City Break in Budapest

Trams, Funicular, River Cruises, Castles, Stunning Views, Historical Buildings & Great Food – The beautiful city of Budapest has so much to offer!

A few facts about Budapest:

Capital of Hungary.
The hilly Buda side & the flatter Pest are separated by the River Danube, the city covers 525m².
Official language: Hungarian but English is widely spoken.
Currency: Hungarian Forint (HUF) but Euros are accepted in some places

All prices correct in September 2023.
Ft = Hungarian Forint.

Budapest was the last stop on our tour through three East European cities having visited Prague & Bratislava in the preceding days. It was bustling & extremely busy at the station when we arrived in Budapest by train on a Sunday afternoon, but we had no trouble in finding a taxi to take us to our hotel, the fare was €25 (£22)

The Park Plaza hotel is situated by the River Danube on the Buda side (West Bank) of the city, our room had a balcony view across the river to the Hungarian Parliament which is stunning when lit up at night! The room was spacious, comfortable and fitted with everything we needed including a fridge, which was most welcome for cold drinks as it was so hot! Breakfast was amazing, so much choice of fresh produce!
The hotel also has a restaurant & bar, we didn’t use either, but the menu seemed varied with lovely sounding dishes.

The Buda side of the river is much quieter than the Pest side with lovely little restaurants and bars along the side streets. Several of the main & best-known attractions are also on this side of the river; The Old Town, Buda Castle – reached by funicular, Fishermen’s Bastion and Matyas Church.

Things we did on the Buda side of the river:

Funicular
Located at the end of the Chain Bridge on the West Bank, it has carried passengers up the hill to the Old Town since 1870. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. The windows in the carriages face out over the Danube giving you amazing views as you ascend. The ride lasted less than two minutes.
Open: 8am – 10pm all year round.
Price: One way – 1200 Ft (£2.70 / €3) Return – 1800 Ft (£4 / €4.60)

The Old Town:
Fisherman’s Bastion
The seven towers with their fairytale like spires make a stunning sight!, it was built 1895 – 1902 more as a lookout point rather than a fortification. The towers represent the seven Hungarian tribes that settled in the country in the 9th century. The beautiful sweeping views along the river taking in many historical sights including the Parliament building are among the most picturesque that we have witnessed during all our travels in Europe!

Matthias Church
You can’t fail to be impressed by the magnificence of this eye-catching church! Having welcomed worshippers since 1015 it has been reconstructed since then & restored in the 19th century.

Buda Castle District:

The Royal Palace
The Castle Museum and the National Szechenyi Library are housed in the Royal Palace as is the Hungarian National Gallery, easily recognized by its characteristic dome from where you will have spectacular panoramic views over the city.
The grounds are a delight of ornamental gates, fountains, sweeping steps, statues and gardens.

Sandor Palace
This has been the official residence & office of the President of Hungary since 2003. Two guards are posted at the front of the palace, there is a changing of the guard every hour.

Wandering around the Old Town, winding our way through the cobbled streets whilst surrounded by such beautiful historic architecture was both a surprise and a delight!

We walked across the newly restored Szechenyi Chain Bridge to reach the East Bank. There are beautiful views of the river, magnificent buildings and river cruisers as you walk across.

Things we did on the Pest side (East Bank):

Heroes Square
Located on Andrassy Avenue this is one of the most important squares in Budapest, its sheer size is more than impressive! Both the square and the avenue were made World Heritage Sites in 2002. An eye-catching monument in the centre of the square stands in the region of 40 meters tall including the figure of Archangel Gabriel that adorns the top.
It was built in 1896 to commemorate the millennium of the creation of Hungary.

If you are visiting Budapest, you should not miss a visit to Heroes Square!

Vajdahunyad castle
Just across the road & over the Zielinski Bridge we found ourselves in the City Park where we happened upon the fascinating Vajdahunyad Castle sat next to a boating lake. It is said to be one of the most romantic castles in the city and we could see why, it was no surprise to learn that it is often used as a wedding reception venue! It’s an amazing place & free to wander around the grounds & gardens. Just like Heroes Square & Fisherman’s Bastion it was built in 1896 as part of the millennium commemoration of the Hungarian state. It appears much older with a medieval vibe about it.

It has to be seen to appreciate the beauty of it, photos really don’t do it justice!

The Magyar Mezogazdasagi Museum (Hungarian Agricultural Museum) & library are housed in the castle.

Open Tuesday – Sunday 10am – 5pm

The Hungarian Parliament
In our opinion the Parliament building is best seen from the West Bank where the views of this magnificent building are stunning! It is located on Kossuth Square; we did have a wander around there but didn’t go into the visitor centre which is open 8am – 4pm in Spring & Winter and 8am – 6pm during the summer months.
Cost: EEA Citizens: 5,000 Ft (approx. £11) / Non-EEA Citizens: 10,000 (approx. £22)

Shoes on the Danube
Just a short walk along the promenade from the Parliament building there are 60 pairs of various men’s, women’s & children’s 1940’s style shoes made of iron & set in concrete along the edge of the riverbank.
Built in 2005 this is a thought-provoking memorial to the thousands of Jews that were shot on the banks of the Danube in the winter of 1944 /45, with their bodies falling into the river & washing away. The shoes represent their own shoes that they were forced to remove before they were shot which were stolen to be sold by their perpetrators.

City Sightseeing Tour
As anyone who reads our blogs will know we rarely take a city bus tour preferring to discover the sights on foot, but Budapest is so spread out and it was unbearably hot at 30 degrees everyday that the bus tour seemed a sensible choice to see all that the city has to offer.

We picked up the tour near the funicular stop at the end of the Chain Bridge on the West Bank. There are 20 stops on the route taking you to all the main places of interest, you can just hop on & off as you like. They run every 10 – 20 minutes until 18.00 but be warned in the summer they are popular & the buses get very crowded!
It was a good choice as some of the sights are quite a distance to walk, Heroes Square is around 5km from the Buda side which would have been a chore in the 30 deg heat!

A 24-hour ticket is 14,000 Ft (approx. £31 / €36) or a 48-hour ticket is 16,000 Ft (approx. £36 / €41)

Boat trip on the Danube
The Danube is some 2850km long (1770 miles), we have seen stretches of it in Vienna, Vac & Bratislava but the prettiest stretch we have seen was in Budapest. It’s often said that the most interesting views of a city are seen from sailing along the river, and we were not disappointed in this case!

There are several companies that operate boat trips, we picked one up along the East Bank at Dock No.6 on Vigado ter outside the Marriott Hotel.
The 60-minute trip was included in the City Sightseeing Bus Tour. You can purchase a ticket separately for 5,000 Ft (approx £11 or €13)

The boats sail on the hour from 11am until 17.00 then every 30 minutes until 21.30.
We would recommend the trip, we saw all the iconic sights, bridges & Margaret Island.

Food & Drink

Belgian Brasserie Henri
We found this lovely restaurant just a few yards from our hotel and sampled a few dishes from the varied menu during our stay, all very enjoyable:
Belly Pork & Noodles – which were more like a potato creation in a cheese sauce
Pork Knuckle with a slaw salad, homemade horseradish sauce inside a small yellow chilli pepper & Steak Chips (wedges)
Snack Plate – Deep Fried Chicken Wings and various cheeses deep fried – served with a Mango & Chilli Dip

Horgasztanya Restaurant
This was a lovely restaurant on a side street next to the hotel serving traditional Hungarian cuisine, the Chicken Paprikash with Dill Cottage Cheese Pasta was delicious!
Eating out in Budapest is really affordable, we paid on average 20,000 Ft / £45 / €52 for two main courses & 4 glasses of wine. The portions are large.

Budapest is a fascinating city with a modern vibe on the East Bank (Pest side) with its shops, museums, hotels, nightclubs and busy traffic compared with the more sedate laid-back air on the West Bank. Whatever your preferences there is something in this amazing city to suit all tastes!