I wrote some notes that turned into a visitor's guide before going for a brief vacation in Budapest. As usual, I was the lazy blogger and didn't finish before I left, so here it is, after the fact.
Gellert Hill is one of the best places in the city and walking to its summit is awesome. It's a long, hard walk up the hill – it's a harder run, but that's another story – yet the view is absolutely worth it. Bring a bottle of something and begin your walk just before dusk to watch the city light up as the sun sets.
Doing Stuff in BP
Gellert Hill
Gellert Hill is one of the best places in the city and walking to its summit is awesome. It's a long, hard walk up the hill – it's a harder run, but that's another story – yet the view is absolutely worth it. Bring a bottle of something and begin your walk just before dusk to watch the city light up as the sun sets.
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| Gellert Hegy. |
The Baths of Budapest
I'm all for lazy days, but my traditional idea of a lazy day made me feel guilty: watching an entire season of some television show, ordering takeout, and wondering if sweatpants is appropriate for picking up my Korean takeout.
On the other hand, Hungarians know how to handle a lazy day: Head to the baths. You get out of the house, put on your bathing suit, and laze comfortably in the thermal mineral water.
My pick: Szechenyi. It has a sunny main bath in the middle of its courtyard and a bevy of smaller mineral pools. It was the first bath I visited on my first New Year's Eve and it's the one I soaked in this weekend.
Just go for a walk
Be your own Hop-On-Hop-Off Tour and walk around the town. It's a big city, so I wouldn't recommend this if you're trying to get somewhere in a hurry, but otherwise Budapest is made for the Discovery Walker. There are surprises down every side street and I would recommend this for the architecture alone.
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| Side streets of Budapest. |
Drinking in BP
For starters
The beer in Hungary is good, but Hungary is a great wine country. On offer are great dry whites and full-bodied reds. I appreciate this more now that I've moved to beer-chugging Germany.
And, of course there is the palinka. Drink one to try it and see what it's all about. Drink a few more for better stories, and rougher mornings.
Wine Tips
I'm no wine connoisseur, but after almost two years in Hungary, I learned a few things. If you're in the mood for a red, reach for the Bikaver, which translates to Bull's Blood. It's a full red from Eger with a badass story about its name.
As for whites, if you like dry stuff then you're in the right country. Kata and I spent some time crawling from one winery to another in Badacsony on Lake Balaton. I recommend almost any white from there.
Oh! Fröccs! Let's say you meet a few friends on a terrace or patio for some day drinking, then the fröccs is your friend. Wine and sparkling water is refreshing, light, and will keep hydrated, unless you throw palinka into the mix.
When in doubt, grab a friend and bottle, and drink by the Danube River.
Budapest is changing fast, and in its haste to update itself, the city is eliminating some of the things that make Budapest beautiful. Calling Kertem a bar isn't quite accurate. It's more like a garden or backyard where you hang out with live music, a bar, and a grill.
This is its last summer before it closes forever and construction on museums begin. Get there for a drink before the Kertem era is over.
Yes, you're going to eat goulash. It's going to be good. But remember that goulash tastes great because of the paprika, which is liberally added to many Hungarian dishes. When you tire of the goulash, try the pokolt, lecso, or the fish soup – definitely the fish soup.
Do you like cabbage? Well you should, because it's delicious, healthy, and smells great. So try the stuffed cabbage.
While you're eating your goulash and cabbage, remember there is more to Hungarian food than the traditional Hungarian foods. Go beyond the traditional fare.
I firmly believe Budapest is a fantastic burger city and W35 has the best burgers in the city. There, I said it.
New, cool restaurants are opening every weekend. There are even vegetarian places. What I'm trying to say is eat the goulash, but think (and eat) beyond the goulash and try something else out.
If you want brunch, or a nice dinner, go to Jelen. It's a true 7th district dining experience. You sit at a sidewalk patio, enjoy your Eggs Benny, and watch the sketchiness at the sketchy internet cafe across the street.
On the Buda side of the river, Majorka has a great tree-covered patio (well, they call them terraces in Europe) and some great grilled foods on offer.
Someone is going to say something about Raday utca, which is lined with restuarants. If you venture that way, go to Puder. It's great food, verging on gourmet, but the prices don't verge on gourmet.
Ruin Bars
My tenure in Budapest happened to include many visitsto pubs in the courtyards of old apartment blocks. There are more than I can keep track of, so you can probably find nice, random drinking holes by simply wandering the Jewish Quarter.
You should at least have an afternoon drink in Szimpla to take in its glorious squalor and its weekend farmers market – while avoiding the multiple UK bachelor parties bar crawls that pass through at night. For an evening ruin pub experience, try an evening at one of my favourites: Fogashaz.
During the winter, Csendes is an unassuming, yet cool, bar with cheap drinks and walls covered with knick-knacks and what-nots. During the summer, they put out tables and chairs beside Karoly Kert, where you can munch on breads with yummy spreads and sip coffee and/or fröccs. Go there, sit on a quiet street under the shade of the trees and sip a beverage.
It took months for me to get around to hitting my friendly, neighbourhood rooftop patio: Tip Top Bar. I confess, I was far too focused on the breakfast bagels from their ground floor walk-up bar. I was also intimidated by their complete lack of signage out front, which means it's a cool place, I suppose
You should at least have an afternoon drink in Szimpla to take in its glorious squalor and its weekend farmers market – while avoiding the multiple UK bachelor parties bar crawls that pass through at night. For an evening ruin pub experience, try an evening at one of my favourites: Fogashaz.
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| Fogashaz! In all its Tueday afternoon glory. |
Haunts in My Old Hood
During the winter, Csendes is an unassuming, yet cool, bar with cheap drinks and walls covered with knick-knacks and what-nots. During the summer, they put out tables and chairs beside Karoly Kert, where you can munch on breads with yummy spreads and sip coffee and/or fröccs. Go there, sit on a quiet street under the shade of the trees and sip a beverage.
It took months for me to get around to hitting my friendly, neighbourhood rooftop patio: Tip Top Bar. I confess, I was far too focused on the breakfast bagels from their ground floor walk-up bar. I was also intimidated by their complete lack of signage out front, which means it's a cool place, I suppose
Down by the River
When in doubt, grab a friend and bottle, and drink by the Danube River.
RIP Kertem
Budapest is changing fast, and in its haste to update itself, the city is eliminating some of the things that make Budapest beautiful. Calling Kertem a bar isn't quite accurate. It's more like a garden or backyard where you hang out with live music, a bar, and a grill.
This is its last summer before it closes forever and construction on museums begin. Get there for a drink before the Kertem era is over.
Eating in BP
Primer on eating like a Hungarian
Yes, you're going to eat goulash. It's going to be good. But remember that goulash tastes great because of the paprika, which is liberally added to many Hungarian dishes. When you tire of the goulash, try the pokolt, lecso, or the fish soup – definitely the fish soup.
Do you like cabbage? Well you should, because it's delicious, healthy, and smells great. So try the stuffed cabbage.
While you're eating your goulash and cabbage, remember there is more to Hungarian food than the traditional Hungarian foods. Go beyond the traditional fare.
I firmly believe Budapest is a fantastic burger city and W35 has the best burgers in the city. There, I said it.
New, cool restaurants are opening every weekend. There are even vegetarian places. What I'm trying to say is eat the goulash, but think (and eat) beyond the goulash and try something else out.
Eat like Marshall in a Strange Place
If you want brunch, or a nice dinner, go to Jelen. It's a true 7th district dining experience. You sit at a sidewalk patio, enjoy your Eggs Benny, and watch the sketchiness at the sketchy internet cafe across the street.
On the Buda side of the river, Majorka has a great tree-covered patio (well, they call them terraces in Europe) and some great grilled foods on offer.
Someone is going to say something about Raday utca, which is lined with restuarants. If you venture that way, go to Puder. It's great food, verging on gourmet, but the prices don't verge on gourmet.
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| A girl and her burger at W35 |
One more thing
Everyone's Budapest experience is different. Some love the city. Some don't, which is sad but it happens.
My experience was unique. No one knows what happens when they leap at a job in a strange, new city they know nothing about. The stuff I have just listed are my favourites, and is a product of my unique experience with the city. It is by no means the final say on what's good in Budapest.
Budapest's greatness doesn't come from its bars, parks, restaurants, or baths. It comes from its people, who are constantly opening new bars, parks, restaurants, or baths – or making the existing one's better. So, trust the people, and take this list as a guidelines and ask the locals for advice, they might grumble about their city, but they are proud of it.
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