I’ve been wanting to write a few posts about my most recent European adventures, a trip to Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg, and Prague that I took in April with my husband to celebrate our first anniversary, and Budapest seems like the perfect place to start since it’s where our trip began! Budapest is the capital of Hungary, and used to be two separate cities, Buda and Pest, that were divided by the Danube River. Now, the two parts are combined into one city but clear differences can be seen between the two, as Buda is much more hilly and is more residential, while Pest is the flatter, more commercial part. I fully expected Budapest to be beautiful and full of incredible architecture (it’s been called the ‘Paris of the East’ after all!), but in reality, this historic city completely blew me away and was way better than I even expected. Read on for the perfect three-day itinerary in this lovely city!
Day One:
- Wake up in your hotel (I highly recommend the Continental Hotel Budapest!) and enjoy breakfast there before starting your day. Get a feel for the city by doing a free walking tour like this one, that will take you to many of the famous sites and will teach you about some of Budapest’s history. We even learned a little Hungarian on our tour! Remember to tip well at the end of your tour with your Hungarian forinths, or with Euros, which are also accepted just about everywhere in Budapest.
- After your tour, which for us ended at Fisherman’s Bastion, you’ll be hungry for lunch and ready for a little break from walking. Grab a bite to eat at one of the cafes overlooking the Danube for an incredible view, with the red dome of the Parliament Building and the dome of St. Stephen’s Cathedral as highlights of the city. Make sure you check out St. Matthias Church while you’re here, a traditional Gothic style cathedral with a stunning orange tiled roof.
- Walk back across the famous Chain Bridge to the Pest side of the city, and stroll along the river until you reach the incredibly moving Shoes on the Danube memorial, which remembers the many Jews who lost their lives here during 1944 and 1945. They were ordered to strip down and remove their shoes by the Arrow Cross militiamen, and were tragically shot into the river. Bronze sculptures of their shoes were made in 2005 to honor their memory, so take some time to pay your respects here.
- As you continue walking along the Danube, you’ll reach the beautifully detailed Hungarian Parliament building, which ties for the tallest building in Budapest with St. Stephen’s Basilica. They were deliberately planned to each be 315 feet tall, and there are laws preventing any other building in Budapest from being taller.
- After this busy day of sightseeing, you’ll be ready for some authentic Hungarian food for dinner. Try Evidens Bistro for chicken paprikash that is out of this world, as was everything we tried here. After dinner, a ride on the Budapest Eye, a 213 foot tall ferris wheel, is a great way to see the city lights without much more walking, as you’ll likely be a bit jet lagged and tired like we were.
Day Two:
- Start day two in the Jewish Quarter and take a tour at the Dohany Street Synagogue, the largest synagogue in Europe and the second-largest in the world. The Hungarian Jewish Museum is also part of the complex and is well-worth visiting, as is the Holocaust Memorial in the backyard of the synagogue, featuring a metal weeping willow tree with the name of Hungarian Jews killed during the Holocaust inscribed on each leaf.
- After a morning well spent learning about Hungarian history, stop for lunch or even just coffee at New York Cafe, well-know for its incredible decor full of gold detail in the Italian Renaissance-style. Refuel here and of course, take some photos!
- Next, head to St. Stephen’s Basilica, named after the first king of Hungary, whose right hand supposedly still lies in the a tomb here (yes, crazy but true!). Make sure you climb to the top of the 315 foot dome (or take the elevator if you prefer!) for stunning views of the city, including the Danube river, the Chain Bridge, the Buda Castle, and more. Pro tip: Try to time your visit for just before sunset for the best views and photos!
- After grabbing some goulash at another authentic Hungarian restaurant like this one, take the metro to the Széchenyi Thermal Baths, one of Budapest’s most famous sites and the perfect place to relax after a busy day. The baths are open both during the day and at night, but it was lovely to see the baroque palace that holds the baths all lit up at night! BYO towel from your hotel if you don’t want to pay to rent one, but lockers are included in your entrance fee and towels can also be rented if needed.
Day Three:
- Start your final day in Budapest by visiting Heroes Square, the largest square in the city, built to commemorate the one thousandth anniversary of Hungary. Did you know that Hungary is one of the oldest countries in Europe? (I didn’t, until I visited!) Stroll along the historic Andrássy Avenue toward the city center and enjoy the sights along with plenty of shopping. Grab a bite to eat at one of the many cafes lining the sidewalks here before you head back to your hotel to get ready for the evening.
- Spend your last night in Budapest the best way possible: taking in the city from the water aboard a Danube river cruise at sunset, like this one. This experience was a huge highlight of the entire trip for us! Seeing the city of Budapest as the sun goes down and the lights come on from the water is just an experience like no other. I had been dreaming of seeing the Parliament Building all lit up at night and it certainly did not disappoint!
- You can’t leave Budapest without hitting at least one of the famous ruin bars, like Szimpla Kert, a factory that was converted into an indoor-outdoor bar that is unlike anything I’ve seen before. Szimpla has several different bars inside, but be warned: you need cash for the wine bar! The other bars here take credit cards, but the wine bar requires you to put down a little cash for your wine glass, which is returned to you when you return your glass intact. We loved trying the famous Hungarian tokaji wine, a somewhat sweet white wine, along with several others.
Well there you have it, the perfect way to spend three days in Budapest, now one of my favorite cities in Europe and certainly somewhere Brian and I plan on returning to in the not-so-distant future. Have you been to Budapest before? If it wasn’t on your radar before, I highly recommend adding this beautiful, historic city to your travel list! If you haven’t already, make sure you subscribe to this blog so you don’t miss a thing, and be sure to let me know what you think in the comments!
xo,
Katie
