Budapest, Bucharest or Valencia for a long weekend?

[erhsla14]

Looking to get away somewhere weve not been for milestone anniversary weekend with DH. This is our current shortlist. Any experiences/ advice?

Other options potentially in the running:
Toulouse, France
Geneva, Switzerland - likely too expensive
Poprad, Slovakia - beautiful mountains, not sure what else

What time of year?

Early July @WeAreTheHeroes

Not been to the others but Budapest is my all time favourite place to visit. I've been in summer and winter and it's equally magical. There's something for everyone - bustling city, history, castles, mountains. I really can't recommend it enough!

I’ve not been to the others, but Budapest is lovely - lots to see, very walkable .

we went in November though so not sure about Summer , but I’d imagine it’s fab

Hands down Budapest!

Oh wow so all votes for Budapest at the moment! I wonder what the food/drinks are like..

DH & I visited Budapest for a long weekend back in Aug 2019. My foodie tip is to take advantage of the lower restaurant prices especially the fine dining ones.

Budapest is top of my list but I have been to Valencia a couple of times and it is a beautiful city. Complete contrasts of the old and the new

Budapest is fantastic.
We did a long weekend and had fairly lazy days, we just did one touristy activity each day then had a long lunch and a swim in the hotel pool in the late afternoon before dinner/roof top bars etc. In the evening. It is a beautiful city.

Valencia is also a beautiful city with a mix of old town and the beach with great bars, restaurants and shopping. Check the temperatures for that time of year though, it could be pretty hot then.

Ooh we're going to Budapest in the summer so watching this for ideas!

Budapest is fantastic. Ruin bars and lots of fab bars and restaurants in the Jewish quarter.

Budapest and Valencia both great choices, we loved both cities! Bucharest is small so wouldn't recommend a long weekend, only go for a day or two and then go to Transylvania for a good few days (which is AMAZING!!!!)

I'm going to go against the grain and say Valencia. I quite liked Budapest, but I didn't like Hungarian food - it's very heavy. Hungarian is also a really hard language to deal with, unlike Spanish. I like being by the beach too and think Valencia is likely to be a bit cooler than Budapest, which could be very hot in July.

Valencia will not be cool in July 😂 I mean it might be pleasant, at the beach, but in the city it will almost definitely be hot!

But I am currently planning a trip there regardless, even though I hate the heat. It's a great city.

Valencia is amazing! Budapest is really cool too but I think the beach makes Valencia a nicer summer option. Based on my experience, Bucharest is not exactly an ideal place to visit....!

To people saying Valencia - why? what do you like about it? we are also planning a trip there but only for a weekend! Any suggestions what to do/see/eat?

Visited Bucharest (and Transylvania) for a couple of days a few years ago - very interesting city. Did a couple of walking tours and visited Ceausescu parliament building and house - fascinating recent history if you're into that type of trip. Some good bars and restaurants too.

Valencia is great for a city break. July will be warm. You've got the beach within easy reach, a pretty old town and stuff to do if you want but not so much that you'll feel you have to crack through a to-do list.

I'll never get the MN love for Budapest. I really didn't rate it very highly (especially the food). I would choose Slovakia out of the three.

@Forinara
I agree with you. I don’t get it either. Nothing there was world class. Except the Danube. So many better places. Of course it’s cheap so that colours views. The best cafe was in the Tom Dixon lighting shop. Lots of buildings still needed renovation.

In July I would go to Iceland!

Budapest but I’d throw Ljubljana in the mix too. Slovenia is beautiful

Exactly. I thought I may have missed something even though I was given a really comprehensive tour by a local! I crossed the chain bridge from Buda to Pest, Pest to Buda and then lost the will to stay for a day longer.

Definitely Budapest

The parliament is ok. The Opera House is average. Interesting but not working! ROH Covent Garden is fantastic by comparison. Synagogue was ok but religious buildings elsewhere are stunning. Views of the Danube are great from Buda Castle and it’s atmospheric there. However even eating at the more modern highly rated restaurants, there’s way better elsewhere. Old communist statues have some appeal. So it must come down to value. Cocktails are cheap! Vienna is better. St Petersburg was stunning. Sadly missed. Stockholm is beautiful and Copenhagen has lots to see.

I agree that it is comparatively good value. Heroes Square was interesting.
Or perhaps MN is saturated with paprika fans.