MUST DO'S FOR A CITY BREAK IN BUDAPEST

ABBIE JS
Jul 22, 2017
5 min read

My boyfriend booked me a trip to Budapest for my birthday a couple of years ago, having not traveled to much of Europe before I was keen to see a new city. In hindsight October probably isn't the best time of the year to visit Budapest, we got quite unlucky with the weather and it was a constant down pour the WHOLE time. Note to self don't wear brand new suede hat in rain.

We still had a fantastic trip and I've created a list of must-do's if you are visiting Budapest for a few days.

One restaurant you must visit - Comme Chez Soi Rated #1 on Trip Advisor we decided to give this a try. As it was my birthday we wanted to book something special and it didn't disappoint. I could not fault this place whatsoever - but make sure you book up in advance. We called a couple of weeks before we arrived out of peak season and only had one option for dinner at 4pm!

The restaurant only has about 9 tables and you get your own waiter and there is literally a chef per table. The service was amazing as was the food. When we first sat down we were greeted with some little canapes. We then both went for the beef carpaccio to start which was SO much food. For the mains I went for salmon with arrabiata rice and my boyfriend had steak and chips with the best green peppercorn sauce I've ever tasted. Everything was so flavorsome and we couldn't fault a thing. Of course we had a dessert brought out with a sparkler and all waiters and chefs sang (as did the restaurant). I can't actually remember what we had for dessert as I was so full of the amazing wine I was drinking! We then were given a lemon-cello shot as well as other various drinks and nibbles before settling our bill. I'm pretty sure the whole thing came to under £60 for us both. And if we weren't stuffed (and half cut) enough we were also given a box of Belgian chocolates as we left.

Things you must do - Danube River Cruise

We did quite a bit of research before we went to Budapest as we were there for such a short time we didn't want to be using our time to work out where to go etc. We booked in for the Danube River Cruise for our last night. Unfortunately it was raining so visibility wasn't the best, but luckily we were sat by a dehumidifier, we actually dragged it to our table.. and it managed to clear the windows and we got some epic shots of the city. In the day Budapest is beautiful - but in the evening the buildings and bridges are all lit up and it looks amazing. The cruise was 2 hours and we had a 3 course meal with a bottle of bubbly. I think we paid around 50 euros pp for the cruise which was so worth it. There was also a woman singing and playing a violin which made it so relaxing. It was very romantic but we also agreed to go with another couple or a group of friends would also of been so much fun (the boat actually did fill up we were first to board).

Bars to visit - Ruin bars Budapest has an area of 'ruin bars' that are bars set up in abandoned buildings. We found them quite hard to find by using Google Maps so I would suggest either asking someone or getting a taxi directly to them. Especially if you're wearing new birthday boots and your feet are covered in blood. They don't have massive signs or loud music so they literally just look like normal houses. There are some really cool bars and places to eat in that area and all reasonably priced - would deffo recommend heading there!

In the city there are loads of restaurants all lit up and with blankets, a necessity.

Food and drink - Go explore! My boyfriend had a friend who was Hungarian who suggested we go to SAS street for some local cuisine. Now the food is REALLY rich and the portion sizes were massive, just like my belly when I got home.

This was a 'starter' of a pancake filled with mince and a super rich sauce. It was so tasty but Josh & I definitely should of shared!

This was my boyfriends main. It was deep fried steak wrapped in cheese with creamy potatoes.

I opted for Chicken with what I couldn't work out was eggs/potato side. I love trying new things but if you are fussy I wouldn't suggest going local!

We also were based right by the central market which had all different stalls of the usual tourist items, paprika is BIG here. The food inside here was average but a perfect place to stop for a light lunch while shopping.

While we were walking around we stopped for the chocolate cone below. It was like a mix between a churro and a crossiant. Whatever it was it was DELICIOUS.

We also walked completely off the beaten track to the street pictured below and had some Hungarian Soup, full of Paprika - yum!

Do the touristy things On our last morning we went up to Gellert Hill, it overlooks the whole of the city and even though the weather wasn't the greatest the views were amazing.

We also walked across Chain Bridge, its MASSIVE! Walking along the river was great and we were able to see the whole city from different angles. If you don't mind a walk (or a skip pictured below) I would suggest walking as much as you can as you really get to see a lot!

Go to Roman Bath We chose Gellert Spa as it was right by where we were staying. Because of the time of year we went not everything was open and as you can expect is was a little chilly walking to the outdoor baths. I can imagine if a little warmer these would be perfect. But I was quite happy relaxing inside next to the indoor pool and the buildings are absolutely beautiful.

Other tips

Taxis - Be careful with Taxi's as they will massively rip you off like any other city. Order from your hotel or agree a price before you get in. We felt like we were taken the long route everywhere. We also pre-booked our taxi's for the airport journey before arriving and we got a really good deal.

Hotel - If you don't plan on spending much time in the hotel (which I doubt you will as so much to do/see) just book a budget hotel that's safe and in a good location. We got a really cheap deal through Expedia. We were hardly in our hotel room and it meant we had more money to spend on doing things. We opted for a place near the market and baths as we felt these were things we wanted close whereas the chain bridge etc we could walk to when we wanted to explore.

My next trip is to Rome in 7 weeks time, we already have an itinerary at the ready (Yup, we're those people).