As I mentioned earlier, I went on an Eastern Europe road-trip a few months ago, so I want to get back to writing about that after my previous posts on living like a local in Budapest and the magical Cesky Krumlov. So back to Budapest! Budapest is definitely a treasure, with its thermal baths, Danube river views, amazing food and gorgeous architecture! Everything is so inexpensive here and just fun! This would actually be the perfect place for a bachelorette/bachelor party with the fun ruins bars (see below), spa parties at the thermal baths, and island parties at Margaret Island that happen once a year I think. But Budapest is great for everyone! One thing I didn’t realize, though, is that Budapest was destroyed a lot during WWII, so many things have been rebuilt and don’t have as many “old” original buildings and structures like many other places in Europe. I didn’t really have any expectations going to Budapest, as I chose it because it fit nicely in my Eastern Europe itinerary (Vienna, Budapest and Prague are the closest European capital cities to each other, so pretty easy to do a road-trip). People seem pretty divided on their opinions on Budapest. I’ve met many people who love Budapest and many people who didn’t care for it. I absolutely adored it!
Thermal Baths
I love me some thermal baths! This was one of my favorite things when I was in Iceland, and felt the same about the baths in Budapest. There are dozens of thermal baths in Budapest. I decided to visit three of the most popular ones—Széchenyi, Rudas, and Gellért.
Széchenyi
Széchenyi was my favorite! From what I heard from other people, most people don’t love this one because it tends to be the most crowded. But it’s also the biggest (it is the biggest in all of Europe, actually)! When I was there, it wasn’t unbearably crowded. I loved the architecture of the yellow building and statues surrounding the pool and there were several different pools to choose from. This bath, along with the other two I went to, has Saturday night “sparties,” which are crazy spa parties with DJ’s and alcohol and I think they get pretty wild. Next time ;-)
Rudas
The next one was Rudas. I wanted to go to this one because it’s a traditional Turkish one from the 16th century and it is completely indoors, except for a rooftop Jacuzzi. I didn’t do the rooftop Jacuzzi, because there was a different package for that option, but I can see that being a good time, especially since it has great views of the city. Rudas has certain days that are all female, all male, and co-ed, so you have to check the schedule. The all female/male days are obviously separate days and they are nude. I went for the co-ed one where you wear a swimsuit. Rudas was decent. The pools are kind of small and there are a lot of people.
Gellért
Gellért might actually be the most famous one. They have an inside pool that is gorgeous in an Art Nouveau style, but the water isn’t heated and you have to wear a swimming cap. Also inside is a decent sized hot tub and outside they have an unheated pool and larger hot tub. This is fun for if you’re actually trying to swim and not just hang out in hot springs.
Pest Side of Budapest
The Danube splits Budapest into two sections—the Buda and the Pest side. The Pest side has more to do and has really great public transportation. Here are some of my favorite things on the Pest side!
The Great Market Hall
I love going to food markets when I am visiting a new place and I thinkkkk the Great Market Hall might be my favorite! It was actually chosen as the best market in Europe, which is no surprise with the beautiful building (it’s all indoors) and amazing food. The bottom floor has mainly produce, meat, etc that you can buy to cook at home and the top floor has a lot of food vendors. Also throughout the market, they offer cute souvenirs and paprika. Paprika in Budapest is a big thing. I’ve actually made Hungarian paprika chicken (a frequent Hungarian dish) since I’ve been back! We also tried the famous langos (fried dough).
Jewish Quarter
This was actually the first city I have been to that had such devastation of Jewish people during The Holocaust. It was surreal walking the streets where 50,000 Hungarian Jews took place in the “death march” from Budapest to Vienna L The quarter also houses the largest synagogue in Europe and second largest in the world, Dohány Street Synagogue, where 2000 Jewish people are buried.
Not too long ago, Budapest turned the abandoned apartments from that time period into ruins bars. I went to the most famous ruins bar, Szimpla Kert, which is extremely quirky. There was also a Street Food and Beer Garden randomly nearby.
Downtown
So the best view from the Pest side has to be St. Stephen's Basilica. Not only is it one of the world’s top 10 most photographed buildings, but the views of parliament and Buda Castle are jut stunning!
Near St. Stephen’s Basilica is the prettiest ice cream I ever did see! Most Instagrammed ice cream for sure! Gelarto Rosa makes rose-shaped ice cream cones. So cute!
Finally, the Hungarian Opera House is one of Europe’s prettiest Opera Houses! Since I had never been to an opera before, I was unsure about seeing one. But when I read you can buy opera tickets for $5, I figured I might as well see an opera instead of take a more expensive tour of the opera house. So it was the most random opera called, Love & Other Demons about a young girl who gets bit by a dog during a solar eclipse and becomes possessed and falls in love with a priest! It was so crazy but, y’all! I discovered that I really liked operas. And the best part? Apparently if an opera isn’t sold out, they upgrade. So we were upgraded to the front row! After only spending $5! Cultured AF, right? ;-)
Buda Side of Budapest
Are you still with me? Good. Budapest just has so many great things to write about! So now let me take you to the Buda side. To go over to the Buda side, there are several bridges, but obviously you should cross over via the famous chain bridge, which has beautiful views and really cool sculptures.
Buda Castle
At the end of the bridge, you can take a furnicular up to Castle Hill, where Buda Castle and its palace complex sits. With its medieval and baroque architecture, it is captivating and listed as a world heritage site. The castle is largely used as a museum right now, and to be honest, museums aren’t my favorite. So exploring the grounds and having some lunch views was enough for me.
Fisherman’s Bastion
So Fisherman’s Bastion is another treasure on the Buda side. It has beautiful panoramic views of Budapest and has castle-like structures that look like they could be from a fairytale. The bastion is made up of seven towers - each one symbolizing one of the seven Magyar tribes that, in 896, settled in the area now known as Hungary. There is a beautiful restaurant called Halászbástya we went to for lunch and it was perfect! They sat us up in the tower next to the window with amazing views and somehow gave us a discount which made our final bill $44 for three people for three courses. Behind Fisherman’s Bastion is Matthias Church, a gorgeous church built in 1255 and one of Budapest’s biggest tourist draws.
Hungarian Parliament Building
So the Hungarian Parliament Building is so pretty (just like everything else I’ve mentioned in Budapest, right?) and is the third largest parliament building in the world. It’s striking to look at, but we opted not to go for a tour since I’ve been to many parliament buildings and I’m sure the inside couldn’t be prettier than the outside. It is something a lot of people like to check out though.
Outside of Budapest
So when I travel to different countries, I really do like checking out smaller/less touristy cities. And I like boat rides. So what was more perfect than a river cruise to the Hungarian town of Szentendre? It’s a day trip on the water and is a really cute little town. It was nice to see more locals and to check out the shops and restaurants. One of the big things to do here is check out the Open Air Village Museum, which shows you what Hungary would have looked like at the end of the 18th century. Unfortunately, we couldn’t figure out how to get there.
So that was my time in Budapest! Go visit y'all! Oh, I forgot to mention the iced coffees in Budapest! Their ice coffees come with big scoops of vanilla ice cream and are to die for.
