I have always dreamed about going to Budapest during the festive Christmas period and started pitching the idea to the gang last Summer (the gang being my husband, my sister and her fiancé). I know this might come as a "shock horror"... but I have to admit I was a little disappointed! The Christmas stalls and markets - everything was so commercial, I dreamed of buying numerous Christmas baubles (my husband was dreading the bill) however I only bought one. The stalls were nothing in comparison to the ones we had seen in Salzburg, Prague and Krakow... so, after realising that all the stalls were generic we decided to find the real hidden gems and delve deeper into Budapest - and there is so much to find including the palaces, churches and of course the food.
Here are my top tips and itinerary:
We travelled to Budapest with British Airways which was quick and easy and only took 2hrs 30mins. We (my husband) organised a car to collect us on arrival - which I always recommend when arriving in a new city as it takes the stress off especially when you have never been there and you don’t speak the language.
We had booked to stay at the Corinthia in Budapest, the atrium was beautiful, spacious and had a huge Christmas tree which I appreciated immensely. . I would say the rooms were absolutely fine but perhaps not quite "5 star" (a little tired) but perfect for a city break.
We had booked to stay at the Corinthia in Budapest, the atrium was beautiful, spacious and had a huge Christmas tree which I appreciated immensely. . I would say the rooms were absolutely fine but perhaps not quite "5 star" (a little tired) but perfect for a city break.
We unpacked quickly and got out into the city to explore as I am a crazy planner and love reading about everything there is to do and planning meticulously! For our first stop, I had booked us to go to the iconic New York Café (for their famous hot chocolate and cake) which was actually a highlight of the trip and we all loved it. Tip: Book ahead of going as the queues are long and you can wait for hours. Also, during the Christmas period, I noticed the first day of our trip was the last day they were taking bookings over Christmas period. The New York café is stunning, with a lavish interior filled with elegant gold decor. It used to to be the hang-out for impoverished writers and poets, you can completely see why they came to this place it's just inspiring. They had an delightful band playing a range of enjoyable Hungarian folk music and we ordered the "24 carat gold hot chocolate" and traditional food and enjoyed the atmosphere. |
We decided, after lots of food, that we would need to have a long walk and discover the city, the streets are filled with cafes and restaurants, and eventually we made it to St Stephen's Basilica which reaches up to an impressive 96m high!! They had a light show projected on the Cathedral so we watched it and then tried to go in for a look around but found it had just closed (check your timings in Budapest). We wandered the large market outside the Basilica before venturing on to two other Christmas markets and decided we would return to get dinner from the Basilica market stalls. It was soon time to head back to the hotel for a much-needed drink and sit down!
Links:
- The Corintha Hotel: www.corinthia.com/budapest/
- The New York Cafe: www.newyorkcafe.hu/menu.html
Day 2
We got up early and decided to head to the Szechenyi Thermal Baths. Budapest is famous for hot springs and this is the most famous with a multitude of baths inside and out. You can hire towels, dressing gowns, slippers and a cabin, which is a very small changing room where you leave your clothes. I would say that all in all I recommended hiring these for about £25. We enjoyed the outdoor baths which were hot and with the cold air on our faces was very enjoyable though the inside baths we didn’t love because of the smell. Not sure if it was the chemicals or just incredibly old pipes but we decided to spend most of our time outside. |
After luxuriating in the baths for long enough we decided to go back to the hotel and have a proper shower and then go back out from there. Personally I find that there is nothing worse than feeling slightly soggy and smelly! We got a taxi to Buda (Budapest is split into two with the river in the middle, Buda is the old part) which is absolutely beautiful. We got some mulled wine outside the Fisherman’s Bastion and then ventured into Matyas Church which features mind blowing architecture and design - it was renovated in 1968, after WW2.
We then walked around the fisherman’s Bastion where you can take in stunning views of the city and parliament which is the most beautiful building in Budapest. Be warned if you want to get the perfect Instagram shot make sure you get there early in the morning as it was incredibly busy.
From here we wandered the short distance to the Castle Hills Funicular tram which takes you down the hill, it has been in service since 1870 and is definitely lots of fun.
After returning to our hotel for a drink and some down-time, it was time to head out for dinner (my favourite!). Every time we go away we always try and book one fancy dinner and tonight I picked Baraka which is contemporary in style, had a great tasting menu and great food. (Highly recommend)
We then walked around the fisherman’s Bastion where you can take in stunning views of the city and parliament which is the most beautiful building in Budapest. Be warned if you want to get the perfect Instagram shot make sure you get there early in the morning as it was incredibly busy.
From here we wandered the short distance to the Castle Hills Funicular tram which takes you down the hill, it has been in service since 1870 and is definitely lots of fun.
After returning to our hotel for a drink and some down-time, it was time to head out for dinner (my favourite!). Every time we go away we always try and book one fancy dinner and tonight I picked Baraka which is contemporary in style, had a great tasting menu and great food. (Highly recommend)
Links:
- Szecheynispa Baths: szechenyispabaths.com
- Baraka Restaurant: http://barakarestaurant.hu
Day 3
I love Ice Skating and when I read that Budapest has the largest ice-skating rink in Europe (maybe the world?!) I knew I needed to go see it for myself, so we got up early and ventured to the rink - which I can now confirm is HUGE. It was literally the best experience, firstly ... who knew but basically every Budapest person can ice-skate really well which means you can actually skate around and not worry about someone falling down and taking you out! Secondly because it was so large it was dreamy and let us imagine skating out in the open like they once would have... it also had a couple of stalls and cafes where you could get drinks and snacks.
We then ventured to Vajdahunyad Castle which was built in 1896 to showcase the architectural evolution through the centuries and styles in Hungary. It was sadly having renovations done and so was closed when we visited, but it usually is a museum. By this time it had started raining hard and felt time to get inside. We had been desperate to get into the houses of parliament so we ventured there unfortunately we did not book in advance and a lot of the tours had sold out (they are divided up and operated by different languages). We decided to go on the French tour and pray our French GCSE / A-Level's would help lol. (You have to go on a guided tour but to be honest its worth going on in any language tour it’s not very long and incredibly beautiful. I had the top 10 Budapest book and just read that while going around). Touring Parliament was definitely my favourite interior, it is so beautiful and the architecture is breathtaking. It was also interesting seeing the crown jewels especially since the crown & sceptre were only released in 1978 from Fort Knox (they had been held there for safe keeping following the Nazi occupation of Budapest).
As it was so cold and wet we got a taxi back to the hotel had a shower and got ready for dinner at a local, relaxed restaurant called Hilda, that we had been recommended by a friend. It was an enjoyable trendy relaxed local hang out. The food was delicious and the espresso cocktails were to die for.
Links:
- City Park Ice Skating:www.mujegpalya.hu/en/tickets (It was easy to buy tickets at the venue)
- Budapest Parliament: www.parlament.hu/web/visitors (Fully recommend buying tickets in advance)
Day 4
Our last day in Budapest we had lots of things to do we wanted to go back to Buda in the daylight and experience it again, so we took the Funicular back up the hill. My husband and my sisters' fiancé soon got bored of waiting in line and decided to walk as there was a little queue for the funicular which fortunately moved quickly. (though the boys still made it to the top way ahead of us!) so do try this for your self if you fancy a steep, brisk walk up hill for 10 mins or so. We went to the history museum, which was a little bit disappointing inside, and I didn’t know that the Nazis occupied the Royal Palace. It was bombed heavily during the war and a lot had to be renovated which means unfortunately the palace interiors do not match it's exteriors. |
After a quick lunch we wanted to go back to St Stephens Basilica and try and get inside and I am so glad we did! The inside is absolutely breathtaking and all four of us just sat down and looked around in amazement. It has to be one of the most beautiful churches in the world.
It was then nearly time to go home but we had enough time to have a quick walk around the market and get some food, I became obsessed with the amazing (unhealthy) fried bread topped with cheese which was unreal and some chimney cake.
It was however now time to go home…….
It was then nearly time to go home but we had enough time to have a quick walk around the market and get some food, I became obsessed with the amazing (unhealthy) fried bread topped with cheese which was unreal and some chimney cake.
It was however now time to go home…….