Located right beside Budapest's famed Vigszinhaz, or 
Comedy Theatre

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Instant weekend: Budapest

Cheap flights, great food, art-nouveau splendour. Sure beats Prague, says Harriet Perry

You should pick your strategy based on your mood. If you want traditional, stay in a grand hotel, kick-start the weekend at an ornate coffee house, eat plenty of goulash and wind down in a health spa so old-school and no-nonsense, they still think mango is something you eat. If you want trendy, check into a boutique bolt hole, eat nouvelle cuisine, go to a spa where they know that mangos are for wrapping people in, then celebrate your clever choice of weekend destination in a bar that would be too cool for London.

Where do I stay? If there’s one thing worth splashing out on in Budapest, it’s a night at the Gresham Palace Hotel (00 36 1-268 6000; doubles from £136, B&B), which does trendy and classic at the same time. This tour de force of art-nouveau design emerged in 2004 from a £65m restoration that has left it sparkling down to every last Zsolnay tile and stained-glass window. Service is impeccable without being snooty, as are the state-of-the-art spa and swimming pool on the top floor. Drift in and out of super-relaxed consciousness with views of the Chain Bridge and old Buda.

On the Buda side of the Danube, opposite the uncannily Londonesque houses of parliament, is the Art’otel (487 9487; doubles from £136, B&B), part of a small chain of “hotel-galleries”. A seven-storey facade is joined by glass walkways to four interconnected 18th-century town houses at the rear, with a lush green courtyard in between. Rooms at the front have panoramic views across the river, while rooms in the older section are more spacious and have views of the Matthias Church and the castle.

If you’re after eastern European prices, go for the Hotel Kulturinnov (224 8100; doubles from £44, B&B). On top of Castle Hill, in Old Buda, the hotel is in the heart of sightseeing territory, opposite the Matthias Church and the Fisherman’s Bastion. Its spacious L-shaped corridor of 16 rooms, hidden  in the bowels of the ornate Hungarian Culture Foundation, was once used as student accommodation. It’s far cleaner and better furnished than a dorm, but it still has that relaxed, potted-plant, baggy-jumper feel about it.

Where do I eat? Off the main road between the Opera House and the Academy of Music is Liszt Ferenc Ter. Since this square was pedestrianised in the 1990s, bars, cafes and restaurants have sprung up at a bewildering pace. If you like your decor retro, try one of the square’s favourites, Menza (413 1482), a trendy canteen with blackboard menus and hideously hip 1970s wallpaper. It serves Hungarian home cooking and American club sandwiches, at a few pounds a main. For a more traditional foray into a world of goulash and chicken paprikash, the celebrated Gundel (468 4040) occupies a mansion by the zoo. Expect artwork by Hungarian masters, gypsy bands, Magyar favourites and local twists on international cuisine.

Then there are those coffee houses. Budapest was doing cafes before Paris, and some of the more ancient ones have been beautifully restored. Try the art-deco Gresham Kavehaz (268 5100), in the Gresham Palace hotel, with its delicious Turkish sweetmeats. Central Kavehaz (Karolyi Mihaly utca 9; 235 0599), in the centre of the shopping district, is worth a visit just for its glorious decor.

What do I do? In a weekend, you’ve time to tick off many of the essentials. Get the best views across the Danube to Pest from the funicular, or siklo, which climbs up Buda’s Castle Hill, drop a coin into the box to light up St Stephen’s hand in the Basilica, take lots of photos on the Chain Bridge and have a picnic on Margaret Island, a manicured refuge from the traffic between Buda and Pest.

Or you could just go for a steam bath.

How do I get there? It’s much cheaper than it used to be now the no-frills airlines have joined the fray. Malev Hungarian Airlines (0870 909 0577) flies there from Heathrow, Gatwick, Cork and Dublin; British Airways (0870 850 9850) flies from Heathrow; EasyJet flies from Gatwick, Luton, Bristol and Newcastle; Jet2 (0871 226 1737) flies from Manchester; Wizzair flies from Luton; and Aer Lingus (0818 365000) flies from Dublin. Ferihegy airport is 12 miles from the city; airport minibuses are good value and reliable, dropping off and picking up at your hotel (20 minutes each way; £9 return). Fixed-rate taxis cost about £15 each way.    (For non-UK callers, dial 00-44 instead of the first 0).