Budapest has been on my list since backpacking Europe in college. I am sort of pleased fate worked out that this is one of the few major European cities neither of us has been to, which made for a more exciting and romantic visit. We entered Budapest by car on our road trip from Croatia. Coming from Lake Hévíz was wonderful because the incredible fields of sunflowers were in the height of bloom and made the drive a true spectacle. I had only seen endless sunflower fields like this in nature documentaries and it was the perfect welcome to this beautiful country!

EXPERIENCE

Seeing as though this is a major world city, there are weeks-worth of activities to take in including operas, museums, great shopping and many, many churches and castles. We did something extremely rare for us, so much so that my husband thought I was joking when I suggested it, but we used the Hop On Hop Off Bus along with the city bus to get around once we arrived. This allowed us to leave our car in the quiet (and parking compensated) Castle District and maneuver throughout this giant city more freely.

Our first stop was across the Chain Bridge and down to Vorosmarty Square where we checked out the Budapest Eye Ferris Wheel and main shopping area called Vaci Street. This walk led us to the water to hop a River Boat to cruise the Danube for sunset and the lights of the river. I recommend catching a river trip at this time since the night time view is really the most spectacular. Catching it right at twilight makes for some stunning photo ops and it’s not quite as cold since the wind gets nippy once the sun goes down.

The next day we made a full day of hitting sights starting with the Parliament Building and then the very odd Michael Jackson Memorial Tree. We cruised the city via bus, passing by lots of incredible architecture and seeing St. Stephen’s Basilica.We were able to check out the Buda Castle District more thoroughly since we stayed in this neighborhood and make several visits to the Fisherman’s Bastion which is one of the best photo spots in the city. We skipped the Royal Palace and Sandor Palace since we preferred to spend our day out in the nice weather than inside for museums and tours. Our hotel was just up the road from the Matthias Church, which is newly restored and has the most stunning tile roof I have ever seen. From here we also ventured up to Gellert Hill, but did not spend much time here.

Our most memorable stop in Budapest was getting out at Heros’ Square to walk City Park. This park is lovely and allowed us to check out the Baroque style Vajsahunyad Castle build in the 19^thCentury and the little boat pond around it. From here we strolled across the park to Szechenyi Thermal Bath to take a dip in the famous pools and cool off after a long, hot day in the sun. This place is a bit overwhelmed with tourists but still manages to have a local feel with older folks playing chess in the water and sunbathing around the edges. It felt like we had truly dropped in during the heart of the European summer.

EAT

Hungarian food felt like quite a departure from the seafood of Croatian Islands. The Hungarian cuisine is starchy, heavy and full of stewed meats. We tried the goulash which was surprisingly good, but then erred on the side of Italian for our second dinner while in town. The most notable restaurant we tried was Déryné near our hotel. This place has exquisite décor, wonderful bread and a delicious brunch with fresh fruit and vegetable juices, eggs Florentine and lovely coffee. We made the mistake of not having dinner here on the second night, the French charm of this place still has me inspired.

Though we didn’t have time to get it all in, on a future visit I’d love to grab a meal at the Great Market Hall. I’d also like to hit a number of other restaurants, most notably the tasting menu at Onyx. Other restaurants on my list included Gundel, Szimpla and Gelarto Rosa.

STAY

While in Budapest we stayed at a lovely boutique design hotel in the Castle District called Pest-Buda. This place was in the perfect, secluded location for us near great panoramic views of the Danube and Parliament Building. We loved the charm of this hotel, well designed aesthetics and enjoyed the small restaurant it has. Our room was very nice with trendy coffee and refrigerator appliances, awesome French art and a gigantic bathroom. I’d stay in this hotel again and recommend it eagerly.

Budapest is a very impressive city with great restaurants, architecture, design and open spaces. This trip we hit all the major attractions and activities I had hoped to do, but I crave getting into the next layer of the city and exploring more neighborhoods, local bars and design shops. With more time I’d love to tour Parliament and spend some time in Buda Castle exploring the underground labyrinths and crowned jewels. After this first taste, I have a feeling I will be back to explore more in the future. This could even be a great jumping off point for a future Eastern Europe road trip in which we hit more countries to the north of Hungary.