Budapest is one of those cities you don’t know a lot about - at least a lot of people have no particular opinion of it. It is not Paris, Rome, London, it is not that 'well known and popular’ but it is just as magnificent!
This city was on my list for a long time - probably a few years, but something always came up and I postponed my trip to Budapest many times, but this summer Hungary was one of the few countries with low Covid19 cases, and it was finally the time to explore it.
P.S Unfortunately the numbers have risen all across the Europe as I am writing this article, and Hungary is no exception, but save this post for your future travels, when the world will be a safe place again.
We traveled from Riga to Budapest with airBaltic in 2 hours if not less. Super fast flight and you are at your destination. And now - let’s get right into my favourite places to eat, to stay at, favourite locations for pictures and just for chilling and enjoying your vacation:
Where to eat and drink?
Europa Cafe (@europacaffee on IG) - when you walk down the street from the Great Market Hall, it is hard not to notice this place: it is so colourful and cute. And once you enter it, you will feel the most welcome. The atmosphere is very nice, they have affordable Hungarian dishes, Hungarian wine for the best price (we chose 0.5 Rose and it costs 4,95EUR) I think we went there 4 times in 2 days - for afternoon drinks and later for dinner. So I highly recommend this place.
Pontoon - this place is amazing for afternoon drinks. It gets pretty crowded during late hours, but we went there 2 days in a row at 4/5pm and it was just perfect! Pantoon has a view over the famous Chain Bridge and there are two levels of this place - you can either go upstairs or sit downstairs or even take a chair and go chill by the river. They have deposit system so you get some money back if you bring back the plastic glass. And the beer was super cheap. I think we had 4 beers for 10 euros. Usually 1 beer costs around 4-5 euros in other European cities, for example, Vienna, Amsterdam etc.
Where to stay?
If the time allows it, my husband and I usually choose to stay at several places, not only one - and they have to be in different parts of the city so you can easily explore different neighbourhoods. This time we had 4 nights in this city, and we chose to stay at 2 affordable hotels. They were both awesome and so unique in many ways. Let me tell them about them both:
Moments Hotel Budapest - this place is so elegant. The interior, the atmosphere - it has grace, beauty, it feels fragile in a good way. The lobby has soo much light since it is open like an inner courtyard but it has a glass roof. So bright. And I always love when places are spacious and have light. We had a double room and it was very pretty. Big window that you could open up easily with a view of a beautiful street - green trees, old buildings. I loved this feature. It was a bit noisy with the open window, but when you close it, you hear no sound. Completely sound proof and that was so cool. The bed was very comfy and spacious, you have a desk with a super cool round mirror, also a little lounge area with a mini bar - the prices were very affordable. And what we loved the most - breakfast experience. A huge variety of food - salami, cheese, all kinds of bread, fresh fruit, vegetables (grilled and fresh) cereal, you could make your own pancakes on the site - I thought that it is a very nice and interesting touch. And oh, you can get a free flowing sparkling wine so every morning feels like a celebration :) And of course the location was very convenient - you are super close to the Chain Bridge, you can easily access The Parliament by foot and when you cross the Chain Bridge by foot, you can go up to the Buda Castle. And the St. Stephens Basilica is very close - just few minutes away. And there you will also find a huge selection of restaurants.
Hotel Rum Budapest - this place is a small hidden gem on a narrow street. I really, really loved the location. Such a quiet place. This hotel really got style - every room is different, but the authentic, rustic, urban style stays the same throughout the entire hotel. The lobby area was super cool with mirrors, chic furniture, magazines, wall art. And oh how I loved our bathroom - black and white tiles, mirrors, sliding door, huge walk in shower. Dream! And the best part - their rooftop bar called ‘Toprum’ - you can have breakfast there every morning and in the evening it transforms in a cool party-like place. We had champagne there in the afternoon and that was also quite nice. The breakfast is great - we loved the pancakes with syrup and berries, and I loved the spicy salami. The view is amazing - you can catch a glimpse of The Parliament, you can see the Buda Castle easily. And yes - the location is perfect - at this hotel you will be close to the Liberty Bridge, Great Market Hall with local goods, pedestrian street with lots of restaurants, souvenir shops.
Two completely different hotels in two completely different locations - and we really enjoyed them both. Both of them are pretty affordable and you get even more than you pay for, in my opinion.
What to see?
Fisherman’s Bastion - you cannot miss this unique place that is a part of the UNESCO Heritage site. I guess this could be one of the most popular places in Budapest, and I guess most of you have already seen in on Pinterest or Instagram - panoramic views of Budapest from a castle-like building. Sunset is definItely the best time to visit Fisherman’s Bastion, but it is also the time when there are the most people - but not this time. Pandemic has really changed the way people travel or more precisely - don’t travel at all. Budapest overall was very empty. And I have seen so many photos with this place being overcrowded with no chance of getting a photo or even catching a glimpse of the view. A lot of people wake up at 5am to get a photo. I am not one of those people because photos really are not my priority - if there is a chance to get one - great! If not - also great. I am there for the place and the feeling, and a photo is just a bonus, just an addition. So I didn’t expect to make a photo since I thought that it will be fully packed during sunset - but no. There were just few other people and we basically had this place all to ourselves. And oh man it is spectacular! You do not have to pay to enter by the way. And there is also a very nice cafe on the site - not very pricey, so feel free to grab a drink with the most amazing view over Budapest :)
The Parliament - this building is one of the most iconic ones in the entire city. It is soo impressive from every angle. Every detail is just genius. We went to see the building up close, and we also crossed the Chain Bridge to see it from a far. It is so gorgeous during night hours as well. You can get a really nice view from the Buda Castle and also from the Fisherman’s Bastion.
Chain Bridge - this famous bridge is a must visit/see. To cross it is one great experience - its structure and design is soo impressive. Ir reminded me a little bit of Brooklyn Bridge. You can also get a picture perfect view of it from the sides, and it is so magical during the dark hours with all the lights. When you will cross it to the Buda side, you will be able to easily access the Buda Castle as well. And the view from up there is just spectacular - to see the Danube river and Chain Bridge from above is just magnificent.
Great Market Hall - this is the largest and the oldest indoor market in Budapest. It opened in 1897. It is a unique building and it is quite massive. You will find all the local goods - paprika, salami, wine etc. It is easy to feel lost in there. We wanted to buy paprika salami since it is like one of the most ‘Hungarian' things ever, but there were soo many shops and options to choose from. And everything was on the expensive side although Budapest is pretty cheap - so that was a surprise. Later we went to a basic grocery store and saw the same salami they offered for 7 euros (and It was one of the cheapest options) for around 3-4 euros. And we also didn’t buy any wine at the market, but we bought a local wine bottle for 1,60 euros at a grocery store - and I am not lying when I say that it was super tasty - soo good. My mom loves wines and even she said that this wine is amazing. And the price was ridiculous. So yes, to conclude this chapter - you can visit Great Market Hall just to experience the unique feeling and atmosphere, but I do not suggest buying anything there - you can get almost everything somewhere else for much cheaper prices. I wish I knew this before I went there.
Liberty Bridge - this was one of my favourite spots in Budapest. This bridge has a pretty green colour and it is sooo beautiful. Evert few minutes an old, yellow tram crosses the bridge and the feeling is just wonderful - it makes this sound and also makes the bridge shake a bit - but not in a bad, scary way. It feels pretty cool. This bridge is a pretty popular sunset spot - you can sit on the sides of it and just watch the sunset - people are having drinks, eating snacks and just having fun there. This is also one of my favourite photo spots because the colours (bridge, tram, sunset) are just perfect and so rich. My other favourite sunset spot including this bridge was from the side of it - you can go down to the road and then sit on the edge by the river - and you will have this absolutely impressive view of the Liberty Bridge.
Szecheny Thermal Baths - what is Budapest without the thermal baths, right? At first we didn’t think of going there, but later we thought - we have to do it! It is so ‘Budapest’, so ‘Hungary' and we really wanted to try. We chose these baths since they are pretty popular and I loved them from photos - this place looks old, but it is very well kept, it has this cool, rustic feeling. When you go there, you kind of feel like in an old movie or something. This particular place is the largest medicinal bath in Europe. Its water is supplied by two thermal springs, their temperature is 74 °C and 77 °C. The baths have pools of varying temperature - he outdoor pools are 27 to 38 °C. We went in the one with 38 degrees and it was sooooo warm. Much warmer than the outside temperature - imagine when 32 degrees outside feel a bit cold after you come out of the bath. Surreal feeling. I bet this place is even more amazing during winter when it is super cold outside. It cost us 23 euros for 2 tickets and we also bought 2 pairs of slippers since you cannot enter without ones (we remembered to take our bathing suits but didn’t think of slippers) One pair of slippers cost around 8 euros there. They measure your temperature and if it is 37 or more, you are not allowed to go inside. Pretty harsh but better safe than sorry, right? I had 37 when we arrived because I am always stressed out when someone measures my temp, and we also walked pretty fast in a heat before. But if your temperature is higher than allowed, they allow you to cool off and just sit and then measure once more. The second time my temperature was back to normal, but there were a lot of people who didn’t get in. And that is a bit weird because I know that many people have 37 as a normal temperature.. But the rules are rules. Nothing you can do.
I once again would like to remind that we went to Budapest in August, when there were just a few Covid cases in Hungary. We felt really safe and we had a wonderful time. I really hope that Hungary (as well as other countries) will manage to fight through these times and soon enough we will be able to travel again
Budapest is now on the list ‘my favourite cities’ as one of the most favourite - it has the best atmosphere, it is very beautiful and affordable. When you will have the chance - do it! Go and see this amazing city I loved so much.