All Things Budapest
- zoe1675
- Nov 27, 2019
- 8 min read
Hey guys!
It’s been a while since I’ve been on my blog page, life has been so busy.
I’ve just got back from Budapest with my mum and I thought I’d put together a blog of all things site seeing, must do’s, food, conveniences and costings.
GENERAL:
Budapest is one of the upcoming tourist locations, becoming more popular each year. November is out of the holiday season and from a tourist perspective it’s probably a perfect time to go. The weather tends to average similar to the UK; in fact I was lucky and had 17 degree weather for the Saturday and Sunday I was there, with temperatures only dropping to 14 degrees on the Monday.
An interesting fact for you; Budapest is split into two parts, ‘Buda’ and ‘Pest’; Buda being one side of the Danube river with the Fisherman’s Bastion and castle and ‘Pest’ being the other side with the Parliament, Basilica and Szechenyi Baths. Although on a map a lot of the sights look far away from each other, they are actually relatively close. The main attractions further out, away from the river, are the Szechenyi Baths and Heroes Square.
Based on everything I managed to do and see over my weekend, I’d say 2-3 days is definitely enough time to see everything Budapest has to offer.
HOTEL:
I stayed in “Novotel Danube” hotel, situated directly opposite the parliament on the ‘Buda’ side of the city. This hotel was a good walking distance from all the major sights and the beds were super comfy, especially after a long day of walking. This hotel also included bed and breakfast; consisting of a cooked buffet, fruits, croissants, cereal and breads. Fuelling energy with a big breakfast in the morning meant that we didn’t need to stop for lunch.
When booking holidays I always try and book package deals, this reduces the price you pay for the hotel as the flight cost predominantly stays the same. I also do my best to book a transfer to and from the hotel and airport for ease. If booking a transfer isn’t your thing, Budapest Airport has many signs that direct you to public buses and trains that can take you into the city.
Hotel booked through- Lastminute.com
ACTION PLAN:
Budapest's main sightseeing areas are all situated close to one another therefore having a specific order to do things is not essential. I would however, recommend noting down what you want to see, how many of those you would want to go inside and whether you have a specific time of day you want to visit them. Budapest’s city landmarks are almost grouped together in certain sections, for example you have everything on the Buda side of the river, everything on the Pest side and then Heroes Square and Szechenyi Baths further away from the river.
My agenda for the weekend is show below. I marked the places to visit on the map before going and have drawn the routes on for you since I've been back home. Note: me and mum did not go inside the Parliament, Basilica or any of the galleries/museums and we walked everywhere.
Here is the link for the map I used during my trip and the one that is in the below pictures (I apologise that the quality of the map images are awful)
>>>MAP
SATURDAY:
We walked across to the Parliament, Shoe memorial and Chain Bridge. From the dock by the Shoe memorial we got the 4:00pm boat cruise which lasted for 2 hours.
After this we walked across the Chain Bridge and headed up to the Citadella for a view across the city at night.
The red route marked down the river on the map is the cruise.
SUNDAY:
We walked across to Margaret Island and onto the Szechenyi Baths. A tip for navigating; from Margrit Bridge to the baths is to go straight until you get to Nyugati station, straight again from here and then turn left when you get to Oktogon station.
This will take you straight to Heroes Square and the baths are located behind. Following the two stations will stop you having to constantly check a map (thank me later).
After the baths we headed back the way we walked before to drop our stuff back at the hotel and prepare for dinner. Sunday night we ate at Ven Hajo Restaurant.
MONDAY:
We checked out of the hotel and headed to Fishermans Bastion. This was a 10 minute walk from our hotel and once you get to the top it's a short walk down to the palace and galleries. After we had covered the top area we headed down to Chain Bridge and crossed over the river to St Stephen's Basilica. Here we had a quick pit stop for a hot chocolate and then headed back to the Fishermans Bastion for sunset, via the Parliament.
RIVER CRUISES:
A river Cruise is a must in Budapest and there are so many to choose from. With this in mind, make sure you know what you want from a cruise and don’t get conned into booking a cruise that isn’t actually what you wanted. There are many cruises that are standard tour boats and others that are dinner cruises, prices vary considerably.
Me and mum booked the standard cruise on the Millennium boat for 4pm, which included two drinks in the ticket price: one is a welcome Champagne (that I just so managed to spill everywhere just as we sat down) and then the second is one of your own choice from the menu. This cruise covers 6 bridges along the river, from Margrit bridge, to Rakoczi bridge and lasts approx 2 hours.
This cruise was 5200 HUF each (approx £15), student price up to age 24- however mum was charged the same so who can complain. The boat leaves from dock Akademia 3 and set off at the perfect time for sunset.
FOOD:
Majority of the restaurants are based on the Pest side of the river ranging from those right on the river and some a few streets back. On the Saturday we had dinner in a local Hungarian restaurant a few streets back from our hotel on the Buda side. This was good local food and enough to cure the hunger from what felt like a very long day (especially as we'd been up since 5am to get to Gatwick). This meal came to 15,020 HUF for the two of us with a starter, main and drink, approximately equivalent to £38.
On the Sunday night we ate at Ven Hajo Restaurant, a moored boat right in front of the Intercontinental hotel, along the river opposite Buda Palace.
The dinner we had here was amazing, at first we were the only people in the restaurant. I felt like such a princess being wined and dined at the centre of attention. The food and service was incredible and the view just helped to top it off. The only down side was the distance we had to walk back to the hotel after on a full stomach.
Average cost for a 2 course meal here, starter and main, was 20,000 HUF, approximately equivalent to £50.
When it comes to eating out in Budapest it completely depends what your budget is, but there are plenty of options to choose from. Just remember that the exchange difference is massive and dealing with their money is very different to GB pounds. A tip for dealing with money is to make sure you keep an eye on the '0's on the notes as all notes tend to look similar. Try and keep larger notes spare for dinner or to be left over at the end of your trip, as they are best to exchange back into GB pounds when you return.
TRAVEL CONVENIENCES:
There are so many ways Budapest aids your travel experience. Within the city there are hire stations for bikes, scooters and Segways. These are all stationed by may of the major sightseeing attractions and from what I saw, were not too costly either. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you much regarding the price as I walked everywhere; although I do know that the bikes are free for your first half an hour, similar to how to Boris bikes work in London.
Budapest also has a very good tram line and metro line that run regularly and are easy to navigate through the city. Again, I do not know the ease and price from experience but, I did walk past multiple stations which were easy to find and access.
Along with this there are standard transportations like the 'Hop on Hop off' tour buses, hosting 3 different routes round the city and a boat tour (subject to weather and time of year).
THE SZECHENYI BATHS:
The Szechenyi Baths are a must for any trip to Budapest. Although there are a few other thermal bath spas in Budapest, this is the main one. We pre-booked our tickets before we went to guarentee our entry on the day we wanted as they can be busy/full. On the booking website Szechenyispabaths.com you can book in either HUF or in Euros. We opted for euros; a ticket with fast track entry and a cabin cost 22 Euros.
There are two kinds of tickets, one with a locker and one with a cabin. Lockers are simply as it says on the tin; just somewhere to store your clothes, but does mean you have to change in a communal area.
Cabin's are mini changing rooms which are for your use only and are lockable, meaning you can keep all your belongings in there and they will be safe!
I'd recommend booking a cabin ticket, just note that on busy days these do fill up quickly. Using the wristbands they provide you will enable you to check on the machines inside the baths when cabins are free.
Below are pictures of the changing room/cabin area layout:
MUST SEE/DO'S:
THE CITADELLA
Located up Gellert Hill, just past the Erzsebet Bridge is the Citadella. This has amazing panoramic views of the city and is most rewarding with it's view at night.
FISHERMAN'S BASTION:
A very picturesque fortress up on a hill near the Buda castle remains, on the Buda side of the Danube. There is also a café at the top of one of the tower peaks where you can take in the view with a good hot chocolate, or beer if that's what takes your fancy.
MARGARET ISLAND AND MARGARIT BRIDGE
Margaret Bridge is the bridge further up the river from the Chain Bridge. This bridge has great views of the Parliament and leads to a Margaret Island- a very clean and cute Island in the middle of the Danube. I'd say you should go and wonder onto the Island, however would not need to go too far as there is nothing particular to do there.
THE HUNGARIAN PARLIAMENT
A building you must visit, not necessarily go into, but definitely walk past and take in just how grand it is. The Hungarian Parliament building is one of the largest Parliament buildings in the world. As much as people have told me the inside of the building is amazing, I did not have time or enough of an architectural interest to want to enter.
THE CHAIN BRIDGE AND WALKS ON THE RIVER
The chain bridge resembles a similar structure to that of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York (that I've seen from pictures as I haven't yet ventured there myself).
Walking along the river day and night has so many views to take in that I definitely recommend you take the time to have stroll.
THE SHOES ON THE DANUBE MEMORIAL
A very moving memorial along the river in front of the Parliament building. This monument was created to honour the Jews that were shot into the river during World War 2. They were ordered to take off their shoes before being shot into the river for their bodies to be carried away, the shoes on the bank represent the shoes that were left behind.
I hope you've enjoyed my little overview of Budapest. If you happen to go there in the near future do tell me all about what you thought and if you have any further questions about my trip then you can hit me up on my socials!
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