I started out my adventure in Budapest by taking tram 2 that goes up and down the river and provides great views of the city. It actually felt like an enjoyable ride instead of being stuck on public transportation! I instantly fell in love with the beautiful city of Budapest. Did you do that Budapest was formerly two cities until 1873? They still have two very distinctive feels to them. Buda on the West side which houses the Castle district and is very hilly. It is generally a little quieter and where the posh people live. Pest lies on the East Side of the River and is very flat. It is bit more lively and famous for the Ruin Pubs nightlife. It also houses the Parliament and Shoes on the Danube Bank memorial. You can find more reasonable prices for food on the Pest side of the River particularly in the Jewish district.
Day 1:
Liberty Statue: I was unsure of what to do on my first day since my friend, Ty, was meeting me that night and most of the things on my list of things to do in the city were also on his. I decided to hike up to Liberty Statue on Gellert Hill for a good view of the city.
While looking at the pictures above, you can see a good overview of the city. But honestly, it wasn’t worth the hour-long uphill hike up to the top. The hike was basically straight uphill. I wouldn’t suggest wasting your precious time in Budapest climbing the hill. Instead I would head to Fisherman’s Bastion for spectacular views of the city plus some interesting sites as well.
St. Stephen’s Basilica: After my hike, I walked around the city for a while and then stumbled upon St. Stephen’s Basilica and decided that I might as well climb another thing to see views of the city. It was a small fee of 500 HUF (~$1.80USD*) to climb to the observation deck. If you are short on time, this is something you could cut out of your itinerary even though I did enjoy it.
Shoes on the Danube Bank: After that, I walked along the Danube and ran across the Memorial, Shoes on the Danube Bank. It was built in memory of the people who were killed in World War II. People were forced to take off their shoes and then shot at the edge of the water. Their bodies fell into the river and were washed down the river. The shoes represent those people whose shoes were actually left at the river.
Hungarian Parliament Building: Just a quick walk up from the Memorial is the Hungarian Parliament Building so I went to take a closer look. It is a beautiful building and worth a look around. I also took a quick tour of the Parliament but more on that later.
Day 2:
Free Walking Tour: We started out our day with a 10:30 am free walking tour called, The Original Walk. It was through the company called Free Walking Tours. I really enjoyed our guide, Zoltan. He was lively throughout the tour and had a handlebar mustache, if you get a choice then pick him as your guide! This three-hour tour stared at Vörösmarty square at the Lion Fountain on the Pest side of the river. He guided us through the Pest side and we concluded the tour on the Buda side at Fisherman Bastion. He gave us great recommendations and we loved the restaurant he suggested. We liked him so much that we almost took his 2:30 Jewish Quarter Tour on that same day but we had too much to see on the Buda side.
Fisherman’s Bastion: If for nothing else, you have to go to Fisherman’s Bastion for the killer views of the city and the famous Instagram photo that you see everyone post.
Hospital in the Rock: Next we visited a museum called Hospital in the Rock. It is a hospital that was created in the caves and cellars under Buda Castle in the 1930’s and as a safe place during World War II to nurse the soldiers back to health. The only option to visit the museum is to take the 1 hour guided tour which cost 4,000 HUF or (~$14.31 USD*).
I had never been to anything quite like it. They used wax figures throughout the museum to showcase what it was actually like in the bunker during World War II. They had to cram patients into the room by shoving two beds together and put three patients on those beds. The poor patient in the middle would have his head at the foot of the bed and facing the other two patients so their feet would be in each other faces. They also had patients lying on the floor to get everyone in. Even though it is naturally cool down there, it was pretty hot with so many people in a confined area. They also showcased the medical instruments used during that time.
I may have missed some commentary during the tour because I got a little confused at the next part of the tour. All of the sudden, we were in a whole exhibit dedicated to Hiroshima and the devastation that occurred due to the atomic bomb. The only thing we could piece together was that since they had reopened the bunker during the Cold War to protect themselves against Nuclear War so that they wouldn’t be devastated like Hiroshima was. This was about the last 10 minutes of the tour and was interesting but seemed out-of-place. Overall, I found the museum very interesting and worth a visit.
Buda Castle: Next we wandered around the Buda Castle area just seeing what we would stumble across.
All you can drink Booze Cruise: There is a Monday and Friday night Booze Cruise on the Danube River leaving at 10pm. You must pay in cash, it was 10,500 HUF or (~37.50 USD*) for the all you can drink option. The website lists an option to pay for just two drinks but we didn’t see them offering that option when we got there.
Full disclosure: I think Ty and I were the only 2 people over 30 on the cruise. The cruise was really focused on the all you can drink party whereas my granny self wanted to actually enjoy seeing Budapest all lit up at night. When did I get so old?!? It took me a couple of glasses of champagne to start to get into the party spirit with everyone else. I was really glad we took the cruise for the views but I suggest having a couple of drinks before boarding the boat since everyone else onboard had. A couple of pre-drinks will make it much more enjoyable!
Day 3:
Parliament Building Tour: A tour of the Hungarian Parliament is 6000 HUF or (~$21.40USD). These tickets do need to be purchased in advance as they do sell out. Our only option was an early morning tour or to take a tour in another language. I vetoed Ty’s request to take the tour in Italian instead so he could sleep in another hour. Overall the Parliament is a beautiful building on both the inside and outside. You also get to see the Crown Jewels (which they didn’t allow photos of) but I found my our tour guide very boring and monosyllabic. If you are short on time or money, then I would skip this.
Jewish District Walk: After the Parliament tour, we decided to take another Free Walking Tour this time of the Jewish District Walk for two hours. It started out by taking us to Europe’s largest Synagogue which was unfortunately closed that day. Just outside of the Synagogue, we did get to see to the Tree of Life Memorial in honor of 5,000 Jewish Holocaust Victims of Budapest that are buried in the area.
After the dark part of the tour talking about the dark side of the Jewish history in Budapest, they lighten up the tour by showing some graffiti art, places to eat, and the famous Ruin Pubs.
Budapest Bath Time: Budapest is famous for their Baths. While there are plenty of choices, most tourist choose to either visit the more traditional bath of Gellert Bath or the more modern Szechenyi Bath with outdoor baths. We originally tried to go to Gellert Bath but we arrived too close to closing time so the next day we decided to try our luck at Szechenyi instead. It was 5,200 HUF or ~18.58USD* for a ticket to enter the Bath and a locker to store your stuff. You need to either bring a towel or rent one for a small fee. Everywhere online tells you to buy a special fast track ticket online for more money to skip the lines but we only had two people in front of us when we visited. However during the peak summer months, it may be worth it.
After a week of traveling and walking 8-15 miles a day, I was in desperate need for a quality massage. I tried to just buy a massage from the ticket booth but their next opening was for 4 hours later and I wasn’t sure that we would be there for that long. I guess this is where pre-booking would have come in handy. So I ended up paying 12000 HUF or ~$45 USD* for a Thai massage inside the Hungarian Bath House, ironic right? If you haven’t had a Thai Massage, they use their whole body to pull and stretch you and dig into your knots. It can be a little painful at times but worth all the knots in your body disappearing afterwards and the relaxing feeling when you are finished. It was worth every penny that I spent for it.
Szechenyi Bath House consists of 18 pools of various sizes and temperatures ranging from 64 to 100 °F. The pools are filled with thermal spring water with the purpose of have healing effects on your joints. There are 3 bigger pools located outside and another 15 inside. We made it our mission to go pool hopping and try all of them. Some pools were freezing cold and I couldn’t even put my whole body in while others felt like a hot tub. My time at the Bath House was one of the highlights and a must if you are visiting the city! After running around trying to see as much as possible, it was nice to sit back and relax and the weather outside was perfect.
Food:
Langos – Hungarian food that is a deep-fried dough. They usually serve it with sour cream and cold cheese on top. It is a version of pizza for them. I have to say that I thought I would love this but it was just too much for me.
Langos Burger – I decided to give it another try in the form of a burger. Instead of hamburger buns, they use the Langos. I did like this much better than the original.
Goulash – The Hungarian version of Goulash is more like a soup instead of the hearty stew that I had in Prague.
Chicken Paprikash: This Hungarian dish is named for its’ abundance of Paprika in the dish. It is commonly served with noodles. It was Ty’s favorite meal of the trip.
Restaurant: Gettó Gulyás is located in the Jewish Quarter and was recommended by our tour guide. They serve traditional Hungarian meals at cheap prices. We were lucky that we came early enough to get a table. We kept seeing them turn away guests because they were fully booked for the night.
For Dessert: I came across a huge line a t a Gelato store called Gelarto Rosa right by St. Stephen’s Basilica and soon saw why. They shape their cones into roses. I wasn’t sure if it would be tasty but I am sucker for food with a fun presentation. The line was worth the wait. The gelato was amazing!! I had Raspberry, Oreo, Chocolate, and Caramel. Raspberry and chocolate were my two favorite flavors. If I more time in Budapest, I would have come back for more gelato!
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