I did Hungary away with Wales in June and we had five nights in Budapest. It really was a nice place. The Ruin Bars in the Jewish Quarter are worth a look.
It’s way too expensive but as a one-off once a year i wouldn’t mind that, however the sheer volume of people crowded in takes any enjoyment away. You cannot move, the entire time is spent fighting against the continuous shuffle of the hurd as you try and reach a stall/person or just look for an inch of space to eat/drink whatever you’ve queued up for ages to get. They should have either severely limited the the maximum capacity at any one time or reduced the number of stalls and made it a lot more open.
Having a wander round with Mrs Moon, seems less stalls than usual, would recommend the garlic mushrooms with spuds/rice in the French quarter for a nibble.
I'm not sure where you're going in Manchester not to find it busy. Then again, I've not been for a good few years. I sacked it off due to the rip-off prices and it being too hammered to enjoy it. I get my Christmas market experience in Germany these days and it knocks the Manchester markets into a cocked hat - far cheaper prices for food and drink, and not too overcrowded. In recent years with the other half I've done: Cologne Munich Aachen Dusseldorf Nuremberg Rothenburg ob der Tauber Plus Moenchengladbach when City played there in 2016 In a few weeks we're off to Leipzig and Berlin - 3 nights in each
The Edinburgh one is shoehorned into a really small area around the Scott Monument I will get my fix in Zagreb
They are all the same everywhere you go. I’ll be glad when Xmas is over. My missus is already spending shit loads on crap we don’t need. The only thing I like about it is Xmas dinner if it’s not me making it, loads of football and being off work. The rest is over commercialised bollocks.