Budapest, Hungary

Wow, Budapest, what a beauty of a city! I loved it so much.. why? Culture, Architecture, Food, Bars, Clubs and the people were so lovely.

The autumn colours, the sunshine beating down along the delightful Danube, what a sight to behold! The vistas were out of this world!

We flew from London Gatwick via Norwegian and flew back via Easyjet. We visited for three days and this was not enough. We didn’t get to use a thermal spa!

We stayed with Welcome Apartments in the Jewish Quarter, the apartment was fantastic!

Great location, well equipped, clean and welcoming. Every location in Buda and in Pest was half an hour walk away. Supermarkets and bakeries were on our doorstep.

Trust me, you do not need a Budapest card or travelcard. If you like to amble, just stop, take in the view and amble some more. The Budapest Card helps if you want discounts into the Museums then please do look into it.

Being the organised one, I had booked the Danube Night River cruise before we left the UK. I went with Legenda, a professional boat trip that did a loop of the Danube and the buildings lit up at night were so beautiful! It was better to go on a weeknight so you could take in the view and not the crowds. It is best to do this on a weeknight than the weekend. Included with the Night River Cruise ticket, there is a glass of champagne or if you prefer a beer or soft drink.

The nightlife is fun in Budapest, there are many bars to visit and wine bars boasting the best Hungarian wines. All reasonable if you avoid the tourist traps! We went visited Karavan where there were some Street Food trucks too.

We then visited Szimpla, a Ruin Bars experience, lots to see and behind every nook you would see something different such as a different bar and theme. There were Shisha Bars, Cocktail Bars, Black and White Cinema films in the outside terrace and lots more!

The next day, we took ourselves on a walking tour, we took in Buda. Buda is the hilly section of Budapest, so make sure no stilettos are worn as the streets are cobbly!

We walked to Gellert’s Hill…

The vista was beautiful and we saw…

The gorgeous autumnal colours and the leaves on the ground!

We visited the Castle Bazaar and Buda Castle, wonderful vistas and all free to walk around. You can see changing of the guard and get a refreshment if you wish.

The walk up to Buda Castle was fun, the sun was beating down and we saw this:

We then visited the Fisherman’s Bastion:

The view is lovely, I don’t think you need to pay to walk along the turrets as you would have got that view for free from Buda Castle and Gellert’s Hill. At Fisherman’s Bastion there is a beautiful Church with wonderful tiles on the roof.

After this, we had some Hungarian Goulash and some Hungarian wine, we walked down the hill and took in the view of the Chain Bridge.

That evening, we went to some local wine bars and met wonderful fun people. Drinks were reasonable as was the food.

We went to a club called Instant which was fun, lots of stages, DJ rooms and it had an eclectic feel.

The next morning, we went to Budapest Parliament and went on a tour which I had booked a few weeks ago. These tours are popular so book ahead and you can select if you want the tour in English or Spanish. I thoroughly recommend it!

We then walked along the Danube and took in the Shoes on the Danube which is a Holocaust Memorial along the Danube Riverbank. It is dedicated to those from the Jewish Community in Budapest who were murdered. This is so moving and so sad.

Afterwards we strolled around the sights and taking in the views and what nightlife the city had to offer.

There is everything for everybody and the city is safe to walk around. See below, some street art dedicated to the inventor of the Rubix Cube who is from Budapest.