Written by Aliza

QUEEN OF THE DANUBE

What do paprika, thermal baths, and the Danube River have in common? Okay, the last one kind of gave it away… today’s city is… Budapest! Before booking our trip to Budapest, we had NO idea what to expect. We didn’t know many people who had gone and it isn’t one of the places you see everyone travelling to online. The only thing we knew was that they take their spas and their schnitzel very seriously.

The Danube River runs through the heart of the city, dividing Buda and Obuda on the west (the left side, for those of us directionally challenged) from Pest on the east (right, duh). We didn’t realize until we started researching areas and hotels that the name ‘Budapest’ came from the cities of Buda and Pest combining in the 1800s.

If you are looking for a historical, lively, and picturesque city that also happens to have some of the most amazing artisans, Budapest is the place for you!

The City:

As a tourist, the majority of your time will be spent in Pest- almost every hotel, restaurant, and museum is there. Buda is far more residential, but definitely worth a full day trip…at least.

Buda: lots of hills covered in greenery, quiet, laid back

Pest: lots of big buildings, lots of construction, fast paced city

Budapest is divided into twenty-three districts each with a distinct vibe. The most popular district at the moment is District Seven (D7), the old Jewish quarter. In D7 you will see brand new modern buildings right beside 17th century building that still have bullet holes and cannon holes (?) from World War II. Even more obvious examples in the area are the Ruins Bars- but we will get to that later.

WHERE TO STAY:

The Fancy Ones:

Four Seasons Greshem Palace (District 5-6)

First of all, the view. The Four Seasons Gresham Palace has a direct view of the Buda hills, the Chain Bridge (one of the eight bridges in Budapest) and the Danube from the front door. The lobby is famous for it’s Art Nouveau style and has over one million mosaic tiles on the floor! The spa and rooms are stocked with Hungarian skincare line Omorovincza (don’t even bothering trying to pronounce it- we were told that if you weren’t born in Hungary you will never pick up the language). The hotel restaurant has a breakfast buffet that can’t be missed- seriously, we still think about the ‘Hungarian Bread’.

New York Palace (District 9)

You know those rooms you walk into and you can’t help but look up, do a 360 and just say “wow”? This is the lobby of the New York Palace. Located along the Great Boulevard, this hotel is right in the hustle and bustle of the city. The famous New York Café is located in the lobby and the hotel holds a number of tables every day for hotel guests, which is a major win because getting a reservation is no easy feat (you will see in our snack section). The rooms are decorated with deep reds, plush furnishings, gold accents, and a Murano chandelier in every room.

The Cool One:

Pest-Buda (District 1)

For a cool and laid-back (but not so laid back- you know what I mean?) vibe, this is the hotel for you. Each of the ten rooms in the hotel have oak floors, soft leather seating, exposed wooden beams, copper accents, and exposed bulb sconces in the bathroom. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves and say this hotel is actually rustic- the bathrooms are full of L’Occitane products! Be warned though, because of the small size of the hotel, there is no spa or gym… but this might be a nice way to take advantage of the spas in other hotels. The hotel is owned by the Zsidai Group who also own a number of restaurants in Budapest. The small, intimate bistro serves both Hungarian and international dishes…and is reason enough to stay.

WHAT TO DO DURING THE DAY:

Arts and Culture:

Historical buildings like the Hungarian Parliament Building, Dohany Street Synagogue, and St. Stephen’s Basilica offer tours from their in-house guides who are extremely knowledgeable, fluent in English (as well as many other languages), and are more than happy to answer any questions.

The Central Market Hall is the largest single-building market in Europe. You can find what we call the interesting smelling items in the basement- every pickled and unpickled fruit, vegetable, fish and meat imaginable. The main floor has a combination of spices, jarred foods, fresh meats and preserved meats, and you can find prepared foods and stalls lined with vendors selling lace and trinkets on the top floor. FYI: Hungary is known for their lace and although you aren’t necessarily getting a bargain at the market, it is part of the experience.

Varosliget aka the city park… let me start by telling you no, it is not the type of park you are imagining- the park has a restaurant, botanical garden, circus, castle, museum, and thermal baths. Make sure to visit the Szechenyi Baths and Swimming pool while you are there. The thermal baths are not only known for their healing properties, but also for their architectural beauty. If you don’t get a chance to visit the Szechenyi baths, make sure to visit some of the other thermal or roman baths while in Budapest. Even if you choose not to go in, they are definitely worth seeing.

HUNGARIAN PARLIAMENT BUILDING FROM DANUBE BOAT TOUR

A boat tour of the Danube, preferably at sunset, is a must. You can arrange for a private tour or take a tour with one of the many boat tour companies lining the river. From the boat, you can get a gorgeous view of some major landmarks: Buda Castle (now the Hungarian National Gallery and the Budapest History Museum), the Hungarian Parliament Building (also houses the Hungarian Crown Jewels- don’t mind if we do), as well as the Shoes on the Danube memorial- a must see.

Day Trips

Time to discuss Buda (not Buddha- sorry, had to). This side of the Danube is great for a full day trip. You can’t miss Buda Castle and the Fisherman’s Bastion (within the castle) which offers one of the best panoramic views of Budapest! Right next to the Bastion you can find Matthias Church- the intricate mosaic carvings date back to the 19th century and other parts of the church date as far back as the eleventh century. You can take a tour inside, but if you’re not in the mood for a full tour, it’s worth taking a look at the exterior.

Szentendre is an artist’s colony about 30 min outside of Budapest that transports you to another, more bohemian, world. There are stores filled with goods made from local artisans, spices (sooo much paprika), and more lace than you can imagine. We advise arranging a guide in advance to take you around because this quirky village has a rich history. One of our favourite treats there were the langos (Hungary’s answer to pizza) at Korzo Büfé. Langos is deep fried dough that can be topped with cheese, ham, jam, vegetables, or just powdered sugar. They also make incredible palacsinta, which are basically Hungarian crepes!

Located about thirty minutes from downtown Budapest is Gödöllő Palace, the Hungarian Versailles. This was Queen Elisabeth of Hungary’s favourite Palace, which isn’t difficult to understand from the beautifully coloured exterior, the impeccably preserved interior, and the perfectly manicured gardens.

WHAT TO DO AT NIGHT:

Laid Back

The High Skybar at the Aria Hotel, located in District Five, has one of the best views in the city and overlooks St. Stephen’s Basicilia. The bar is the spot to go for a relaxed evening of cocktail sipping. The menu is full of fun specialty cocktails, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, and the bartenders are happy to swap out ingredients to keep everyone smiling. Reservations are highly recommended.

A Wild Night

Told you we would get back to the Ruins Bars in District Seven. In the early 2000s, D7 was full of abandoned pre-WWII buildings (the ones with the bullet and cannon holes) that were supposed to be demolished. Ábel Zsendovits, a local developer and restauranteur, decided to buy these buildings and turn them into ‘ruins bars’. What is a ruins bar, you might ask? Why, a ruins bar is a place that is filled with eclectic furnishings from local designers and artisans to give a hip and edgy vibe, plays the coolest music, and offers inexpensive drinks to keep the party going. The original bars, Szimpla, and Instant & Fogas Haz, have a grungy, dark, hypnotic vibe, and are filled with graffiti. The newer ones that aren’t as into the…. we’ll call it visually aggressive aesthetic, are Mazel Tov, and Doboz.

SHOPPING:

Like any other major city, Budapest has all of the high end designer and chain stores, but we like to focus this section on local gems…which is pretty easy because there has been a major increase in local designers starting some really amazing lines over the last few years. One of our favourite designers right now, even outside of our Budapest guide, is Nanushka

NANUSHKA FASHION SHOWINSTAGRAM: @NANUSHKA — NANUSHKA FASHION SHOW
INSTAGRAM: @NANUSHKA

(if you don’t know their stuff, look it up right now… and you’re welcome in advance). Nanushka sells the coolest clothing for women and men made out of sustainable materials (i.e. vegan leather). Good luck trying to decide on what to buy- everything is stunning.

As mentioned above…Hungary is also known for Herend porcelain. We know- the image you have in your head is your grandma’s weird collection of porcelain animal figurines lining her cabinet, but we promise, not all porcelain is created the same! Herand has made a point of creating new, more modern designs to appeal to a younger audience. But not to worry- if your grandma *cough cough* (or you) have a certain desire for the porcelain animal figurines, Herand has you covered.

WHERE TO EAT:

We didn’t have a single bad meal in Budapest- while we would happily eat nokedli (dumplings), schnitzel, and paprikash for every meal, some in our travel party preferred to eat a tad bit lighter. So, if you feel like you are going to going to turn into a chilli if you eat any more paprika (we don’t have this problem, the more the merrier), you will easily find French, Russian, Mediterranean, American, even Japanese restaurants!

What we learned from reading every review online and asking every Hungarian we came across is that everyone has a different favourite traditional Hungarian restaurant. After many tastings, our favourite is Café Kor- but just an FYI: you can walk by it five times and without realizing you’ve arrived (we might have done that….). The restaurant is a no fuss, food focussed, pillar of Hungarian food. The menu is written on a big sheet of white paper daily, so whatever is fresh is served. The waiters are friendly and will help you navigate through the menu. We recommend getting the schnitzel- it is the perfect ratio of breading to cutlet. Although it might look a bit overwhelming when you get it, we are sure that you will find a way to finish it!

Food: 8.1

Vibe: 6.9

Budapest has a long history of traditional Jewish restaurants, and Rosenstein’s is an unpresumptuous restaurant with very simple décor, but let’s just say that the food speaks for itself. The menu is thicker than a phone book and is filled with every dish imaginable- matzoh ball soup, cholent, cabbage rolls… the list goes on. Be sure to order the Jewish egg spread- and no, it isn’t just egg salad.

Food: 8

Vibe: 6.9

Located in the recently redeveloped exciting D7, Mazel Tov is an open-air restaurant that focuses on natural light and sharable Middle-Eastern dishes. No matter the time of day, brunch, lunch, dinner, or late-night drinks, a good time is guaranteed. The can’t miss dishes are the middle eastern salads and pita sandwiches.

Food: 7.8

Vibe: 9.2

Modern-Russian food is what you will find at Arany Kaviar- Beet Borscht served inside puff pasty and Beef Stroganoff prepared with sirloin and crispy buckwheat crackers. In traditional Russian fashion, there is a section of the menu specifically dedicated to caviar with different tasting ‘experiences’, and while it is definitely a splurge- it is well worth it. Another important Russian tradition is vodka, and they have the longest list we have ever seen.

Food: 9.1

Vibe: 8.1

Onyx is the only two Michelin starred restaurant in Eastern Europe, and after a meal there, you will agree that it is well deserved. The bread course (courses for us) was outrageous in the best way possible- the waiters came around with a cart of over twenty different types of bread to choose from- you can’t imagine how many we tried. The tasting menu was a cross between continental European food and traditional Hungarian food, with an optional foie gras course (a Hungarian delicacy) served in a custom made Herend porcelain box (we asked if we could keep them, they laughed).

Food: 8.8

Vibe: 8.7

SNACKS:

Hungary is known for café and coffee house culture. Traditionally, these cafes have a white table cloth, an extensive tea and coffee menu, a selection of far too many (if there is such thing) delicious sounding pastries to choose from.

The New York Palace Café is the most popular cafe in Budapest. The interior is reason enough to visit- every corner of the Italian-Renaissance style café is covered in gold leaf, mouldings, and embroidery. The popular menu items are traditional Hungarian dishes- goulash, paprikash, schnitzel. This is the place to get your slice of Esterhazy cake (we tried it once…that was enough). Be sure to reserve your table in advance, otherwise you will be waiting in a very long line.

TASTING STRUDEL AND KREMES CAKE AT RUSZWURM

Ruszwurm café is small and simple- no white table cloth or formal service, but let us tell you… we still dream about the desserts. There are about seven strudel varieties to pick from (we tried all), but the real showstopper was the kremes cake- a six inch thick portion of pastry cream sandwiched between two layers of puff pastry aka heaven on a plate.

After you do some retail therapy on Vaci Street, you will need to refuel- Café Gerbaud is the place to do it. This is one of the original cafes in Budapest and they have every cake, pastry, sandwich, chocolate, tea, coffee, and hot chocolate you could imagine. Most of the traditional desserts involve some form of a sponge cake, with either a cream, jam, or chestnut filling (not our favs, but definitely worth a taste). If sweet desserts aren’t your thing, they have a crescent shaped biscuit filled with poppy seeds that will be sure to hit the spot (our mom was over the moon about these).

One of low-key best snacks we tried was a Turo Rudi chocolate bar- a crisp outer layer of chocolate with a cheese curd inside. We know, it sounds like an… interesting combo, but it is a Hungarian staple and a must-try. You can find these bars at convenience stores and gas stations.

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FINAL THOUGHTS:

We could not have fallen any harder for Budapest. We went in having no idea what to expect and can honestly say that everything: the food, the culture, and the history truly blew us away. Budapest, we will DEFINITELY be seeing you again soon!

WHEN TO VISIT:

You can visit at any time of the year. The city gets cold and snowy in the winter, but you can also stay at the top hotels for the lowest rates. Summer is very hot and is the most crowded and expensive time to visit. Spring and autumn are both great times to visit because the temperature is mild and city is less busy.

HOW TO GET THERE:

Budapest is a major city and has an airport with direct flights from most major airlines. People also visit from river cruises along the Danube.

BUDAPEST: What YOU Need to Know Before Visiting