Just got back from spending 3 days in Budapest and would recommend it for a short city break. Took a flight with Easyjet for £50 return from Gatwick, booking a few weeks in advance. Stayed at the centrally located Ibis Emke hotel on Acacfa Street which was right next to the Blaha L Ter underground station - it was 59 Euros for a double/twin room per night and was very clean and comfortable and in a great location - only a 10/15 min. walk to Elizabeth Bridge.
On arrival at the airport we booked a minibus taxi direct to our hotel which was 2,100 HUF (Hungarian Florints) single (£6 approx.) and 3,600 HUF return which is around £10/11 approx. You buy a ticket in the arrivals hall and if you book the return, you get your hotel receptionist to reserve this 24 hours in advance. If you want a cheaper way to get to the centre, just hop on to the number 93 bus which will take you to the nearest underground station and then you can go by metro to wherever you are staying - this works out at around 40p and your bus/metro ticket lasts for 60 minutes. I'm not sure whether you can use the same ticket for the bus and metro so I would check this out. Always remember to validate your bus/metro tickets in the orange machines on the bus/train, as you could be fined if you don't! We nearly were arrested on our second day as we didn't vaidate our tickets and were stopped by inspectors on the way out of Moscow Square station. They wanted us to pay a 2,000 HUF fine each but I told them that I didn't have any money and just walked off - my friends were not so daring and paid the fine as one of the inspectors said he was going to call the Police!
On our first night we went down to the Danube and took tram number 2
to get a view of the city sights at night. The next day we went on a 3 hour Grand City Tour which cost around £18 as we were short of time. This took in the main sights such as Castle Hill, Heroes Square and Citadel and gave you the chance to get some nice photos. There are several companies doing the same kind of thing and you can get leaflets in most hotels - our receptionist was happy to reserve tours for us.
In the evening we did an upmarket Danube Cruise with a company called Legenda which is down by the Danube opposite the Marriott Hotel. It was around 4,000HUF (£12) and included a glass of champagne and other drinks such as wine/beer or soft drinks - you listened to a commentary through headsets and it was all very relaxing - it lasted for 1 hour.
The next day was spent taking a ride on the childrens railway which goes through the hills of Budapest and then we decided to go to the thermal pools at the Gellert Baths for a soak - cost 2,100 HUF for 2 hours. Finally, a visit to the Central Market rounded off the day where you can buy traditional hams and salamis, paprikas on strings and souvenirs on the top floor. Others in our group did a tour of Parliament which was free to EU members provided you show your passport - I think they only do tours at 10am in winter and my friends didn't need to book as it was low season.
All in all we had a good time but it was freezing at this time of year so you need to wrap up - would have preferred to go later in the year when it's warmer!!
Foodwise, we did dine at some traditional restaurants - one of which was Matyas Pince - medieval type decor with musicians playing and located near the foot of the Elizabeth Bridge - food nice and not too expensive!
Heard about a good restaurant called Sir Lancelot from other travellers which served huge portions of food in a medieval type atmosphere with entertainment laid on such as belly dancers?! musicians, etc.