Budapest Travel Guide
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.
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| View from the Funicular Train |
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.
Getting to Budapest City
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.
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| Entrance to the Palace |
Where to Stay in Budapest
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.
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| Hungarian Parliament |
Sights and Attractions in Budapest
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.
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| 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.
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| Fishermans Bastion |
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.
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| Matthias Church |
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.
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| Royal Palace, Budapest |
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.
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| St Stephen's Basilica |
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.
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| Views from St Stephen's Basilica Observatory Deck |
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.
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| Dohany Street Synagogue |
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.
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| Hungarian Parliament |
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).
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| Shoes on the Danube |
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.
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| Szimpla Kert |
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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