Back in May, I took the opportunity to go on a mini-break with my boyfriend to Budapest. It was both of our first times in Eastern Europe, and it did not disappoint. Budapest, Hungary’s capital, is divided by the River Danube. with the chain bridge connecting ‘Buda’ with ‘Pest’.

As with our last trip away to Naples (click to read my Naples Travel Guide), we’d managed to secure ourselves a great deal from Jet2, which involved flying from Manchester on a Sunday afternoon and flying back on Thursday evening. This gave us 4 nights and 3 full days of sightseeing, with a free morning to explore before heading back home. 

Budapest uses the Hungarian Forint as their local currency, so we’d exchanged this at the post office ahead of our trip. £1 got us 351 HUF, so I will use this for reference when costing out our excursions.  Based on our research ahead of the trip, we’d budgeted £225 each for food & excursions but managed to trade back £50 each at the airport, meaning we only spent £175 each for the 4 nights. I wouldn’t usually suggest trading currency back, but as the exchange rate had changed whilst we were away, we were better off trading our currency at the airport than we would have been trading back at the airport.  Alternatively, many of the excursions and restaurants we visited accepted card, so taking a master card such as Monzo is a great way to keep track of your spending, without being left with unwanted currency at the end of your trip. I used Monzo on a more recent trip and it worked perfectly. 

 

Once we landed in Budapest, a flight that lasted just over 2 1/2 hours, we headed to the city centre. Getting from Budapest Airport to the city centre proved straight forward. We simply walked out of the arrivals terminal, turned left and within 200m, was the bus stop that took us directly into Budapest centre. We caught the 100E bus that is a direct shuttle bus between Liszt Ferenc (Budapest) International Airport and Deak Ferenc ter in the city centre, with a stop at Kalvin Ter M. Heading towards the city from the airport, we bought our tickets on the bus (900 HUF each/ £2.68), however on our return journey, we purchased these from a machine by the bus stop. It's worth noting that if you do this, it must be stamped before using it to authorise the ticket.

As part of our Jet2 deal, we decided to stay at the Three Corners Hotel Anna. The hotel was 3 Stars but was clean and modern, and quiet too - I couldn’t tell the difference between our hotel and a 4 star. Situated approximately 20 minutes walk from the centre, we were easily able to get to the key sights on foot, without the need to use public transport, though the option was still there should you wish to use the tram. Our package included breakfast, which meant that we were well fed enough to only require a snack lunch from the supermarket, which were affordable to buy from.

When in Budapest, there are a number of both free and paid attractions you can visit. If you are travelling on a tighter budget, many of the buildings in and around Budapest are as beautiful outside as they are inside. We decided to explore a range of the free and paid attractions that Budapest has to offer, my personal favourites being the St Stephens Basilica, the Szenchenyi Baths and Fishermans Bastion.

BUDA

Funicular Train (1800 HUF Return - £5.13): When exploring Buda, we opted to take the Funicular inclined railway to take us from Adam Clark Square and the Széchenyi Chain Bridge at river level up to Buda Castle. I believe, should you wish to, there is a path to walk up the bank, however, as we had allocated budget to, we took the train. The journey itself was only a couple of minutes and cost us 1800 HUF for a return ticket, or alternatively, you can buy a one-way ticket for 1200 HUF(£3.42). For the length of time you are on the train, the ticket price is overpriced, however, it saved us the hassle of climbing the hill and saved us time, so it's definitely worth putting some HUF aside for this.

 

 

Fishermans Bastion (Adults 1000 HUF, Students 500 HUF, £2.85 / £1.42): 

The buildings at Fisherman’s Bastion are beautiful and one of the many buildings that attracted me to visit Budapest. We paid to walk along the towers of Fisherman’s Bastion, but its worth saying that there are parts of the tower you can walk along for free, and there are even certain days that it is completely free of charge to visit the towers and terraces of Fisherman’s Bastion, namely any day between October 16 and March 15. We opted to pay 500 HUF to walk along the upper towers and turrets of Fishermans bastion, to get a slightly different perspective of the city, but this isn’t necessary. For 1000 HUF, however, its a very small fee to pay. Otherwise, the easiest way to get to the free parts of the Fisherman’s Bastion is from the Matthias Church. Just walk to the balconies on the left-hand side, behind the church, to enjoy the views.

Matthias Church (Adult 1800 HUF, Student 1200 HUF, £5.12 / £3.41): Within the Castle District is Matthias Church, the most visited Roman Catholic church in Budapest, located in front of Fishermans Bastion. heart of Buda's Castle District. The church is stunning both inside and out, and for your admission fee, you are welcome to walk around both upstairs and downstairs in the church.

Buda Castle (Free): 

Buda Castle is the historical castle and palace complex of the Hungarian kings in Budapest. You can walk around these grounds free of charge 24/7, however, it is here that you will find the National Gallery and Budapest History Museum.

 

Cave Church @ Gellert Hill (600 HUF, £1.70): 

On our way up Gellert Hill, we decided to pay a visit to the Cave Church. The Cave Church was built into the rocks and caves of the Gellért Hill and established by Pauline monks. Thanks to its unique structure and location, the Church Cave is one-of-a-kind and makes this well-worth visiting.  For the small admission fee, you can follow a short audio guide around the church to better understand its features.

 PEST

 Hungarian National Museum (ADULT 1600 HUF, STUDENT 800 HUF, £4.56 / £2.28). With my boyfriend Dan being an Archaeology student, it was only right that we stopped by at the Hungarian National Museum, the national museum for the history, art and archaeology of Hungary. Being students, we were able to get a discount off our admission and spent a good few hours exploring the varied exhibits. The museum is definitely something worth visiting on a rainy day ( of which there were a few during our May visit).

 

Szechenyi Baths (5800 HUF - £16 -Entry Locker Cubicle): When visiting Budapest it’d be rude not to visit the baths. If you do, do not make the mistake I did when it comes to renting towels. If you are hoping to rent a towel, avoid renting ’bath sheets’. These are not the large fluffy bath towels you may expect, but instead, better resemble a bedsheet. Instead, make sure you rent a bath towel, these can be rented with a returnable deposit of 2,000 HUF (£5.70) and a towel rental fee of 2000 HUF (£5.70) to get a smaller, but thicker and fluffier towel than the bath sheet)). Payment for the rental is cash only, in HUF. Alternatively, you are more than welcome to take your own towels to the bath to save yourself the money and hassle of renting. Having only travelled with a small hand luggage case and not wanting to lug around a wet towel all day after visiting the baths, we had factored the cost of towel rental into our budget.

 

St Stephens Basilica (600 HUF - £1.70): Of all the attractions I saw during my stay in Budapest, this was definitely up there as one of my favourites and was one of the most affordable. A Roman Catholic Basilica on the Pest side of Budapest, St Stephens is the third-largest church building in present-day Hungary. As with all of our excursions in Budapest, we simply walked up and paid on the day. The Basilica has a suggested donation of 600 HUF and should you wish to climb the steps up to the top of this basilica, something I would strongly recommend, then this will set you back 500 HUF (£1.40). By climbing the 364 steps up to the top, you will be able to take in the beautiful, panoramic views of Budapest  from the observation deck.

 

 

Dohany Street Synagogue (2000 HUF - £5.70): The Dohány Street Synagogue, also known as the Great Synagogue is located in Erzsébetváros, the 7th district of Budapest, on the Pest side of the Danube. The great synagogue is the largest synagogue in Europe, the second-largest in the world and the first synagogue I’d ever visited. The entrance fee was one of the more expensive of our trip and offered limitations to its EU / student discounts, something we’d taken advantage of at other locations around the city. 2000 HUF each allowed entry into the synagogue and opportunity to visit the Jewish Museum adjoining the synagogue. The Synagogue can be visited during weekdays. It is closed on Saturdays and for Jewish holidays. 

 Other Attractions: Along with the paid attractions, there are also great things to see that don’t require spending any money. The Great Market Hall (Open every day except Sunday)is a great place to visit to try local cuisine, buy souvenirs or simply have a mooch around. Whilst we were at the Great Market Hall we decided to try one of Hungary’s national drinks ‘Unicum’ Liqueur, a dark and bitter liqueur filled with herbs and spices but instantly regretted our decision. We also loved exploring the Royal Palace Gardens, situated within the Buda Castle Region, visiting the moving Shoes on the Danube monument,.This monument was created on the east bank of the Danube River to honour the Jews who were killed by militiamen in Budapest during World War II.  and walking the Hungarian Parliament Grounds. We hadn’t booked ahead for the parliament, but would have loved to have toured inside (which can range from 1600 - 5200 HUF per person).

Food & Drink

If you are going to Budapest, a visit to the ruin bars is a must. Szimpla Kert is one of the best, and one of the oldest, and is well worth a visit. We went in the afternoon which meant the atmosphere was relaxed, but visit in the evening and there is the opportunity to experience the live music and bustling atmosphere it is well known for.

If you’re looking to try traditional Hungarian food, I’d recommend checking out the Ladó Café. A traditional restaurant, serving dishes such as goulash & beefsteak, alongside the meals the restaurant has live jazz music every evening from 8 pm - 10 pm. I’d recommend trying the Hungarian stuffed cabbage.

Alternatively, if you are wanting the ultimate ‘Instagram’ restaurant, I’d recommend the food from Vintage Garden. With HUF to spare on our last night, we decided to treat ourselves to a three-course meal from here and were not disappointed.

Have you been to Budapest? What was your favourite sight?

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