Budapest, Hungary

Budapest has been on my list for a while, but it exceeded my expectations with a really cool vibe and so much good food. While researching trips for the year we did a random flight search for Budapest just to get an idea of cost, and found that the tickets were on sale and the flight was really cheap. We decided to book it right then without any real further research.

The hotels in Budapest were quite affordable, even for really nice ones which we were happy about. We stayed at the Hotel Memories Oldtown which was in a great location, nice and quiet and relaxed but easy to get around. It had a really nice breakfast complete with an actual barista so you could have a nice coffee with breakfast (much better than most hotels with the machine where you press a button and it makes you a “latte”).

Day 1

We took a late flight to Budapest and arrived around 11 PM. Luckily Budapest had a really excellent public transportation app called BudapestGO, available in English and with explanations of how to use everything! We were able to buy our special airport bus tickets really easily for about €5 each and the ride was easy. We were dropped off a few minutes from our hotel where we checked in and went to sleep!

Day 2

Secret Food Tour

As we often try to do in a new city, we did a food tour on our first day in Budapest with Secret Food Tours Budapest. As always, its a great way to see the city, learn some history & try some amazing foods we might not otherwise have tried. We had coffee and sour cherry strudel, langos (which is like a fried flatbread covered in garlic, sour cream & cheese), goulash, and a potato and egg casserole with pickles. Everything was really delicious and we had a great time.

After our tour we were nearby the Parliament building so we went to take some photos and see the Shoes on the Danube which is a memorial for Jewish people who were murdered there during WW2.

For Sale Pub

After a nap to recover from our food tour coma, we decided to check out For Sale Pub. The entire place is absolutely covered in notes people have left over the years. I have no idea why, but it was really fascinating to look around. It was insanely crowded so we had one quick drink stuffed into a corner by the bar, and then headed to grab dinner.

Fecske Presszó

We chose this as an easy spot nearby our hotel for dinner. It was a chill pub vibe with a surprisingly diverse menu. I got potato dumplings with ewe cheese, sour cream and bacon which turned out to have a macaroni & cheese vibe and was really delicous.

Day 3

Fisherman’s Bastion

We woke up early to head to Fisherman’s Bastion which is a cool castle with Harry Potter vibes at the top of a hill. We took a bus to the bottom of the hill and climbed the rest of the way ourselves, which was not too bad. The view was quite cool and the buildings were all beautiful. You can wander around the outside for free which is really nice. It did get crowded fairly quickly so we were glad we went early. We also paid a few euros to explore the inside of the chapel in the same area which was quite beautiful.

Matthias Church

Hospital in the Rock

Nearby Fisherman’s Bastion is a hospital/nuclear bunker that has been turned into a really interesting museum. It was originally built as a hospital for bombing victims in WW2 but was quickly expanded and was used way over its capacity especially during the siege of Budapest at the end of WW2. After that it got more use as a hospital for a while, and then was expanded to be a nuclear bomb shelter as well.

The museum is guided tour only but is only about an hour and was really interesting. The old hospital part is staged as a hospital with wax figures and lots of old equipment on display, along with some rooms more about war in general.

The nuclear bunker is also part of the tour, and also included an exhibit on Hiroshima and atomic bombs in general and how horrifying the damage from them is.

No photos were allowed inside so nothing to post, but was a really interesting museum and would recommend!

Freyja

After our morning exploring we walked towards the old Jewish quarter, stopping on the way for some delicious croissants. I got a spinach and cheese one and Austin got some kind of fruit. It was very busy inside but was a nice rest for a few minutes and very tasty.

From here we continued our exploration & walk towards the Jewish quarter.

Bors Gastro Bar

We were still pretty hungry so we headed over to Bors Gastro Bar where we shared 2 small baguettes, a pulled pork one and another with chicken, cheese, onions and jam. The place is pretty tiny but we managed to get lucky with 2 seats while we wolfed down our small sandwiches. While we waited I noticed EVERYONE getting soup, so I guess we missed out on that aspect as it seems to be quite popular. The place had a fun Star Wars vibe and the food seemed really high quality, so while its a bit of a wait I would say it was worth it.

Szimpla Kert

This is the most famous of Budapest ruin bars and I had heard it was a bit overrated and touristy but I was so interested to see it regardless. We ended up going right after it opened which actually turned out to be a perfect time as there were relatively few people there and it gave us more room to explore. There are so many rooms and bars inside and they are all different and really interesting. I absolutely loved it! I can imagine the vibe is different when its really crowded but if you go during the daytime I thought it was super cool. They also had a really nice cherry beer on tap :)

Korhely Faloda & Daloda

One of my coworkers lives in Budapest and he recommended this restaurant which turned out to be our favorite of the trip. We got goulash with a potato dumpling that reminded me of spatzle, and a pork chop smothered in cheese, bacon, potatoes and more cheese. To round out the meal, we also got a nice side of grilled veggies which were surprisingly delicious.

Parliament

After our very heavy meal, we went for a walk to see Parliament all lit up at night. We ended up walking across a bridge to the other side of the river to get a better view, which was worth it as it was quite beautiful!

Flipper museum

To round off the night, we went to check out the Flipper museum which is a museum of pinball machines. Once you pay your entrance fee, they have a huge collection of pinball machines ranging from the 1940’s (even a few older!) to today and you can play nearly all of them. A few of the very oldest ones were only for display but the rest were fair game. They were also all free! I thought it was so cool to have a place like this open late, and because it wasn’t a bar it was pretty uncrowded but also not full of children. It was a really fun way to spend an evening and we had a blast!

Day 4

Bageri

There were so many amazing looking pastries and cafes around Budapest and I really wanted to try them all. After breakfast we decided to try this Nordic pastry shop where I got a lovely pistachio twist.

Terror Museum

Another museum with no photos, but we went to check out the Terror Museum which is about the reign of both fascists and communists in Budapest in the past, and is also the location of the headquarters of those parties so is a memorial to all the victims that were tortured or killed there.

The museum was sad but well done and very informative.

Karavan Street Food

While at Szimpla Kert the day before we noticed a cool food cart pod next door and decided to try it out for lunch. We got two langos from a cart selling them and ended up being SO disappointed. Compared to the ones we had on our tour they were extremely bland and not as nicely textured. I ended up only eating a bit of mine before giving up.

Afterwards we went back to Szimpla Kert where they were having a little flea market! After looking around I got another cherry beer & we sat in a new area because I thought it was so nice there.

Molnár’s kürtőskalács

There are chimney cakes everywhere in Budapest and if you see any social media about them you’ll see them there too. Since it seemed like such a touristy thing I wanted to do some research on where to get good ones, as it seemed like the sort of thing that could either be really great or really disappointing.

I ended up at this store, which unlike most of the stands has actual tables to sit down at (though you order at the counter & could easily take it to go).

You could get them with ice cream, nutella, and 100 more toppings but I really just wanted the classic cinnamon & sugar. They tried to give us a prepackaged one but I asked if I could have a hot one instead & they made one fresh for us!

It was amazing, and I think that having it hot and fresh made it 10x better.

Menza Étterem és Kávéház

Another coworker of mine recommended this restaurant from a past trip to Budapest and it seems quite popular. By this point my stomach was not handling all of the heavy and delicious food and I decided on a compromise - I wanted to try something with paprika sauce and while the restaurant didn’t have chicken paprikash they did have a chicken crepe covered in paprika sauce as a starter. We shared that, and then I got a goat cheese salad to please my poor stomach (which was delicious).

Day 5

On our last day we had a late afternoon flight, and since the airport is not too far from the city center it left us plenty of time for exploring in the morning.

Chez Dodo

This one also came as a recommendation from my coworker in Budapest. It was just a really nice French macaron bakery. We had a coffee there and had some really lovely macarons, we also brought some home!

Retro Langos

To make up for our disappointing langos, we went back to our food tour spot to enjoy one again. It was as good as the first time and a perfect last stop in Budapest.

Overall the city is a really beautiful place with so much good food and more pastries than I even had time to truly appreciate, and I would love to go back!