The Greatest Issues to Do On a Weekend in Budapest (2-day Itinerary)

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Fancy a incredible weekend away? Budapest is all the time an amazing choice! Should you’re searching for a laid-back 2-day itinerary for Budapest, the place you may loosen up within the baths, attempt scrumptious meals and do a little bit of sightseeing, this itinerary for a weekend in Budapest is for you!

Whereas Budapest lately has gained reputation as a stag celebration vacation spot, it provides a lot greater than that and is an ideal place for buddies, households and {couples}. There are such a lot of issues to do in Budapest, and it’s unimaginable to see and do all of them simply in a weekend. 

Therefore, on this article, I absolutely give attention to what we did in Budapest on our 2-day journey. It’s not our first time visiting Budapest – I’ve been there as soon as earlier than (and described it as a part of our 11-day journey to Central Europe, visiting Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia and Austria by trains and buses), and Pepe has been twice. There are some locations that we determined to revisit, regardless that we now have been there earlier than, simply because it’s an absolute delight to revisit them!

Earlier than we begin with the itinerary, right here is an summary of the helpful hyperlinks from the article (I’m usually requested to summarise all of the hyperlinks in a single place so they’re simpler to search out). 

Overview of helpful hyperlinks from this text:

Lodge in Budapest: Marriott or Lodge Rumor

Szechenyi Baths: ebook on-line right here 

Budapest cruises: ebook right here

Buda strolling tour: verify costs and availability right here

Right here’s a fast overview of our 2-day itinerary for Budapest: 

Day 0: night flight to Budapest

Day 1 (Saturday): Breakfast at Dobrumba, strolling across the Jewish Quarter, Central Market, Szechenyi Baths, Marriott rooftop terrace, dinner at Hilda, night time stroll & The Szimpla Kert 

Day 2 (Sunday): Breakfast at New York Cafe, sightseeing in Buda, Fisherman’s Bastion, strolling to Pest, Lunch in Fats Mama, Dessert at cafe Gerbeaud, heading again to the airport

With out additional ado, let’s get began!

2-day itinerary for Budapest | Issues to do on a weekend in Budapest

Day 0: Taking a night flight to Budapest

Personally, I’m not an enormous fan of waking up at 4 am within the morning to catch the 8am flight. In any other case, we may have undoubtedly arrived a day later. Should you’re on a finances, that may be a good suggestion as a result of motels in Budapest are dear, and that method, you wouldn’t must pay for 2 nights. We used to do it on a regular basis, however after we turned 30, or possibly it was the pandemic that modified the best way we journey, we stopped taking early morning flights and as an alternative began flying on Friday and even Thursday nights. 

We took the newest flight to Budapest from London Stansted and landed round 11pm. It took some time to move safety and discover a taxi, so we solely arrived at our lodge round 1am.

The place to remain in Budapest?

Budapest is a big metropolis; nevertheless, when you’re solely staying for 2 nights, it is smart to remain in two important areas of town – the Jewish quarter, the place most eating places are situated or close to the Danube embankment, between Deak Ferenc Ter and Ferenciek Tere. Some folks select to remain in Buda, close to the principle landmarks. Nonetheless, this space doesn’t have something to do within the evenings, there are hardly any eating places, and you’ll spend a whole lot of time travelling out and in there.

Listed here are the motels we’d suggest in Budapest:

Luxurious & mid-range: Marriott Budapest (that’s the place we stayed and cherished the views) with the very best views of Danube, Parisi Udvar by Hyatt

Inexpensive: Lodge Rumor, K46 Residence

We didn’t truly do something on our first night time in Budapest, because it was too late, so all actions on Saturday and Sunday throughout this 2-day journey to Budapest.

Day 1 (Saturday): Discovering Budapest’s Greatest Landmarks

Morning: Breakfast in Dobrumba + Exploring the Jewish Quarter

We awakened round 9am and determined to start out our morning exploring the Jewish Quarter, one of many coolest and most hipster areas of Budapest. There may be a whole lot of funky avenue artwork, and in addition, among the greatest breakfast and brunch spots are situated there.  

We walked all the best way to the Jewish Quarter and had a yummy Center-eastern-style breakfast on the pretty Dobrumba cafe. The road the place Dobrumba is situated has loads of totally different brunch eating places – when you desire one thing else for breakfast, there are such a lot of choices!

After breakfast, we walked slightly bit across the space, trying to find essentially the most stunning streets. 

Noon and afternoon: Central Market and Szechenyi Baths

Central Market

Our subsequent vacation spot was full of life Central Market, a buzzing place stuffed with native goodies and distinctive finds. We took a while to discover the stalls and located every part, from contemporary produce to chill souvenirs. The Central Market in Budapest is a superb place to go to when you’re planning to purchase some souvenirs or if you wish to eat – because it’s undoubtedly top-of-the-line locations to attempt native Hungarian meals. 

The market has two ranges – all of the meals stalls and eating places are on the higher stage. The market can be very stunning – it’s undoubtedly one of the spectacular markets in Europe. Should you’re not planning to purchase or eat something there, it’s price visiting simply to see the market constructing itself! The market is closed on Sundays, so when you’re solely coming to Budapest for a weekend, you may solely go to it on a Saturday! 

Szechenyi Baths

Subsequent, it was time to go to the well-known Szechenyi Baths, which is unquestionably top-of-the-line issues to do on a weekend in Budapest. For Szechenyi Baths, you’ll want to pre-book tickets prematurely. Don’t neglect a towel and slippers – you received’t have the ability to enter with out the slippers and shopping for them there may be very costly. I’m within the means of writing a information to visiting Szechenyi Baths, and I’ll hyperlink it right here as soon as it’s completed!

I additionally suggest bringing a bathrobe or one thing to cowl up when you’re there, particularly when you’re visiting exterior within the heat summer time months! There are a few out of doors swimming pools and many indoor swimming pools and saunas, and you’ll simply spend a few hours at Szechenyi Baths.

A number of persons are additionally questioning which one is best, Szechenyi Baths or Gellert Baths and since we’ve solely been to Szechenyi, it’s exhausting for us to say, however we’ve learn some articles earlier than visiting, and it looks as if Szechenyi Baths are slightly bit extra spectacular, so we determined to go there.

Nonetheless, if there is no such thing as a availability at Szechenyi Baths, you may completely go to Gellert Baths, and I’m positive you’ll take pleasure in it lots! Examine the provision of Szechenyi Baths right here & ebook tickets on-line.

Night: Rooftop terrace, dinner at Hilda & the Smash Bar 

We had been in Budapest in early spring, so it was getting darkish fairly early. We needed to rush again to the lodge to vary and have the ability to watch the gorgeous sundown from the rooftop bar of our lodge, Marriott. I undoubtedly suggest this bar for beautiful views of town, particularly throughout sundown. Alternatively, you may take a sundown cruise when you’re visiting in summer time.

For dinner, we booked a restaurant referred to as Hilda. We discovered it talked about in a few guides to the very best eating places in Budapest, and we had been fortunate to get a same-day reserving. Normally, you’ll want to pre-book a minimum of a few days prematurely, as Hilda will get very busy. The restaurant undoubtedly didn’t disappoint – the meals was conventional Hungarian however with a twist. All the pieces was scrumptious, and we will certainly come again there after we journey to Budapest once more.

Budapest will get very busy at night time! After dinner, we went for a stroll to see town’s illuminated landmarks and discover the nightlife and couldn’t miss the well-known Smash Bar, Szimpla Kert. Szimpla Kert is an area that consists of a number of bars. You don’t want a reserving, however there may be all the time a queue exterior, nevertheless, it might probably transfer fairly quick. 

Day 2 of the weekend in Budapest (Sunday): New York Cafe and Buda and Pest Journey

Morning: Breakfast at New York Cafe & sightseeing in Buda 

New York Cafe

Very first thing within the morning, we went to the well-known New York Cafe, a spot we’d heard lots about.Normally, the wait is kind of lengthy – when you come there round 11am, you may keep as much as 2 hours within the queue. To keep away from that, we determined to get up early and be there simply after 9 am. We had been very fortunate as we didn’t have to attend and had been seated after we arrived. 

Inside, we had been amazed by New York Cafe’s fancy decorations, stunning chandeliers, and dwell music. New York Cafe claims to be essentially the most stunning restaurant on the planet, and this declare might be true. The meals, then again, could be very common, and the parts are tiny, however most individuals come there only for a espresso and to benefit from the ambiance. 

Sightseeing in Buda

Feeling stuffed with power after breakfast, we took the general public transport with trams and buses going by busy streets. We crossed the Danube River and reached a reasonably space referred to as Buda, the place the spectacular Buda Fortress stood tall on a hill. Buda was once a separate metropolis from Pest, and it was once a a lot richer and fancier metropolis as properly. Many of the landmarks of Budapest are literally situated in Buda. If you wish to be taught extra in regards to the historical past of Budapest, I like to recommend taking this strolling small group tour round Buda & Buda Fortress. It’s very inexpensive and solely lasts 2-3 hours. You may verify the costs and availability right here.

My favorite constructing in Buda is unquestionably the Fisherman’s Bastion, the place you may snap incredible pictures of town and the Danube. Furthermore, the constructing itself could be very uncommon and beautiful!

One other must-visit landmark is Matthias Church (Mátyás Templom), situated subsequent to Buda Fortress. This iconic church is understood for its vibrant roof tiles and Gothic structure. It has a wealthy historical past and is carefully tied to Hungary’s kings and queens.

Afternoon: strolling again to Pest & lunch at Fats Mama. Late afternoon cake at Cafe Gerbeaud

After spending a few hours in Buda, it was time for us to return to Pest. We determined to stroll there because it wasn’t too far – just below 50 minutes of strolling, or simply underneath an hour when you determine to take a couple of pictures on the best way. 

For lunch, we went to a spot referred to as Fats Mama, which is a big & easy restaurant with tasty Hungarian and worldwide meals. We ordered two goulash soups, and regardless that the parts appeared fairly small, one soup was greater than sufficient meals for lunch. Goulash is a really hearty and in addition fairly fats dish! 

After lunch, we went on a small stroll to see how the realm the place Szimpla Kerr is situated appears to be like in the course of the day. We had been fairly shocked to see the realm buzzing in the course of the day as properly – all of the eating places had been full, and there was even a small Sunday market promoting souvenirs, jewelry and humanities and crafts. 

Cafe Gerbeaud

Earlier than it was time for us to go to the airport to seize a flight again to London, we had a little bit of time to go to the final spot we wished to go to, the enduring historic Cafe Gerbeaud, well-known for its truffles. Cafe Gerbeaud has been round since 1858. It has a wealthy historical past and appears very fancy inside, with stunning decorations and chandeliers. The café is understood for its scrumptious do-it-yourself pastries just like the Dobos cake and flaky strudels, made utilizing conventional recipes. We tried two truffles, and for sure, they had been completely scrumptious!

Abstract of our 2-day itinerary for Budapest: greatest issues to do on a weekend in Budapest

I hope you loved this laid-back itinerary for Budapest! Should you’re not a first-timer and also you’ve been to Budapest earlier than, this itinerary is ideal for locating new locations and having fun with Budapest at your individual tempo. Should you haven’t been to Budapest earlier than, however don’t really feel like waking up at 7am on daily basis and like a extra laid-back and comfy method of travelling and exploring, you’ll take pleasure in this itinerary! There’s a little bit of every part – scrumptious meals, sightseeing, purchasing and, in fact, the well-known Szechenyi Baths.

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