, with only a few hotels and restaurants. We stayed in the Eurotel Victoria hotel - which we can definitely recommend - esp. because of the all encompassing natural beauty surrounding it (see pic below).




The city center - as can be seen below - is basically a few restaurants, souvenir and grocery shops. 
 (If you have difficulty finding something suitable to eat - due to the limited choice in restaurants - traveling to Gstaad might be an option as well.)

Glacier 3000

The 3000 in Glacier 3000 refers to the fact that the skiing region consists of many peaks, e.g. the Scex Rouge, at approx. 3000m. Even if you do not ski (like us), the trip to the top is still very much worth it. And, the best thing about Switzerland is that the infrastructure exists to take you up there - without much of an adventure, so to say.

You basically need to take a cable car from Col du Pillon - to reach Scex Rouge. (Pics of the cable car and the station below).

Col du Pillon is like a 10 min (free) bus ride from Les Diablerets - via an equally scenic road (see pic below).

Once you reach Scex Rouge, it is like you are in winter wonderland - with snow, and more snow, wherever you look.

The last pic e.g. shows the Alpine (roller) coaster - which Ranbir Kapoor and Minissha Lamba were sliding on in the song 'Ahista Ahista' from the movie 'Bachna Ae Haseeno'. Unfortunately, it is closed during winter; but you can easily imagine to adrenaline rush of sliding down a roller coaster at this height.

Tissot sky walk

The one thing which you absolutely should not miss here is the Tissot sky walk. The sky walk - unveiled in 2014 - is an architectural marvel connecting two peaks. So enjoys the pics below, while planning your trip to experience it first hand !! :)