There's something so enticing about a city break in Europe, and I'm lucky enough to live in London where it's unbelievably easy to hop on a flight anywhere (often costing less than it would for me to just go home for the weekend!), and Budapest was always high on the list. I'd heard it was cheap, beautiful, and to me, a weekend in Budapest sounded so chic...
Turns out, it's just as alcohol-fuelled as everywhere else in Europe!
I went there with two of my friends for a long weekend, a kind of 'mini hen' for my soon-to-be-married friend, and an early birthday for the other. Turns out, it's actually the go-to destination for stag dos - I've never seen so many wasted men in dresses in my life!
RUIN BARS
The top of everyone's to-do list, and for good reason. Budapest has a ton of hidden bars in old ruined buildings, where you can go and drink wine for as little as 70p. Dangerous! Guess who took full advantage of that on her first night? 🙋🏻♀️ I think that's why they really call it a ruin bar!
Anyway, make sure you gather a list of a few bars and go on a crawl. We were staying in district 7 so we just stayed in that area. The best ruin bar for me was Szimpla. It's got a great atmosphere, and loads of cool and quirky little rooms - it's like wandering through a trippy maze. Definitely recommend!
BUDA CASTLE
On the Buda side of the river is an entire village within the grounds of a castle. It's like something from a fairytale (or from Shrek, as my friend pointed out). The buildings inside are beautiful, and you could easily wander around there for a few hours. It's even got the House of Houdini, if you're feeling magical. We weren't - we were feeling large gins in a place called the Hungarian Kitchen. Obviously.
THE BATHS
Hop on the metro and head to the thermal baths - we went to Schezenyi Baths. A daily ticket with locker usage cost us 6,200 Ft (approx £15). I'm going to give my honest opinion, sitting indoors in a thermal bath for hours is not my idea of fun, it's also a bit weird - you're essentially sitting in a big bath with strangers. But it has to be done, and the main thermal bath looks beautiful. It's also pretty cool to imagine the past - a bunch of Hungarian men chilling out, playing chess, in a big bath. Did I say cool? Not sure that's the right word, but, whatever... it's history.
The outside was better, just a couple of big pools you can hang out in (one has a whirlpool) I'm a big kid, so of course I was straight in there. But again, I can't just sit around in a pool without getting bored. So we spent our last couple of hours soaking up the sun, the views, and some beer. Disclaimer: It's all about the alcohol in Budapest.
I think it would have been way more up our street to attend a 'spa-rty', which is exactly what it sounds like... a night party, in the spa.
EAT
Always top of the agenda - food. I make a point of always trying the local cuisine, so I was straight on it with the Goulash. My top tip is go to the little street food place 'Karavan' and order the Goulash there, because it comes in a hollowed out crusty bread bowl, with the bread on the side. When I ordered mine at a restaurant, it came in a dish. I was SO upset (first world problems, but - carbs).
When I visited Karavan I got a bread cone full of sausage, cheese, and all sorts of toppings - I'm not sure what the name of it is. Also highly recommend (with a side of wine, of course). The great thing about this place is it's right next to Szimpla, so the perfect place to start your bar crawl and line your stomach!
And there we have it, a nifty 48 hour travel guide, and an easy-to-follow list of things to do in Budapest. I know it's not an intense itinerary if you're wanting to squash in as much as possible, but I tend to only do that when I'm travelling on my own as it's way less stressful - I can't imagine my friends being happy being dragged around from place to place when they just want to chill. This trip was all about rest, relaxation and ruin bars... and it was great!
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