Top 10 Winter Attractions in Budapest

1. Coffee and cake at either Café Gerbaud, Central or New York. The city’s great coffee houses are still going strong 100 years or so after they opened their doors, and long may they continue to do so.

2. A drink at the bar of the Four Season’s Hotel. Less than a decade ago, this magnificent building was practically in ruins so you can toast the rebirth of Budapest here in some style.

3. The polar opposite, a drink at Vittula, the best grungy dive bar in Central Europe, bar none.

4. Shopping at the West End Mall, even if it is just window shopping - to admire all the wives and girlfriends out strutting their stuff.

5. Ice skating on the rink at Hunyadi castle. There’s good, wholesome fun to be had skating around in front of a replica of a Transylvanian castle.

6. The New Year’s Eve Ball at the Budapest Opera House. I’m dying to try this one out myself. They say it’s rather pricey but worth every forint, and it’s good to take the tuxedo or ball gown out of mothballs at least once a year.

7. Midnight mass at the Saint Stephen’s Basilica on December 24th.

8. A stroll down Andrassy avenue at sunset. If you need any reminding why this city was always known as the Paris of Central Europe, then this will do the trick nicely.

9. Taking the waters at Rudas Baths; watching the moles of light from a mosaic domed ceiling floating in the steam rising above the water. Their Cinetrip parties are fun too, especially if you’re comfortable in swim suit or bikini.

10. A silly night out clubbing, at one or more of the big international clubs like Dokk or Bed, but ending up, not in bed, but at Piaf, the after-hours dance bar where anything can happen – and has been for years.