If you're looking for a fairly inexpensive city break in Europe with plenty of culture, history and activities, Budapest could be the one for you. From natural spring water baths to breathtaking views, authentic Hungarian food and even a zoo, the city of Budapest has something to offer to every type of tourist. Here's a break-down of the 5 days we spent in this amazing city! Day OneAfter a long day of travel, a quick wander around the Great Market Hall and nightmare transfers (are transfers EVER actually straight-forward?), we headed to the hotel room for a quick nap. Said 'quick nap' lasted 6 hours, after which we proceeded to share some Pringles, a bottle of water and then fell back asleep for the night. Nothing too exciting to report here I'm afraid, although the Great Market Hall was pretty impressive with its multitude of stores selling everything from local produce to a range of Hungarian fashion, arts and crafts. Day TwoFor our first full day in Budapest, we decided to do a hop-on-hop-off bus tour around the whole city, which I'd definitely recommend to first timers travelling to any new city to get your bearings and work out where you wanna explore further. We ended up doing paying 6000 hufs (about £17 each) which was pretty good value for two 2 hour bus tours and a boat trip. To be honest, I'm a bit of a self-confessed nerd. I love learning new things so the commentary on the tours were right up my street and it was the perfect way to make sure we definitely didn't miss any major sights during our short stay. In parts, the city reminded me somewhat of London. There was even the Budapest Eye, although the real views came right up at the Citadella, where you find the most spectacular view of the whole of Budapest, which was definitely a highlight of my stay. Surprisingly, the tours were pretty tiring so we opted for a restaurant close to the Cosmo City Hotel (which was the cleanest hotel I've ever stayed in and smelt like strawberry lemonade) called La Botte. We tried a local beer called Dreher, which actually reminded me a lot of Budweiser, and only cost about £1.80 a pint. With a pizza, pasta and bottle of water thrown in, we paid 8200 hufs (about 23 quid) for dinner, which also included a service charge so we didn't have to work out a tip on top of the bill. Afterwards, we wandered out to find a cocktail bar and stumbled across the Good Spirit Bar where we ended up paying £17 for two Pina Coladas. Safe to say we only had the one drink there before retiring to the hotel after a tiring day of sight-seeing. The bar itself was pretty artsy with a British-style telephone box that led into the toilets and shelves upon shelves of every type of whiskey under the sun if you're into that kind of thing. The bar staff even had a ladder to reach the top shelves of spirits like the guy in the wand shop from Harry Potter. But still, SEVENTEEN POUNDS. Good Spirits? Bad prices. Day ThreeOn the second day, we hiked the hour walk from our hotel to Budapest Zoo (mistakes were made, but foreign public transport makes me nervous), which is apparently the oldest in Europe. For less than a tenner each we were granted admission under the promise of sighting polar bears, crocodiles and even sharks. The first thing that struck me was that the place could use some tlc. There was some construction going on while we were there and a few enclosures were closed before 10am, which was a little strange as the zoo was open from 9am. However, we did find one section where you can walk about with wallabies and emus and it was truly enchanting to see such animals as polar bears, hippos and even a wombat as I'd never seen them in the flesh before. The 'shark school' turned out to be more of a big tank with a few small sharks and some fish, but it was still a nice little addition to a zoo. Most of the sign posts were obviously written in Hungarian and most of the staff spoke little English, unlike the city centre where most people spoke it fluently, so I can see why the Budapest Zoo is such an underrated tourist attraction but it was definitely worth the visit. On the walk back, we ventured to the Vajdahunyad Castle, which was like stepping into a fairytale it was so picturesque. After walking back through Heroes Square, another historic sight with monumental statues and a museum on either side, we stopped at the Grand Cafe Budapest for a panini, pint of beer and fresh strawberry lemonade (which cost about a tenner). I found the food and drink in Budapest could either be reasonably cheap or fairly similar to what you would pay at a nice restaurant in England depending on where you went, but overall I found it to be relatively inexpensive. In the evening, we ventured to the Verne restaurant, which had a really pretty interior (I'm a sucker for an aesthetic) with a water fountain as the centre piece. We paid around £30 for 4 cocktails, a Caesar salad, beef gnocchi (a Hungarian delicacy), somloi galuska (fancy Hungarian chocolate trifle) and some pancakes, which was ridiculously cheap. Most food places we found were open until past midnight and people in the city seemed to eat out later so the restaurants were never over-crowded and the food was pretty good value for money. Day fOURAfter all the walking from the previous day, we decided to treat ourselves to a trip to the Gellert Thermal Baths, consisting of 10 pools with varying temperatures and sizes, saunas, steam rooms and both indoor and outdoor swimming pools. I booked the tickets online and paid for access with our own private cabin, which was more of a changing room with a fancy lock. It was around £18 each for a day at the baths, which seemed pretty steep but the internet informed me that it was a must-see in Budapest. Reviews advised us to go early as the evening could get quite crowded and we found that there was plenty of space without feeling too packed between 10am-12pm. Some of the pools were heated to 40 degrees, which kind of felt like taking one big giant bath with a bunch of strangers, which I suppose is the idea, but it was pretty relaxing and definitely soothed our aching muscles. The intricate details on the walls and ceilings added to the serene atmosphere and were certainly something to admire while you relaxed. Overall, we left feeling relaxed and refreshed after a busy couple of days sight-seeing so I'd say it was worth the money. We planned an evening boat trip across the Danube that night, which cost around £18 each for an hour tour with commentary and a welcome drink and I'd highly recommend the attraction as the views across the river in Budapest at night are unparalleled. Lit up, the houses of parliament and castles reflected upon the water had me awe-struck. We had dinner en route to the boat tour at a place called La Lucia, which was probably the most expensive food place we went to. For a pizza, spaghetti bolognaise (we're so English) and two fresh flavoured lemonades, we paid £35. I know. It's pretty steep. But the location was definitely more central and the restaurant itself was pretty cosy with outdoor heating at every table. The place offered a wide variety of dishes, including sushi, steaks and even the classic battered fish and chips which was a pretty unusual find in Budapest, so perhaps that was why it was a little more expensive (even though we only had basic dishes, typical). We also stopped at an outdoor bar outside the Cafe de Paris for a couple of beers besides a heater, which offered a selection of Hungarian street food we later wished we had gone to instead. DaY fIVEOn our final day, we headed towards the main shopping area before our flight home. If you're after a good place to get some shopping done, Budapest offers a variety of high end and high street stores, including Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Rolex, Zara and H&M. We got a few last minute souvenirs (accidentally spending about £30 on a couple of keyrings, fridge magnets and post cards without realising - damn exchange rate) and enjoyed a cocktail and a coffee at Anna Cafe, which offered a wide range of fancy cocktails costing no more than a fiver each. Our final stop was the Hummus Bar, a place I had been eager to try since the day we arrived. It had always seemed busy and popular so I thought I'd see what all the hype was about. We received a free shot of mint tea when we were seated, which was a nice touch. For 4530 (about £12, £12!) we ordered a falafel dish with pitta bread, chips and salad, a minced beef dish with pitta, rice and salad, extra coleslaw and two cokes. The portions were astronomical, so much so that I'm ashamed to admit that I couldn't finish my dinner, and I HATE leaving food. Unlike every other place, there was no automatic service charge but the service was really friendly and quick and we had paid next to nothing for so much food so we tipped 1000 hufs. One of the best things about Budapest is the food. I'm a pretty fussy eater (okay, a reeeeally fussy eater) and it can be quite testing the find veggie friendly options wherever you go, but Hungary was really accommodating and definitely veggie-friendly. I was sad to leave Budapest after just 5 short days. Although our days had been packed with activities (cough, excluding the first day, cough), there was still so much more to see, like Margaret Island and the Budapest Castle. It's a city full of history, culture and nature, offering an abundance of synagogues, castles and statues for the historian; shops, cafes and markets for the artisan, and; hikes, views and picturesque walks for the adventurer. If you've not yet been, you definitely need to!
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