Due to a serious need for a city break, I booked a trip to Budapest, Hungary’s capital, for three fun-filled days at the start of spring.
Disclaimer: Lots of food was eaten on this trip, however, only one meal was Hungarian…
Day 1
After arriving late on Friday night, we started Saturday morning with a coffee and croissant from VAJ, a cute bakery and cafe that sells all flavours of stuffed croissants… and I’m not embarrassed to admit that we visited every morning of our stay to try as many as possible! These included: strawberry & vanilla, almond & berry, cinnamon, apple & walnut and pistachio, all accompanied with a latte and fresh orange juice.
Due to the drizzle, we headed for Central Market Hall, a huge double-storey market that sells all kinds of fresh food, clothes, souvenirs, and lots of paprika! We continued to walk up Váci u, a street where there were shops and cafes, leading to Vörösmarty tér which is a little square. We were lucky enough to visit at the right time for the Easter market, where independent businesses had decorated huts selling things like ceramics, chocolate, prints and jewellery.
For lunch, we visited Cafe Brunch (I recommend trying their mocha coffees) and stopped for an ice cream at Gelarto Rosa Grande, which is right next to the incredible St. Stephen’s Basilica.
After a long day of spending all our money shopping, in the evening, we had dinner at OINOS, a wine bar and bistro serving brilliant pizza, in a cosy and relaxed atmosphere.
TOP TIP: You can get a 72 travel pass, which allows you to jump onto most trams and metros throughout the city, with no need to validate! Really great value if you are going to be using a lot of public transport.
Day 2
As the sun made an appearance, we headed to the Buda side of the river to visit the Fisherman’s Bastion. As it’s a high point, it had incredible views of the river and the city over in Pest. We continued to walk up and found the National Gallery. If you didn’t fancy taking on the hills, there are cable cars near the bridge called Buda Castle Funicular to take you up.
For lunch, we visited Dionysos Taverna, a beautiful Greek restaurant that felt like it was straight out of Mamma Mia! Lots of salads, feta and pitta bread were eaten, along with fresh lemonade that can have other flavours added, such as raspberry and mint – very refreshing.
Once the sun had gone down, we headed for a walk down the river to see all the buildings lit up. The Hungarian Parliament Building is particularly impressive, especially at night, and we could see across the river to the Fisherman’s Bastion that we had visited in the morning. You can also book a river cruise if you would like a tour experience. Feeling peckish, we took the metro to the Jewish Quarter and visited Street Food Karavan Budapest as our last stop of the day. There is a range of different foods, such as loaded savoury Langos and sweet Chimney Cakes, which you can customise with different sugar coatings and cream fillings.
TOP TIP: It can be hard to get your head around the currency used in Hungary, the Hungarian Forint, as it’s more inflated than the pound, so make sure you have a converter on your phone to check the price! 500 Forint is around £1.
Day 3
Budapest is famous for its thermal baths, so on our final day, our morning was spent at Gellért Thermal Bath. There is a mix of outdoor and indoor pools, ranging from ‘ice bath’ temperature (only one of my legs made it in before I chickened out) up to a very cosy 40 degrees. It was a lovely, relaxing experience, and we were lucky to visit on a day when it wasn’t too busy.
We headed home for lunch, where we ate a range of Hungarian dishes including Káposztás Tészta (cabbage pasta), Paprikás Krumpli (paprika potatoes), roasted beetroot with sour cream and Csalamádé, which is a spicy cabbage, pepper and cucumber pickle. With so many markets in the city, dishes are usually influenced by ingredients that are in season.
Feeling fancy, we decided to visit the New York Cafe for an afternoon treat of coffee and cake. Mine was a lemon mousse cake with a chocolate and coffee centre, yum! The interiors are incredible, and we spent a lot of the time just staring at the ceiling!
For our last evening, stunning cocktails were drunk at St. Andrea Wine & Skybar, where we watched the sun go down over the city. This was followed by tapas at Felisa Tapas Bar, which is located on a street full of different restaurants and bars, so you are spoiled for choice!
TOP TIP: Make sure you take flip flops and towels to the thermal baths, plus some of the pools require you to wear a swimming cap, so come prepared!
The city did not disappoint; there was plenty to do, and it was so easy to get around and explore. Don’t leave it too late to visit, as it gets very hot in summertime (especially for us Brits!), so book that flight!
