Moments of Budapest (TONS of Pictures)

Budapest is one of the top destinations in Europe. It is a great city positioned on the Danube River, which offers unforgettable experiences and memories once you get to know and to visit it.We, me and my sister, decided for a long weekend in Budapest, which allowed us to be together like a family, beside enjoying, relaxing and exploring the city.

There are several possibilities to go from Vienna to Budapest, like by bus, by train or by car. The road takes approximately 3-4 hours. We decided for the bus, which costed 17 euros one way. Once arrived there, we started to look for the hotel. In Budapest you can get very cheap hotels, and a great service for less money. We stayed at Expo Congress Hotel, which costed like 25 euros per night per person. I, like most of you, am always looking for a good stay, with breakfast included, with a great location and nice people. The hotel was located 7 min from the metro station, it had very tasty and rich breakfast included, sky bar, wellness, sauna and many other services. We stayed on the 8th floor, which offered us a great view. The room was clean and spacious, warm and quiet. I was very satisfied and enjoyed staying at Expo Congress Hotel.

Budapest has many amazing places, from the fascinating parliament building, to Buda Castle, the Chain Bridge, museums of all kind and statues spread out through the whole city. We managed to see all the main attractions, but I must say 2 days was not enough to explore all the beauty of Budapest, but it was enough to get the taste to decide to come again. Therefore, here are some things to do in Budapest :

1. Take photos of the many bronze statues spread out through the city of Budapest.

2. The Parliament of Budapest. This is by far the most amazing building I have ever seen in my life. It is breathless.

3. Walk on the Chains Bridge, day and night 🙂

4. Cross the bridge and climb up to the castle for a panoramic view over Budapest

5. Once you get on the top, take your time to walk around and enjoy the view. There are a bunch of terraces with great food. There is a 15 min walk from The Buda Castle to the Mathias Church. But before you get there you will have to see more statues 🙂

6. The Mathias Church

7. Walk through the Budapest markets, and eat Kürtőskalács as much as you can. They are delicious, we recommend the cinnamon ones.

8. The Shoes on Danube- a fascinating view, and a sad story

9. Enjoy the Hungarian cuisine and try the Trofea Grill Restaurant. While walking around the city center and the hunger getting to us fast, we ended up to meet the Trofea Grill. It was full of people. You cannot take menu, but if you still decide to stay and enjoy the all inclusive you will not regret. They offer a variety of dishes mainly from Hungarian cuisine, but also a barbecue stand, where you  can choose the meet and vegetables, cheese and then they will prepare it for you. It costs 6000 HUF on weekends and holidays but it deserves every cent.

 

10. Spend some hours on an island, the Margit Island. There are not so many activities and things to see, but in case you have some hours to walk and relax, the island is a great idea. We ate Langos and swang.

 

12. Enjoy the thermal baths, which are one of the main attractions in Budapest. The two most famous are Gellert and Szechenyi Thermal Baths. The last day we decided to go and to see for ourselves what is so specific of these baths, and I ended up not wanting to leave.

13. Easter markets in Budapest are traditions based and carry many authentic things. When we climbed up to the Citadel we found an Easter Market and it was nice just to walk around and admire the artisans painting eggs, braiding using twigs.

Budapest is a must see, and it is easy to reach while makes it a great destination for a long weekend. It is huge in terms of attractions, unique in terms of the Hungarian cuisine, rich in terms of statues and architecture, cool in terms of recreation and so on and so forth.

Thank you Budapest for being our host for our first trip in 2016. It was a great start.