Budapest - Hungary
"The most beautiful in the world is, of course, the world itself." -Wallace Stevens
Budapest is the Capital of Hungary. The city name is a composition of the names of two cities that are divided by the Danou River - Buda & Pest. Buda is the part with the beautiful mountains, the Budapest castle etc. whereas Pest is the flat part where the parlament among others is located.
This weekend of January my husband and I went to visit Budapest for the first time. We had a late plane to catch and landed in Budapest airport around 23.40 pm. When we got to the airport we got on a 30 minute bus ride to the main central station Deák Ferenc tér. Here we stopped by to get some pizza before we continued towards our hotel. The hotel was located less than a 5 minutes walk from the central station. After spending less than 30 minutes at the hotel we decided to take advantage of the busy Hungarian night life and experience some of the city by foot. We walked for less than ten minutes and found a great hookah lounge, where we enjoyed soda and hookah before we went back to the hotel, to prepare for the next day.
Hotel
The hotels in Budapest are inexpensive compared to Denmark and many other European countries. We had booked for two nights at the 4star rated hotel Ambra. Ambra hotel is located less than a 10 minute walk from the main station and you have several of restaurants, cafees, bars and even supermarkets within just outside the door.
The hotel offers complimentary breakfast from 7-10 along with cute and cozy hotel rooms furnished with an antique touch.
Among others you find complimentary water in the rooms and even better, like never seen before (atleast I havent) a smartphone to carry with you as a city map/guide. The smartphone has internet access and allows you to call national as well as international calls, and the best part - free of charge. A smartphone pall, for your trip around Budapest. This is the best convenient service, I have ever come across. Besidde that, the check in was easy, and the receptionist extremely polite. All around a great place and totally recommendable!
Restaurants
Around Budapest there are many restaurants. First of all, one of the famous places to visit and bucketlist potential is the great, beautiful and Amazing New York Cafe. It has the most beautiful inside architecture and live violin music. They offer dinner and dessert and so much more.. worth a visit!
Planet sushi, is also among the best sushi places in Budapest. We tried the one near Oktogon station, but they have a few. Very delicious and fresh made sushi and reasonable prices.
Vapiano, is one of my favorite pasta spots ever. If you've read my other posts you'll see that I always try to find one and in Budapest I did!
Transportation
When we landed in the airport, as in every other airport, transportation was a hazzle. There are several ways to get from the airport to the city. They have several stands and companies offering private transportation to your hotel. There is busses and taxis as well.
So we arrived at the Airport in Budapest, going to the city centre. From the Airport you can take bus 100E. Beware that you have to purchase an airport ticket to ride this bus. The ticket is only valid for this particular bus and cannot be combined with your further trip.
Additionally it is quite easy to get around in Budapest, by foot, bus and train. If you live in the center almost everything is in walking distance, however transportation is also cheap and easy.
Where to go?
Budapest has a lot to offer. As mentioned above, the New York Cafe is both a great place for dinner or dessert but also for sightseeing. Furthermore you can take a trip up in the mountains to watch the beautiful buildings and architecture of Fisherman Bastion and Budapest Castle. Go at night at get the most stunning view over the lake and the beautiful city.
The Parlament is also a very famous building for tourists to visit which is also stunning architecture. If you're visiting during Winter: Heroes' Square Ice skating is a remarkable place to go. Its among the best in Europe and is very beautiful, especially when it gets dark.
The Central Market Hall is an indoor market that offers traditional food and souvenirs and is a place worth visiting as well.
On a bad weather day or if you just need shopping visit the Allee Shopping Mall. You'll have many shops, restaurants, a supermarket and even a big cinema right by your hand. For outdoor shopping visit Vaci utca.
Budapest Eye, is a ferries wheel located on the central station Deák Ferenc tér. Its quite small compared to others I've tried, but its nice at night and gives you a wonderful view.
If you like to go out by night, the Habibi shisha is a cozy place to stay. They serves hookahs, and drinks and has a very young atmosphere. Beware that in weekends the spot is pretty crowded from around 18-23.
Budapest Baths is among the most visited and famous attraction there is. You can find them several places in Budapest.