3 Days in Budapest, Hungary

Back in November we managed to spend three days in Budapest, Hungary. We had heard from a lot of people that they loved the city, and it was only about a three hour drive, even better!

We went on this trip with two of Cam's teammates, and had more time than usual so we weren't trying to pack in everything like we normally do. It was a lot more laid back and we took more time to just walk around and explore which was a nice change up.

DAY 1:

We started the drive on the Monday morning and made a pit stop at an outlet mall on the way. When we arrived, we were already thinking we were going to like the city based on the first views we drove by. After checking into our Air B&B we stopped at a place nearby for lunch before heading site-seeing. This restaurant, BOR, was built into an old ruin, and had an amazing lunch. These ruin restaurants and bar are super popular in Budapest and are all so unique.

I love when you start walking and come across something on your list without meaning to. That's what happened with St. Stephen's Basilica, which was just down the street from where we were staying. We spent a few hours walking around and getting lost in the downtown area, stopping for coffee and beers at different spots along the way.

After a couple of hours of finding our way, we headed to the river for the main event of our night, the Craft Beer Cruise. One of the biggest recommendations of things to do in Budapest is to go on on a boat cruise, so we combined two of the things we love to make the most of it.

It wasn't exactly what we were expecting, as you are in the same room as those doing the dinner cruise, and we expecting more standing around and beer tasting, but we really enjoyed it.

You start by boarding a big boat and it goes up and down the canal near all of the main sites that line the shore. Every 20 minutes or so the waiter brings a new craft beer to try, and you get to choose one to have again at the end. Normally, you spend most of your time at your table which is inside, but you can go to the top level for the chance to take some pictures of all the buildings lit up at night.

I actually think the water is the best place to see these buildings at night. We loved that all the major buildings along the canal were lit up like this, it was almost magical seeing them all at once.

After the canal cruise, we walked towards Karavan, a street food market. (Yes, there's pictures from both the afternoon and night, because we went back twice). This place was our favourite. It was a lane of food truck-style booths, that had everything you were craving. I had a "cheesburger" which had no meat, but a patty of fried cheese and topped with bacon....yum.

After trying a few food spots, we headed next door to Szimpla Kert, a ruin bar. Like I said before, these are super popular, and this is the most visited one. Essentially, they have taken buildings that ultimately would have been left as ruins and have turned them into bars.

They fully embrace their "ruin" atmosphere and everything in this one was super random. This one had several different rooms, all with different "furniture". We saw tables made of old cars and anything else you can imagine. We spent quite a while in our bathtub bench before heading home for the night.

DAY 2:

Day 2 was our "see as much as we possibly can" day. I don't think the guys were ready for what I had planned, haha. Normally Cam will grab a Starbucks on the go, so I had to embrace their wanting to stop for coffee every couple of hours. It was good for me to slow down and take our time.

We started by grabbing breakfast by the Cathedral, and taking the bus to the Thermal baths. As far as I know, this is one of the more popular thermal baths in Europe, and my first experience at one.

Its essentially a building full of pools, all serving different purposes. There's one big, warm bath outside and we were lucky enough for it to be sunny, and slightly warm enough to enjoy it.

I'm sure you could spend hours here, but because we had limited time, we spent an hour or so relaxing before heading on to our next stop. I think we all probably would have gone for a nap after though, I'm not sure why, but having a big bath with a bunch of people you don't know is surprisingly settling, haha.

The baths were close to Heroe's Square, so that was our next stop. There's a lot of history here, but we didn't spend much time other than to walk around, see it, and take some pictures.

We boarded the bus again, and by this time it was already getting close to sunset. We headed up to Gellért Hill for some great views from above.

I'm always looking to get that "postcard" view of the places we visit. They always look so nice in pictures, but you never really get to see it from that angle. With Budapest, you totally can, from a few spots actually. Needless to say, I took A LOT of pictures from up here, and can't pick a favourite, so you can scroll through them here:

I think this is the point when I really fell in love with Budapest. I was surprised just how much I liked this place, as it was never one I thought I'd visit. I would recommend anyone to come here.

After taking a ton of pictures, we headed back down the hill to get some dinner and walking around a bit more before heading back to the apartment we were staying at.

As beautiful as the city is during the day, it really does get way better at night.

Day 3:

We had some more time on Wednesday morning to tour around before heading home. I was so excited to finally try the gelato I had been waiting for, that of course I found on Pinterest in the shape of a rose. I know, so cheesy, but how cool is that?!

We then took the bus to Fisherman's bastion and Castle Hill, another great spot for views and pictures.

Still not really sure what it is, other than a terrace near the church, but the design of it was stunning.

It also was a great place to see the Parliment Building from a distance during the day light.

To finish off the trip, we stopped for a Chimney Cake, of course, filled with more ice cream an chocolate. It doesn't count when you're on vacation right? It was more than worth it even if it does...

Budapest is one of those places that I really hope I get to go back to. Even if you see everything, it seems like there's always more.

+Kahli