Things to do in Budapest

Last year my friend and I booked a 5 day stay at Budapest with easyJet Holidays and we had such a great time!

What I liked about booking our holiday with easyJet Holidays was that with one booking you had you entire holiday sorted including flights, hotel and transport from airport to hotel and you also get a list of hotels you can pick to find the one thats suits you the best.

So here is our travel guide to Budapest…Enjoy!

Day 1

We arrived in Budapest at 9pm on a Sunday where a man with my name on it was waiting to take us to our hotel. I felt so important:D We stayed at Hotel Thomas which was pretty much in the city centre and the first thing we spotted as they dropped us off was that we had ALDI supermarket around the corner! We only opted for breakfast at our hotel, which was pretty basic as it turned out so we were glad we had a supermarket nearby for snacks etc.

Day 2

The first thing we did the next day was to a nearby metro to buy a 7 day travel card for 4950 Ft as we were there for 5 days.

TIP: Retrospectively I think we wasted our money with the travel card and should have opted for single travel trips as our hotel was so close to everything and we ended up walking to most places.

We then took a tram to the city centre to the meeting point of the Free Budapest Walking Tour. I absolutely recommend this walking tour because the tour guides were so lovely and lively and we learned so much! You also meet new people and we were able to ask lots of questions and saw most of the sightseeing attractions of Budapest.

Here are some of Budapest’s beautiful attractions:

1. Chain Bridge

2.Fisherman’s Bastion

3. Hungerian Parliament Building

4. St. Stephens  Basilica

5. Buda Castle Funicular

6. Heroes Square

7. Gellert Hill

8. Liberty Statue

At the end of the walking tour we tipped our lovely tour guides and we also received a little leaflet on free things to do, a food list and souvenir ideas! Very useful!

After the walking tour, we went to book tickets for the Danube Candlelit Dinner Cruise for the same day and Szechenyi Baths for the following day in the city centre.

The Dinner Cruise was a very good experience. After meeting at the meeting point we were all taken to the Danube River closely to our boat, which was very comfortable and modern with a dinning room area inside and a bar at the rear end. Windows and a glass roof allowed us to see the breathtaking views of Budapest at night while we had our dinner.

The food was very nice and was served as a buffet. We had such a variety to choose from! We paid 16900 HUF ( which is about £40) for a 2 hour 30 mins river cruise with a welcome drink, live music, food and the beautiful views! So well worth it!

Here is the link to the River Cruise:  http://legenda.hu/en/candlelit-dinner-cruise

Day 3

We pretty much spent our whole day at Szechenyi Baths. We went there for about 12 pm and also booked an aroma massage when we arrived. We brought with us shampoo and conditioner, shower gel, bath robe, towel, flip flops and swim cap and googles.

There is a big outdoor pool with a fountain in the middle as well as a swimming pool. Inside you can find various pools with different water temperatures. We also saw some Hungarians playing a game of chess in the bath itself, which was very interesting to watch!

TIP: After 5pm the baths gets quite crowded as there is a price reduction, so try and go earlier if you can!

Website: http://www.szechenyibath.hu

After our relaxing experience we rested in the nearby park outside Szechenyi Baths where you can also find little cafes and then decided to go onto a hunt for the famous Chimney cake (also called Kürtőskalács).

We went to the city centre to Molnar’s Kurtoskalacs, however when we went they were closed:(

Nevertheless in the end we found a stand that sold them and tried the famous cinnamon chimney cake. A must do in Budapest apparently!

Day 4

The following day we went to the Grand Circus in Budapest, for which we booked the tickets back home in London. I think we paid around £10 for a ticket each. We really enjoyed the Circus, I think the last time I went to the Circus was when I was a kid! They had elephants, horses, acrobatics (Shangdong troupe from China- they were really good), a flying act and a clown. And yes, we were surrounded by children…But it was something different to see and do in a foreign country and we really enjoyed it!

After the circus we went to the city centre to get food.

I tried the traditional Langos with bacon and for dessert we had the Somlo Cocoa Spongecake with ice cream. A dream!

Day 5

On our last day we went to the Central Market Hall. The building has three floors and its a very good place to buy fresh fruits, vegetable, sausages and some small souvenirs.Its worth looking around the different stalls to find the best price and bring cash as they don’t accept cards! I bought a beautiful wooden puzzle box with a hidden key for 3000 HUF. We also went to the supermarket to buy paprika powder! Hungarians love their paprika!

After souvenir shopping, we went to the Budapest Zoo and Botanic Garden! They had lots of animals there who also had a lot of space! We got to see sloths, which was very exciting although they were hidden and even witnessed a goat fight! We had lots of fun and entry was cheap. There were lots of places to get drinks and food from and toilets were easy to find. A definite must see if you are in Budapest!

 

 

After our zoo experience it was time to say goodbye to Budapest. We went back to the hotel, where we were picked up by a taxi (included in the easy jet holiday package) to be taken to the airport.