Sunday 10 July 2016

6 Reasons To Visit: Budapest

Chain Bridge Budapest, 6 Reasons To Visit, Night Time
 Széchenyi Chain Bridge
Welcome back to my blog everyone! I've been away for a month now and I've been super busy with life but I've decided to start a new weekly series to get me back into blogger mode - The new weekly series is called called "6 Reasons To Visit" and this weeks destination is Budapest! I went to Budapest back in May for four days (I'll be posting about it within the next month) and I had such an amazing time. If you follow me on Instagram you might have seen some of my amazing pictures of the extremely beautiful country.


https://www.instagram.com/p/BGCa4BZjAyh/?taken-by=leeshastarr
Memorial - Shoes on the river Danube
As I said before Budapest is a beautiful city and has a lot going for it, there are far more than just 6 reasons to visit Budapest or Hungary for that matter but the reasons below are the reasons I fell in love with the city.


1) The Architecture
Hungarian Parliament Building river
View of the Hungarian Parliament Building from our river Danube cruise
Budapest has this beautiful mixture of old and new architecture and this varies between Buda and Pest. Buda and Pest are divided by the River Danube and honestly you can see the difference between the two parts. If I remember correctly our sightseeing bus told us that Buda is built on hills and Pest is completely flat. Whilst there we actually stayed in Buda, we were lucky enough to be right next to Buda castle and the beautiful Széchenyi Chain Bridge our apartments (Budapest Best Apartments) were built in the early 1900s, and they have to be hands down the most beautiful apartments I've ever stayed in. They were old and yes the door handle fell off and yes the lift was scary because it was at least 20 years older than me but the authenticity of the building was beautiful. All the amazing architecture in both Buda and Pest lead to such beautiful views, especially when the sun sets.

2) The Ruin Pubs
Wow, just wow! I've gone all around Europe to party islands, drinking all night for days on end at some of the world's most popular clubs/bars but none of them clubs/bars compare to the ruin pubs in Budapest. So I'll be honest, for us (people who LOVE R&B) the music wasn't amazing but for people who are more open to listening to music you've never heard before and older music (i.e Eminem - Please Stand Up: Released 2000) then the ruin bars are for you. There are 100s of ruin bar in Budapest but due to having a voucher and being recommended we went to "Instant". Instant has 26 rooms, 7 bars, 2 gardens and 7 stages and according to their website they're the biggest Ruin Pub in the heart of the city.

3) Cheapness 
Everything about Budapest is cheap, from food and drinks to cabs and travel. We got three cabs whilst in Budapest (for quickness, and because the bus didn't go to one of the places) and in total it cost us around £7 for all three cabs using Uber*, as you may know Uber costs £5 minimum here in the UK so this was amazing! Almost all museums do a discount for EU citizens under the age of 26 (rather than a student discount) and it is normally half price. We also got a coupon booklet that gave us free shots at pubs, discount at the baths, discount at restaurants and much more. Eating out in Budapest is so cheap it's scary! Although I wouldn't rate the restaurant we visited ( I had to write a negative TripAdvisor) it worked out that we paid £5 something for an all-you-can-eat buffet and a drink, you can't go wrong with that! Budapest is also cheap for hotels, we rented out a two bedroom apartment which came with a washing machine and everything for very little! Budapest is great value for money!

4) The Thermal Baths
Personally, after visit The Blue Lagoon in Iceland the thermal baths in Budapest didn't wow me like they would others and they are a little overrated (including The Blue Lagoon) but honestly the architecture, design and the overall atmosphere was amazing. We personally went to the Széchenyi Thermal Bath which is apparently the largest medicinal bath in Europe. I've been told but friends that there are many thermal baths in Budapest and they're all just as amazing.

5) Cultural Entertainment
Although museums are closed on a Monday Budapest has some of the most amazing museums I have ever visited (and I've been to many). My favourite museum by far was the 'hospital in the rock', unfortunately you're not allowed to take pictures whilst inside but it was truly breathtaking, it reminded me a lot of the HMS Belfast here in London but must better. H.I.T.R is basically the name of the hospital built underground (under Buda castle) in the second world war. We also visited other museums and attractions but this was my favourite by far. Budapest is also famous for its concert halls and cultural festivals (which are all year round). Buda and Pest are both steeped in history and it's thought-provoking to see the history of the Nazi regimes and the effects WWII had on Hungary.

6) The Metro
We didn't take too many metros as we mainly walked or got buses/trams but I am lead to believe that metro in Budapest is the oldest electric underground railway system in Europe, whilst on the Metro you also get this vibe! The metro in Budapest reminded me a lot of the metro in Berlin and I guess I love how old and authentic it feels compared to our very modern London Underground. 



So these are my 6 reasons to visit Budapest. Stay tuned as the next installment of "6 Reasons To Visit" will be Sunday 17th July and it will be featuring the beautiful city of Copenhagen

Have you been to Budapest before? Would you visit Budapest after reading this post?


 




*You will receive a free £15 ride using this link, and I will also gain a free £15 ride. New customers only T&Cs apply.

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10 comments:

  1. Oh this looks a great place to visit - brilliant value for money too. I would love to visit. Kaz x

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  2. Can I just say your blog header is SO cool! Secondly I love this post and you've included some fab reasons to visit Budapest and not just the typical things which people seem to include. xx

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  3. Wow, looks like a great holiday! Thank for the tips!

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  4. It is definitely a city I would love to visit, it sounds amazing.

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  5. The thermal baths interest me most in visiting Hungary's capital. Wish to see Budapest this year.

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  6. I'd love to visit Budapest, in fact, I want to visit everywhere in the world! Total travelling addict xxx

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  7. I've been to Budapest a few years ago. Although we've been for NYE and it was cold. It's a lovely city and I would love to visit it again.

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  8. I loved Budapest when I visited as a teenager. I remember it was great value for money too.

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  9. I haven't been to Budapest yet! Looks like you had a ball. R

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  10. That is really Nice. Looks like I should visit there soon! Happy Diwali Images 2016

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