Posted by pdittman on May 24th, 2025 in '25 - Europe
We didn’t quite know what to expect as we visited Budapest. Many of the travel blogs write that it’s a city worth visiting – which is how it got on the list.
After visiting, we’d definitely agree – it’s one worth visiting – exuding that “old-world” charm characteristic of some other European cities which didn’t see complete destruction and rebuilding from the conflicts of the early and mid 20th century.
And as we experienced in the other areas we visited – Budapest has a very long and storied history, stretching back nearly 1000 years (!) and of which the locals are exceptionally proud.
As we had done in Prague, we decided on a 3hr tour (!) – through withlocals.com. Our guide, Beata, was great, taking us in and around various parts of the city, talking about history, some of the significant events and their impact on the people – and just all sorts of fun and informative sights.
One stop on our tour was the Szimpla – the original ruin bar. Ruin bars are what I’d call “urban overgrowth” of buildings condemned or abandoned – reclaimed as a bar, or really, many small bars scattered through the rooms. And, reclaimed as a food market on the weekends – something we returned to a few days later.
Szimpla – the original ruin bar
Also on our tour, we saw many examples of wall art – this one of the Rubik’s cube – the inventor being a Budapest local!
Street art – the Rubik’s cube – invented by, yup, Ernő Rubik.
Throughout the city, we also explored many of the bronze sculptures – both life size (inviting company)
Relaxing with one of the many statues throughout the city
and the mini statues Mini statues – this statue, no more than about 30cm (a foot high).
Mini statues of Budapest
We also walked through Hero’s square, during which we got a (very brief!) sense of some of Budapest’s history. From there, we stopped in at the Vajdahunyadvár Castle. Turns out, it’s not a real castle – it’s a replica of the well renowned Hunyadi Castle in Transylvania, that was gifted to Vajk Hunyadi in 1409 by king Sigismund. I suppose something like a Disney castle.
Beyond the castle, we saw the Széchenyi Thermal Baths and heard of many thermal baths throughout the city. We were intrigued – and looking for a bit of spontaneity and relaxation, a few days later, we booked a half-day visit, including a couples massage. Hmmmm! heavenly!
Private spa facilities at the Szechenyi thermal baths
Armed with all this great information, on the other days, we set out to explore other parts of the city. High on the list was Buda Castle, on the Buda side of the Danube River. While under significant amounts of construction, the castle and surroundings offered some great views of the city.
Hungarian Parliment building viewed from Buda Castle
Another one of our favorite activities is food and artisan markets. What better way to see that than the Great Market Hall. The indoor size market is staggering – two floors and seemingly going on forever. A fun way to explore and get lost for a bit. We picked up some table runners 🙂
View of the Great Market Hall
A sobering moment in our exploration – as we had done in the other cities thus far – Amsterdam, Prague, and Vienna – taken some time to visit WWII/Holocaust memorials. Here in Budapest, one of those is the Shoes on the Danube – a memorial and a monument to the Hungarian Jews who, in the winter of 1944-1945, were shot on the banks of the Danube River by the members of the Arrow Cross Party.
Shoes on the Danube memorial
Medieval stairs in Szentendre
And to say goodbye to Budapest, it wouldn’t be right to not leave a special place for the Hungarian Parliment building at night. We good a quick spin on an evening/sunset cruise – an hour-long spin around on the Danube – just at the right time.
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