Top Budapest Finds
Thermal baths, cathedrals that tower over the city, castles and mountain views—Budapest has now been crowned one of my new favorite places.
To start off this month, I got one of the best surprises. My best friend Mallory, who I haven’t seen in a couple months—booked a last-minute flight and met me in London, where I got to spend a few days showing her my favorite spots. From there, we wanted to travel to somewhere we both hadn’t yet been, hence our trip to Budapest!
We had the luxury of staying six days in Budapest, where time wasn’t rushed and we could leisurely take in our surroundings and sights. Solo traveling is freeing, but having dear friends to travel with is quite comforting and feels like home. Ever so grateful for her and our sweet memories.
We had some of our friends who have been to Budapest before, shower us with recommendations on sights to see and places to go. Below is our epic Budapest list whenever you find yourself in Budapest, Hungary!
Top Things To Do in Budapest
Parliament Building
THE (and I mean THE) most beautiful structure I’ve laid eyes on. I think this is one of the most intricately crafted and enormous structures that I have seen. You have to see it during day and night. Night: the reflections are illuminated on the water with warm yellow/orange tones. Day: you can see the design details easily, the placement of each pillar, statue, curve, pattern, etc.
Fisherman’s Bastion
This view comes second to Jubilume Park. My goodness, this was breathtaking. Almost too beautiful to feel real, and felt my eyes fill with moisture because the sheer moment of such grand sights really knocked the breath out of me. No other explanation than this needs to be on your bucket list.
Rudas Thermal Baths
We were told to go to the Szechenyi Thermal bath, however, we were also wanting to get massages, and found that Rudas was the cheaper option (and less touristy.) We are thoroughly glad we went to this vicinity, as we spent about 3 hours jumping from different baths and got a rooftop view with mimosas. The ottoman-themed bath was our favorite, with lights streaming in from the top of the dome.
Jubilume-Park
The best view of the city in my opinion. I wish we could’ve spent more time here—the most peaceful walk through the park. It was a hike up the hill for sure, (calves were burning at the end haha) but again, seeing the city, tiny houses, bridges, everything combined—worth it. We even stumbled across a park where there were trampolines on the ground! Jumped around for a bit with wide smiles plastered on our faces and continued the walk through the colorful array of flowers and greenery.
Danube Sunset Cruise
I will admit, I felt as though this was a tourist trap, however, after doing it, I’m quite glad we did. We did the hour and 30-minute evening sightseeing cruise with unlimited prosecco. Happy to report our glasses were never empty. Waiters and waitresses came by every so often to top off our glasses, even if it was 3/4ths full. The lights on the city flickered on around 7:15 and the city lit up with reflections scattered over the water. We even made some new friends from London and chatted happily until the cruise was over!
Szimpla Kert (Ruin Pubs)
Ah, this was a great find. It was not at all what I was expecting so was pleasantly surprised! There were various bars, each catering to a specific type of drink (wine bar, cocktail bar, beer, etc.) We browsed the rooms filled with miscellaneous decor, lampshades, odd paintings, graffiti, greenery, disco balls, couches—you name it. Quite eclectic and artsy. Had many drinks and danced for a bit as well!
Museum of Fine Arts & Hungarian Natural History Museum
Since my favorite museums are art and Mallory’s are natural history, we both got to visit our preferred museum. The natural history museum was only an 8 minute walk from our hotel, so it was a nice stroll and browsing through the natural history of Budapest. Also a nice change up from my traditional views of art. The Fine Arts museum was exceptionally magnificent, with baroque halls, and renaissance halls, and even got to see henry Mattise’s work. A beautiful time and didn't take but two hours. Even spent time drawing in the coffee shop downstairs afterward.
St. Stephens Basilica
If we had more time we would have explored the inside, however you do need to buy tickets. The outside and structure was exceptionally detailed, with gold accents and black-topped domes. Still recommend going, even just for pictures or to witness this piece of art!
AND as an additional bonus, because we’re avid coffee drinkers and scavengers, we compiled our favorite shops we got to linger in:
Madal Cafe: The Ferenciek Tere 3 location because it has a beautiful upstairs, overlooking the bustling cafe
Espresso Embassy: Cave vibes, not too much seating but the atmosphere was superb
Cafe Santos: Not a sitting coffee shop but the owner was so sweet and kind and the shop held such character and warmth
In essence, I’m ever so grateful for these moments of spontaneity, rest, recharge and introspection. This traveling experience has already been incredible but having your loved ones with you and good company to travel with just enhances the entire journey (huge shoutout to my sweet Mallory!)
I’m grateful for the comfort of friends and family, near and far. The texts my family members and friends send. The joy my grandparents get when I send them pictures. Mailing postcards from other counties and seeing their stamps sticking in the top right corner. Seeing HILLS (Florida terrain is completely flat and mountain-less) and landscapes that I only have seen in pictures. Being more adventurous with tastes and foods, because you sometimes don’t know how to pronounce certain words so you go with whatever you can.
So very grateful for my time in Budapest and this experience. Thank you for reading and I hope this inspires you for your next trip! Wishing you a happy week and I hope you’re able to experience a new adventure soon.
