Szia from Budapest, Hungary!

I was craving something a little different this week, so I decided to take a bus to Budapest! I have been exploring the city as best as possible in this 100-degree heat, so I wanted to share with you all my stories and recommendations. I spent the last four nights at Budapest Bubble Hostel, the oldest hostel in the city at 18 years old! With space for only 14 guests at a time, it felt homey and easy to meet the other guests and staff. Other than having no AC, it was comfortable and the staff were helpful and kind. It also faces the Hungarian National Museum, with free gardens that I used to sit and read in the shade, and relax in the grass.

Transportation was again easy, with several different above and below-ground options, and 24, 48, or 72-hour tickets available (as well as single transport tickets). I purchased the 72-hour pass for about $15 and was able to use all systems of transport in that timeframe. Buda and Pest are separated by the Danube River, both sides offering a wide variety of activities, restaurants, and sights. There are plenty of Hungarian Cuisine options, and I saw a wide mix of other cuisines and fast food as well. One that stood out to me was Smashy’s, a burger shop growing in popularity that was delicious and only a few minutes walk from my hostel. Overall I believe most food (all charges made in Hungarian Forint) was able to be purchased with a card and ranged from $5-15, but getting a snack and drink from the grocery store was never more than $2-3. There were also several thrift stores I visited, including Humana Vintage and Cream, both chain stores around Europe.

Several of the activities I found through Get Your Guide and on Google, including a 60-minute river cruise with information about the surrounding buildings ($13), a 75-minute boat cruise with unlimited Prosecco ($26), the Children’s Museum (a super old train ride run by kids (other than the conductor!) for $2 each way), and the thermal pools. There are several thermal pools, but I chose a more local one (Lukacs Baths) for a $13 entry for the entire day, with whirlpools, saunas, and regular pools from the heated underground thermal systems. The attendees were mostly older, but I did see other younger tourists as well. Along with walking around the bridges and Margit Island (a small island with parks in the middle of the river), I also visited Buda Castle. This was an incredible viewpoint from several angles and is also home to the National Library and Gallery. I visited the Gallery, ($15) with a permanent exhibit throughout three floors and two temporary exhibits. For $15 I was given access to the permanent exhibit as well as the feature gallery of Margit Anna. The museum was huge and I was not able to see the entire thing, but could have easily spent many more hours there through the wide variety of art mediums and range of centuries.

Although I could not visit everything, there are many more art and history museums if you are interested, and a large focus on Jewish history and memorials. Many synagogues and churches can be visited as well (wearing the proper attire and sometimes for an additional fee). Much of the beautiful architecture on the riverside can also be entered with tickets, but some (like the Parliament Building) are still in use and are partially blocked off. The nightlife seems to mainly be consisting themed or older bars (Ruin Bars), which I did not check out either since I was so tired from the heat each day, but I would definitely look into if returning. In the future I would probably come back when it is a bit cooler so that walking/exploring is more enjoyable! However for now, onto Romania!

xoxo,

Ang around the World 🙂