Bank Holiday in Budapest (May 2016)

Welcome back everyone....!! I know it's been a while since my last blog post, been a bit busy recently. :-)


So, this post continues on my theme from last year which was to try to hit at least 2 or 3 new countries every year. Given that this is my first post of the year, I have some catching up to do!!!

I've always been interested in visiting Budapest, even more so following recent trips to other Eastern European countries. The culture, food, beer all appeal to me so figured it was about time to visit and when better than a long bank holiday!!!

I have decided to mess around a bit with the format of this post, changing from the running commentary about what I did and when I did it. It has occurred to me that, if this blog is to help potential visitors/travellers or those interested in history (My 101st AB posts), then I need to post less about me and more about the subject. Happy to entertain any ideas that readers may have...post a comment or drop me a message on Facebook or Twitter.

Things to know about Budapest before visiting:

1. It takes approximately 2.5 hours to fly if going directly from the UK.

2. Unless you want to fly a budget airline, I wouldn't recommend it, then you will most likely need to change. I flew Lufthansa so had to change at Frankfurt.

3. It can get very hot in Hungary...it was 31-32C and that was the end of May.

4. Food and accommodation can be cheap. Avoid the main tourist areas or eating in the hotel and it can be even cheaper. For example, breakfast at the 'Like' café which is close to the terror museum cost 1000 Forints (about £3) and you get a huge omelette, coffee and juice.

5. There is a very good Metro system comprised of 4 main lines which are colour coded. It is worthwhile purchasing a Budapest card (24, 48 or 72 hours). This gets you unlimited travel on the Metro, Bus and Tram system. The stops are, generally, a half kilometre apart so it is easy to get anywhere. A few notes though...the metro closes at 2340 on Saturday and the blue line (Heading towards the airport) has stops that are spaced further apart.

6. It is still a large city...prepare yourself accordingly. We could have spent twice as long in order to cover the main attractions. The city is actually comprised of two parts (which use to be separate cities in their own right) Buda and Pest. Buda includes castle hill whilst Pest is the busier side which includes the main city centre.


The visit....

My hotel was the Mecure Buda which was a 10 minute walk from Castle Hill...or one metro stop from the Deli station then a short bus ride. Hindsight being 20/20, I'd take the metro option unless you feel like climbing these... :-)

...although the views from the top are very nice.

The Castle Hill area, although very touristy, is still very nice...full of great architecture and history. Just a word of warning, many places do not open until 10am.

If you walk around the area you'll notice the excavations of the original Roman settlement. You will also notice that they still retain the changing of the guard.

If you walk through the arch in the background of the photo above then you come to a large museum (currently exhibiting Picasso) with fantastic views of the Danube.

A short walk, or escalator ride, takes you down to the river where you can walk across the 'Chain bridge' to get to Pest.

Walking across the bridge takes about 5-10 minutes and you end up near the main docks for the river tours (more about this later). If you walk about a half a kilometre you end up at the main Metro station (Deak Ferenc Ter) where you can catch 3 of the main lines (Red, Yellow and Blue). If you catch the Yellow line you can head into Pest towards such attractions as the Opera House (get off at the 'Opera' stop oddly enough), the Terror Museum (The Octagon stop), etc.

Terror Museum...

 I took the Metro to the hero's memorial (first picture below at the Hosok Tere stop) and walked around the park (City Park). You'll find Vajdahunyad Castle and some pretty baroque buildings. It would appear that they have a 'market' on during the weekends...mainly tourist stuff but you can sample some of the local snacks such as Lagonas (a sort of deep fried naan bread with different toppings).

You could also walk the length of Andrassy Ut which is the main boulevard in Budapest stretching 2.4kms.

Opera House...

National Gallery

Hero's memorial at entrance to City Park

Vajdahunyad Castle

I opted to try something different during the evening and went for the dinner and cruise on the Danube. It allows for a different perspective of the city and highlights how beautiful it is at night. Just a note, there are a number of companies that offer the service and many different varieties of cruise. You can go for the 'all you can eat' Pizza and unlimited beer cruise, the standard 1.5 hour no frills cruise, the dinner and folk dance cruise, etc. I went for the folk dance cruise via Silverline (But booked using Viator...definitely recommend them as used them in a number of cities and never been disappointed).

The Parliament building at night...

I managed to get back out on Sunday to check out some of the other tourist attractions. Started at the terror museum (again, using the Yellow metro line). The terror museum is located in the building where the Hungarian Secret Service under the Communist regime, and before them under the fascists,  would interrogate and jail dissidents or "enemies of the people". The museum houses a collection of torture implements, pictures and mementos from that period. Personally, I was disappointed by the museum having visited similar museums in Warsaw and Riga. I enjoyed it but thought it could have been done better (cost 4000 Forints) and you can't take photos. To be honest the KGB museum in Riga and the equivalent in Warsaw were better ad cheaper.

Budapest also has a number of good museums. If you get a Budapest card you can get either reduced entry or free entry. That was the case at the Hungarian History Museum (use the Blue Metro line and get off at Corvin Negye) where the entry was free. The museum was nice, housed in a huge building but the number of displays was small compared to other history museums that I've visited.

The city also has a number of very pretty churches and examples of some outstanding architecture. Obviously, with limited time, I didn't have a chance to visit anywhere near as many as I would have liked but here are a few examples...

...after walking around in the 30+ degree heat you really need to relax with a cold one. :-)

Looking hot and tired...

Then a few more photos and a bit more walking to the parliament building.

Of course, walking around all day makes you hungry and you, obviously, have to try the local cuisine so let's have some proper goulash.

If you walk around you'll find some nice places which serve fantastic food at a reasonable price...be adventurous.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. I would recommend visiting Budapest and Hungary. Perhaps my next trip will be a driving tour so I can sample some of the countryside rather than just look it out the window of the plane.

Until next time....