How To Make The Most Of 3 Days In Budapest | Travel Diary 2019

Hello!

If you’re asking yourself, “is 3 days enough time to spend in Budapest?”, the answer, in
short, is probably no. However, you can totally see everything you need to see within 3 days!

The abundance of ancient architecture, delicious cuisines, beautiful views from the hillside, and friendly locals by the end of my visit, it was up there with my top favourite cities in the world. Trust me, you will fall in love with Budapest like I have. Which is funny because I visited back in 2014 and felt completely different! I was only there for 1/2 a day and was definitely staying in a strange area which left me disliking Budapest. I am soo glad I decided to pay another visit and truly allow Budapest to change my mind. There’s so much character to the city and so much to do it really does cater to every traveller.

Keep reading if you'd like a cheat sheet and a full guide to spending 3 days in Budapest!

Getting into Budapest city centre from the Airport.
We were staying in an Airbnb, so our wonderful host sorted our transfers for us. As we would be arriving at 8 pm, we didn't want the hassle of using buses or any type of public transport so we opted for a taxi. The cost of this was 9,000HUF/29EUR/25GBP, however, if you're on a budget there is an alternative: at the airport take the bus number '100E'. Get off at Astoria station (2nd stop, takes about 40-50 minutes) that'll take you to just outside the Inner City. Our taxi was a lot quicker than this roughly about 30 minutes but I'm sure twice the price.

Having done some research I believe you can get a single ticket 350HUF/2EUR/£1 which can be purchased in the airport. A special ticket for the '100E' direct bus costs 900HUF/3EUR/2.50GBP. So, as you can see waaaay cheaper than a taxi.

Day 1. Heroes' square (Hősök tere), Széchenyi Thermal Bath and Vajdahunyad Castle.

All three of these attractions are in one area making it a great way to see all of these sights in one day. On the way to Széchenyi bath, you will go past Heroes' square- noted for its iconic statue complex featuring the Seven chieftains of the Magyars and other important Hungarian national leaders.

We arrived at the thermal bath around 11:30 am and must've left at 2:30 pm. Although it was rather quiet to start with it definitely did busy up as the day went on. As it gets busier it does get more difficult to use the facilities. We were in a steam room at one point and where there were so many people coming in they were having to stand. I would also allow a lot of time to be here as there are many different pools, steam rooms, plunge pools and saunas. You could easily spend 4-5 hours here although we found 3 hours to be sufficient for us. We hired a cabin for 6,000 HUF/19EUR/17GBP although you can hire the changing rooms/locker for less! The cabin was great though because you can change and leave your belongings in there.

My top tips for the Széchenyi Thermal Bath:
-Arrive as early as you can. 
-Pack two towels - one for when you're out and about around the pools and one for when you're done. My towel was soaking wet by the end which struggled to dry me off. You can also hire towels when you're there for 2,000HUF/7EUR/6GBP.
-Take flip-flops. We forgot to pack a pair and the floor felt incredibly sharp against our feet especially on the freezing cold floor. It's also just a little more hygienic! 

Upon leaving make sure you check out Vajdahunyad Castle. It's right next to the thermal baths and very pretty to look at. The moat around the castle was empty when we were there although I do believe you can get some beautiful shots of the castle's reflection in the water when it's filled.

Day 2. Fisherman's Bastion, Buda Castle, Széchenyi Chain Bridge, Shoes on the Danube Bank, St. Stephen's Basilica, Szimpla Kert Ruin Bar.

Making sure you have an early start you can definitely see all these great sights in one day as again they're all in one area. The perfect location for foodies too because there is an abundance of different varieties. Scroll down to see my top places to eat during your stay.

We headed to Fisherman's Bastion first (get there early it does busy up), then over to Buda castle and back down along the river (on Buda side) to see the parliament across from the river. You can get the funicular up to Buda castle for 1,200HUF/4EUR/£3.30 (single) or 1,800 HUF/6EUR/£5 (return) or you can walk up. We decided not to as we did it last time but I would recommend it for the experience. Chain bridge you'll see on your way to Buda castle/Fisherman's Bastion as you have to walk over it.

Head back over Chain Bridge and take a left, walk along the river and you'll come across the Shoes on the Danube Bank. It's such a sad story and a real eye-opener to see the shoes as though they had just been taken off.

In the area, you'll also find St Stephen's Basilica.

Make sure to visit at least one ruin bar during your stay. Budapest is renowned for them and they really are awesome. We went to Szimpla Kert (as it was near to where we were staying) which is the mecca of all ruin bars. The ruin bars are built in the ruins of abandoned buildings making them incredibly cool to wander around. The walls are covered in art and graffiti so make sure to grab yourselves a drink and wander around the entire building.

Day 3. House of Terror, Elizabeth Square, Wander around Budapest shops.

Make sure you check out House of Terror during your stay in Budapest. It contains exhibits related to the fascist and communist regimes in 20th-century Hungary and is also a memorial to the victims of these regimes, including those detained, interrogated, tortured or killed in the building. A real eye-opener and you could be here for hours! I think we spent about 2.5 hours here.

As it was also Feb 13th we decided to celebrate Valentine's day on this day. We went for drinks at High Note Skybar and onto dinner at Tokio. You can of course squeeze in so much more on this day but we had seen all we wanted to so we didn't rush around too much.

I would definitely recommend High Note Skybar for some drinks! It has a beautiful view of St Stephen's Basilica and you can watch the sunset over Buda! Not to mention the incredible choice of beverages they have too. 

Places to eat.

There is an abundance of choice and variety in Budapest making it so difficult on where to pick. 
My top places would have to be:

• Vin Vin. Vietnamese street food and incredible at that.
• Fat Mama. We actually ate here two nights running. Once by accident because we were actually after Street food Karavan which was shut until March boo. But the second time because we actually loved the food. If you like smoked BBQ food you'll love it here.
• Fresh Corner. We had a really lovely breakfast here on our way to Buda castle. Try the coffee syrups, brownie and/or pistachio - they're so good.
• Crudo bakery. I wouldn't say the food here was groundbreaking. It was more of a convenience pit stop for the area we were in HOWEVER if you like cheesecake you have to go here! It was seriously so good! It also had a different texture to the usual kind and had a burnt outer so it looked different but yes, go and try it!
• Chimney cake. You cannot leave Budapest without trying a chimney cake. You can get them filled or just have it as is. They're really nice and surprisingly quite light. We tried the vanilla and the cinnamon. I recommend the cinnamon.

• Lángosh. I don't even know where to start with this. Lángos is a Hungarian food speciality, a deep-fried dough. Yes, you heard and so unreal! We had ours with sour cream and garlic on top and if it weren't for the fact I was so full I could have eaten another two more.

• Iran Cukrászda. If you have a love for baklava or anything sticky sweet you have to try the treats from here. We ended up going back twice! Note the circular treat (kinda looks like a doughnut) that is my number one must try treat from there! It's pretty much dripping in honey. The owner is incredibly lovely, such a nice man and on both occasions gave us a free treat to try.

• Tokio. If you're obsessed with sushi as I am please go and eat here. The food was the best I've ever had. The overall ambience of the place was really good too, had a real busy vibe, with dimmed lights and music playing.

If you have more time...

-Citadella

The 19th-century fortress and Liberty Statue located upon the top of Gellért Hill. The best bus to get up is number 27. Here you will get an amazing panorama of Budapest. 

-Cave church

The Gellért Hill Cave is part of a network of caves within Gellért Hill in Budapest, Hungary. The cave is also referred to as "Saint Ivan's Cave", regarding a hermit who lived there and is believed to have used the natural thermal water of a muddy lake next to the cave to heal the sick

-Hospital in the Rock

The Hospital in the Rock Nuclear Bunker Museum(Hungarian: Sziklakórház Atombunker Múzeum) is the name given to a hospital created in the caverns under Buda Castle in Budapest in the 1930s, in preparation for the Second World War. Worth a go from what I've been told!

-Dohany Great Synagogue (The second largest Synagogue in the world)

We were staying near the Synagogue so we did manage to see it although didn't go inside as it wasn't really on our agenda. If you wish to go in I believe it'll cost you 4500 HUF/14EUR/12GBP.

-The famous 19th-century coffee houses famous for their beautiful decor

Although on our list we never actually found the time to go to one. We were always either too full from breakfast or lunch or were too busy elsewhere. The most famous grand cafe in Budapest is New York Palace. Others include Alexandra Book Cafe, Ruszwurm, Cafe Gerbeaud and Callas Cafe.

And lastly how much money do you need?

In all honesty, we probably couldn't give you an exact figure as you could end up doing more, eating more or spending more time in a ruin bar. We took £380 for both us for four nights and three full days and this was too much money! We found ourselves trying to spend like crazy on the last day, even buying a VERY expensive lunch in the airport and still coming home with money to exchange. What I will say is that Budapest is relatively cheap so once you've budgeted around what you want to see and do, you'll have a better idea on how much to take.

I hope this guide to Budapest has been helpful. Let me know your favourite parts of Budapest. I'm sure I will return one day!

Thanks for reading.