Keszthely is a beautiful town at the shore of lake Balaton. It's nice and cosy but totally full of tourists, so it has lost part of its "essence." It's a good place to stay for a few days, though. I really liked it!
It is a cool city! I enjoyed my stay there! It has everything -- impressive buildings, nice streets, warm people, culture, party, and everything is really cheap! The city is divided in two parts by the river Danube -- Buda, cosy and beautiful, like a small village inside a big city, with narrow streets and relaxing atmosphere; and Pest, where the historical buildings and monuments are. So you have two cities in one! And if you like to party, then you're in the right place! There are lots of pubs and discos everywhere and all of them are super cool and original. I would go to Budapest every weekend to party!
In Budapest be prepared to be hit up for money by some people on the street and BEWARE of taxi driver sharks!!! They will rip you off big time and then give you Romanian bills worth next to nil as change. Talk to the locals about what is a fair price before you get a cab because some people in our group paid 3x the normal price to get back to our hotel one night. Other than that, Budapest was an amazing city. The sights and sounds were incredible. Just keep your wits about you and be an informed traveler. Read "Culture Shock! Hungary". That helps a lot too. Have fun!
You should try the Hungarian speciality "Langòs" and the bar "Cactus Juice". I cannot remember where it is, but you can find it on every tourist map. - There are a lot of vegetarian restaurants in Budapest.
Budapest is a really big town, and the buildings are not that well kept up (not run down, but dirty exteriors), but there's a lot to do. Definitely go to the Turkish baths (the city baths give partial refunds if you stay less than 3 hours) and also look for the fountain of wine in the labryinths under Buda castle. Wine tours at Eger are not far away either (though Hungarian wine is not the best).
The best thing about Budapest is that you can do just about anything you want there. Big enough that you don't really feel the tourist crush except for up near the Castle and Fisherman's Bastion. There is no reason to miss coming to Budapest.
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