I was in Budapest last summer and it was terrific. Lots of historical places that have been well preserved. People were friendly and it was easy to engage with them.

What I have learned in a half century of travel is you learn a lot more about a place trying to talk to its citizens than you ever can visiting monuments or museums. Plus you can make some life long friends.

Bad news -- actually good for residents -- those socialist era trams and buses are gone by now. The typical "UV" trams manufactured between 1956–1965 have been retired in 2007. The Ikarus 260 and Ikarus 280 buses last ran in 2022 November.

OK, some old trams remain but they have been throughly modernized so that old feeling is basically gone.