We were lucky enough to be blessed with some good weather whilst we were in Budapest so before we partook in any serious activities we chilled at Elisabeth Square which looked amazing!
If you hadn't of guessed by now... I absolutely love a free walking tour! I just think it's best way to see the city, especially if the tour guide is passionate and local because you get to see city in a different light than if you explored on your own.
We decided to go on the Tourist Angel tour because simply the leaflet was in our hostel. We did plan on going on the 10:30 Pest+Buda Tour however after the long day of travelling we may have slept through this so went to the Pest tour at 2:30 instead. Once we got here, we found out we were the only people on the tour which we were a bit apprehensive about because well it could have been very awkward. However, it turned out to be really good because the tour was then personalised to us.
Overall we managed to see:
- Danube Fountain, Elisabeth Square
-Lucky Policeman
-St Stephen Basilica
-Parliament
-And Much More
From the advice of our tour guide we took the walk to Margaret Island to see the famous water fountain there. The fountain itself is very impressive and then every hour should put on a show with lights and a mixture of modern and classical music. However, the show does not start on the hour so don't be put off if it is a little bit late. Unfortunately, there was no music at our show but it was still impressive and the scenery was really impressive.
On our way to and from the island we managed to get some beautiful pictures of Budapest including the first picture on this post and the following...
I think the photos really show the beauty of Budapest!
Free Walking Tour Part 2
This was the original tour we meant to go on and included some of hoe more impressive sights like the Prague castle and Mattias Church so we decided to go along. Overall it was a good tour, our tour guide was not as good as the previous but it was still interesting. If you don't like a steep walk, maybe give this tour a miss because to get to the royal palace you have to walk. I am unsure if there are metro/ tram services that take you there otherwise, but there is definitely a bus. A not to miss event is the change of the guards at the palace which happens every hour on the hour.
Overall we managed to see:
+ Danube Fountain
+ Science Academy
+ View from the break point
+ Chain Bridge
+ Royal Palace
+ Change of the Guards
+ Mattias Church
+ View from the end of the tour
Budapest Baths
A well known tradition in a Budapest, are their baths. With the most popular being Gellert and Széchenyl. We decided to go to the latter after recommendations of people who had already been. It was about a 20 minute walk from our hostel. On the way, we also saw Heroes Square. I unfortunately did not have my camera but it is SO impressive and I definitely recommend taking the walk up there. Like most of the sites, there is a metro that can take you there but this square really makes the walk worth it!
Back to the baths, just a little word of warning eat before you get there as we were disappointed by the food provided. Besides this I don't have a bad word to say about the baths. There are about 15 baths in total, all of different temperatures, sizes and I honk oil infusions. It is perfect for a hungover day or the day before you have to travel because it is so chilled out. If you do nothing but the baths in Budapest you will still have the best time in my opinion.
Cafe Vian
This was the best restaurant we went to whilst in Budapest. It was on a little square near our Hostel. They had a really inviting interior and a good menu that included Hungarian dishes but provided other food aswell. I had an amazing meal of prawns, mussels and squid in a garlic sauce with basil infused spaghetti. We were sat outside for our meal and the staff really went that extra mile to ensure they everyone was dry and happy which was a real welcomed change especially since our treatment at Grossoto.
Dishes Not To Miss
I tell you one thing, Hungarians love paprika! I tried traditional Hungarian Lesco which is a creamy paprika sauce with sausage, pepper and rice. It was quite rustic but really nice and definitely worth a try. We also tried the savoury pancakes, again with paprika and meat which was also very very good. We tried both of these dishes at Kisharang, due to a recommendation from our tour guide. She also recommended a restaurant across the road where you can get Hungarian strudel to go for less than €1. We tried sour cherry, plum and apple, they were all nice but sour cherry was definitely my favourite!
I had such a good time in Budapest and would definitely recommend it for sight seeing, going out and relaxing!
Imogen xoxo
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