13 must do’s in Budapest | Hungary
Discovering Budapest with one of my best friends Sien in February. Budapest is divided by the Danube river. One side is Pest and the other side is Buda. Here are my must do’s in Budapest.
Check out my Instagram for more photos!
PEST
1) Heroes’ square & shopping street
In the morning we visited Heroes’ Square and Andrássy Avenue. We also did a promenade in the city park.
Fun fact: We took the metro to get to the shopping street of Budapest. The last stop of this metro was Vörösmarty tér but my friend and I were talking so much we forgot to look at the stops. The doors closed and that’s when we realized that was the last stop. The metro eventually stopped in a dark tunnel. I immediately panicked! I searched the cabin for a buzzer and pushed it, next I opened up a window and screamed for help (panic attack). Eventually, the chauffeur passed us by and told us that we had to stay where we were because she was just changing sides to restart the metro. After this incident, we couldn’t stop laughing about it.
2) Parliament
We also went to the Hungarian parliament which is very beautiful!
3) Shoes on the Danube Bank
From there on, we walked alongside the Danube river and found the ‘Shoes on the Danube Bank’.
“The composition titled ‘Shoes on the Danube Bank’ gives remembrance to the 3,500 people, 800 of them Jews, who were shot into the Danube during the time of the Arrow Cross terror.” (Wikipedia)
4) Liberty bridge
Our hotel is near the Liberty Bridge. Make sure to visit the bridge in the evening, the lights make it more special.
5) Ruin bars
We also organized a pub crawl to visit some ruin bars which are a ‘must-do’ when you’re in Budapest. Szimpla Kert was the best one (and oldest one) of all. The ambiance was nice and the scenery was amazing. Every room had a different decor which was fun to walk through. During this pub crawl, we passed the St. Stephen’s Basilica and the Hungarian National Museum.
6) Thermal baths
In the evening we decided to take a spa day (actually spa evening). We bought ourselves some afternoon tickets for the Széchenyi thermal bath. Besides the fact that the employees could not speak English and that someone stole my towel, the experience was fantastic. I especially liked the outdoor swimming pools where the pool water is 40°C while the outdoor temperature was 3°C.
7) Market hall
Check out the architecture in the market hall but don’t be too shy to buy something! Our hostel was less than 5 minutes away from this. The supermarket is underneath the
BUDA
Buda can be done in 1 day. Here are my 5 must do’s in Buda!
1) Citadel
In the morning we climbed the citadel (in Gellert) which had a magnificent view (I could not breathe anymore but hey, I made it!).
2) Old city
We went down on the other side of the citadel, where we encountered the statue of liberty. We took a tram and ended up in the old city of Budapest. There we saw the Matthias Church, the Fisherman’s Bastion, the Gate of Vienna, the Buda Castle and so on.
3) Castle Hill Funicular
When we walked down the steps at de Buda castle we saw the Budapest Castle Hill Funicular. We were just in the middle of this railway where we could take some beautiful shots of the ascending/descending cabins.
4) Chain Bridge
We marched down further and ended up at the Chain Bridge. At that moment it was snowing (and freezing!) so we decided to take a bus back to our hostel to warm up.
5) Thermal bath in Gellert
Gellert Spa is one of the most famous due to its architecture. My parents went to this one, but they said the water smelled like copper cents.
Margaret Island
RELAX-day! We checked our guidebook and found out we had seen the most interesting things we wanted to see. So we decided to take a walk towards Margaret Island. When we took a step outside we immediately decided to take the tram (it was -2°C, TOTALLY NOT PREPARED FOR THIS). We eventually made it to Margaret Island but due to construction, we could not discover the whole island.
By purchasing through my links, you support Life of Passion at no additional cost. Thank you for your support. ♥️
Book a Bus/Train/Transfer via 12Go
Get your travel equipment via Amazon
Book Tours & Attractions via GetYourGuide
Get your travel equipment via Bol.com (Belgium/Netherlands)
2 Comments
Shweta Jain
wow! a different looking train and the castle is so beautiful
lifeofapassion
yes indeed 😍