A Week In Budapest – Things To Do!

Hey everyone,

If you follow me on my social media accounts, you will already know that I recently spent a week in Budapest, Hungary. It was an absolutely amazing place, with so many things to do and sights to see (All at incredible prices). I thought I’d write up a post outlining the top things we did during the week. Maybe it will entice you to book a trip to Budapest, or give you some ideas of what to do if you already have one planned!

SIGHTS
Parliament Building: The Parliament building, which is the biggest building in Hungary, lies on the bank of the Danube river. It is a stunning building which is definitely worth seeing if you are going to Budapest. It is a top tourist attraction, which means that it will likely be busy when you visit, particularly if it’s really sunny like it was when I visited. It’s worth it for the pretty shots. You can also have a tour of the area, but I didn’t bother. Maybe next time I will as it would be cool to learn more about the history of it all.

Shoes on the Danube River: This is a very interesting memorial monument on the bank of the river. The shoes are there to remember the victims who were shot into the river in 1944-45, leaving just their shoes behind. It is a very sobering visit and definitely one worth seeing if you’re interested in the history of Hungary during WW2.

Buda Castle: Buda Castle is an absolutely stunning place to visit, well worth the walk up the hill! However, if you don’t fancy the walk, you can take a cable car up to see the castle. The views of Budapest from the top are gorgeous too. One of my favourites sights we saw. There are a few drinking spots around the top too, which is always a win!

FUN THINGS TO DO
Escape Rooms – Locked Rooms: Before we went to Budapest, we had heard that ‘escape rooms’ are a big craze there (Clues and finding keys help you navigate your way out of the room you are locked in), and we had never done one before! We did a bit of research and decided on ‘Locked Rooms’ as they had a few different rooms to try. We did the one titled ‘Serial Killer 1’, which was meant to be an easy one to get us started! It was so much fun, and definitely not super easy.. The staff were lovely and allowed us an extra 5 minutes on top of the allotted 60 minutes, as we were so close to finishing – and those 5 minutes meant we completed the room. I would definitely recommend this if you’re going to Budapest. It is a tad more expensive than other attractions we visited, but well worth it. Especially if you get a day where the weather isn’t great.

Cat Cafe: Does this count as ‘fun things to do?’ I think it does! The cat cafe is right in central Budapest and is ideal if you’re a cat lover. The cats here are so friendly, and you are able to stroke them, but not pick them up. The menu has a lot of drinks from coffees to beer, and it has a couple of light bites on there too. I had a Melange, which is a latte with honey – it was delicious and made the experience even better.

Palatinus Strand Baths (Thermal Baths): You may have heard that thermal baths are a big attraction in Budapest. There are a lot of different ones you can go too. Originally we were planning on going to the most popular one, Szechenyi Bath. However, we discovered Palatinus on Margaret Island (Island in the Danube river) and decided to choose this one instead. The reason is because Palatinus actually is sort of a water park too! There are water slides and a wave pool, along with the thermal baths, saunas and steam rooms. The price of this one was also really great in comparison to some of the other thermal baths. We had the absolute best time, there is something for everyone there – including a sun bathing spot if you don’t fancy getting your hair wet!

Budapest Zoo: Most people love zoos?! Budapest zoo was really great as the animals seemed to have large enclosures, and they weren’t hiding which always seems to happen at the zoo. It was a super hot day when we went which made the day even better. If you like zoos, then I would suggest a visit to this one! My favourite was the monkeys because they were swinging around having a lot of fun.

House of Terror Museum: This museum teaches about both the Fascist and Communist rule in Hungary, and also acts as a memorial to the victims of the times. It is very interesting to learn about Hungarian history as personally it hasn’t been something covered in History lessons at school or college. There is a lot of reading to do as there are info pages at the start of every room. So allow a lot of time for your visit to read these or you will miss parts. Alternatively, I think you can have a headset as quite a few people had them! If we would have realised this at the time then we probably would have used one of those. Admission fee is really reasonable, and we were given student prices for being under 26.

Ice Bar: I had no clue Budapest had an ice bar until I was handed a leaflet walking down the street. Of course, we had to take the opportunity so we purchased tickets. We got our tickets a little cheaper than the set price as we bartered (well I didn’t… but the people I was with haha). This made it a little more affordable. In with the ticket we got three drinks each – they were only small but it was nice to have. The bar was really fun, it had music and lots of ice features. The bar itself was much smaller than I imagined. At first I felt a little disappointed, but it really didn’t matter in the end.

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I hope you enjoyed this post and found it useful if you’re planning a trip to Budapest! Let me know in the comments if you are tempted to visit, or if you have been before!

Jazmin xx