DAY 5: BUDAPEST

13th July 2019

Best photo locations in Budapest:

o Gellert Hill -> The climb up to Gellert Hill is not as bad as it appears (there is also a bus) and provides good panoramic views across both sides of the river

o Parliament Building -> By the Parliament building, the Shoes on the Danube, in memory of the Jews shot into the Danube during WWII, is a very profound memorial and is definitely worth the visit.

o St Stephen’s Basilica -> Although this is a very impressive building, it is also right in the centre of the tourist area, so watch your bags. Most of the souvenir shops are around this area also.

o Buda Castle -> The panoramic views from both the front of the building overlooking the river and at the back, overlooking the Buda Hills are both very impressive, particularly at sunset.

o Vajdahunyad Castle -> Situated next to the Szechenyi Baths, this is a real-life fairy-tale castle, complete with its own boating lake. It can be accessed via the Metro (line M1, to Hősök tere)

o Fisherman’s Bastion

Szechenyi Baths

Visiting the baths in Budapest is a must. We decided to visit the Szechenyi Baths (http://szechenyispabaths.com/), with the iconic yellow buildings and outdoor pools regularly appearing on Instagram.

Tip #10: Buy tickets online in advance – you get in so much faster!

However, be aware that when you purchase tickets online, that in order to have an individual changing cubicle, you must pay for a ‘cabin’, and selecting only a ‘locker’ means that you will get changed in gendered main changing rooms.

The baths themselves were absolutely lovely, and though crowded, still very enjoyable. We explored the indoor thermal bath complex, the sauna section and used the outdoor baths, all of which have very warm water (ranging from 27-36°C). If you are a serious swimmer, to access the traditional swimming pool, remember to take a swimming hat with you!

We stayed in the baths for 2.5 hours, but could have easily spent more time in there – so make sure you set aside enough time to relax properly!

Tip #11: For an incredible meal, ask your Airbnb host for recommendations

We asked Julia, our host, to recommend some relatively cheap but nice restaurants, and had the best meal of our lives. Dobrumba (https://dobrumba.hu/) is a Lebanese restaurant situated in Pest (nearest metro is Deák Ferenc tér), with a beautiful décor, amazing food and great prices. We had patatas bravas, shakshuka and drinks, for the equivalent of 15 € for both of us. If we hadn’t asked someone with local knowledge, we would have missed an incredible dinner, so we would thoroughly recommend asking around to escape the tourist restaurants and to get an authentic experience!

Tip #12: Visit the Fisherman’s Bastion at 7pm and PAY to go up the towers

This may seem oddly specific, but it is absolutely worth it. The Fisherman’s Bastion, in the summer months (from May 1st-15th October), has an entry fee from 9am-8pm. When we arrived at 7pm, everybody there was waiting until 8pm to access the upper towers, in order to get in free. We paid to go up (for discount tickets, around 1.5€ and 3.5€ for adults) and were the only people up there. We had the entire walkway and towers to ourselves for about 20 minutes, before others began to catch on – but if you are planning to visit the Bastion, you may as well wait until as late as you possibly can in the paying times, as nobody else will pay to go up!