Bucharest or Budapest
This is not Bucharest iStock

A British politician has become the object of internet ridicule after taking an official trip to the wrong European capital.

Steve Pallett
Jersey's assistant minister for sport Steve Pallett flew to the wrong country Twitter

Jersey's assistant minister for sport, Steve Pallett, was due to arrive in Bucharest in Romania for the handover ceremony of the Dance World Cup, which is to be hosted in the Channel Island next year.

Instead he landed in Budapest, Hungary, some 530 miles away, after getting a ticket for the wrong flight.

Pallet apologised for the mistake, which he described as a human error made by staff at the Education, Sport and Culture department.

"All I can do is apologise for what is a schoolboy error, the last thing I needed was a day trip to Budapest after a long week supporting the Island Games," he told the BBC.

Shortly after the blunder was reported, Bucharest was trending on Twitter and Pallett found himself the target of social media pillory.

It could have been worse though, since Budapest is actually a very nice place.

Here are some of the top things you can do in the city, as listed by the We Love Budapest website:

  1. Visit the Royal Palace and Castle hill, listed as UNESCO world heritage sites
  2. Have a beer in the district VII ruin pubs
  3. Enjoy a hot thermal bath at one of the many city resorts
  4. Take a boat cruise on the Danube.
  5. Eat some Goulash, Hungary's traditional stew meat soup and some other local delicacies.
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