3 days, adult only, in Budapest

[YouBelongWithMe]

I've booked a surprise break to Budapest for my husband's 40th next month.

We arrive very late Sunday evening (like 10pm, so it rules out anything) and leave very late Wednesday evening, so we have three full days.

Any gems I might not have considered? Absolute must dos? Fantastic eateries (I am coeliac and need GF options)?

Thank you!

We did a Segway tour that was a lot of fun, and meant we saw a lot in 2.5 hours. Then we went back to the places that we wanted to see a bit more of.

The in the evenings, the ruin bars were great, our favourites were Szimpla Kert (touristy but definitely worth seeing) and Koleves (outdoor, and more of a mix of locals, students and tourists). Mazel Tov was good for food (not sure about gluten free though), and worth the wait in the queue. And as you are going in the week, the bars shouldn't be too full of hen/stag parties.

We also did an evening Prosecco cruise, timed so the main buildings were lit up after dark, which was lovely.

Mostly though, we just wandered, popping in to bars and restaurants, and looking at the sights. It's a great city.

Watching with interest that sounds fabulous. Never been before but it looks lovely. What is the temperature like Oct/Nov and where are you flying from? Thanks

I think about 16-19 degrees. It was 21 today though! We go two weeks tomorrow so probably won't change that much.

We're flying from Edinburgh (where we live).

I've booked such a beautiful hotel. The last time we did anything like this was for his thirtieth, and we were on such a budget. This is going to be such a treat!!

We have three kids so it'll be a lovely opportunity for some QT as a couple, not as Mum.and Dad.

@YouBelongWithMe that sounds fabulous you will enjoy I’m sure. We could fly from Edinburgh. We could either go after 14th October and before 23rd of October or after the 30th October. I was looking at Jet2 flights and they don’t seem to fly until 20 something of Nov when the temperature seems to drop quite considerably does that sound right? Also did you book a package please or did you book hotel and flight separately? We could do with a nice central hotel that won’t break the bank with a large comfy bed as we are used to a super king at home.

Thanks

You definitely have to go to at least one of the thermal baths - my favourite is the Széchenyi spa. Make sure you go to the Central Market Hall too, for some yummy local food. The metro is really easy to use, and the trams are great too for seeing the city. It's also a great city for wandering around.

I booked separately.

We fly out on the 15th Oct and come back 18th, both flights late at night. Flights are with Ryanair.

Hotels wise, I checked Hotels.com and booking.com and went for the best deal.

I've booked the Gerlozcy: https://www.gerloczy.com/ after it was featured in a Telegraph special. It was really reasonable for how lovely it is.

We were there three weeks ago, it was around 30C and absolutely glorious. Beautiful city, we did so much walking. The baths were good but very busy. Great views from Fisherman's Bastian.
Highly recommend Retek Bistro for food. Someone recommended it on here and we weren't disappointed. Booking essential.

I got back from Budapest on Sunday 😀

No idea if it is any good but I walked past a restaurant every day called Kata that was advertised as gluten free.

I agree with visiting Szimpla Kert ruin bar. Another one I went to was called Instant. There’s also a place called Gozsdu Udvar that is like Rose St on steroids!

The Prosecco boat tour was fab. I booked the 645pm one so we could see the sunset. Try to get there a bit early so you have a table at the edge for great views. I booked one via Get Your Guide and it was great value for money (£25pp).

Zrinya Utca street leading up to St Stephens basilica had lots of great bars & restaurants. I also went to High Note rooftop bar - this was really lovely, cocktails were a bit pricier but the views and atmosphere were lovely.

Mazel Tov was also recommended to me but I didn’t get the chance to go. It’s next door to Szimpla Kert and looked nice from the outside. I did go to a place called Kiosk that was a cool vibe.

Bookmarking this thread for ideas as we are going for a few days end of April next year . We are staying in an apartment very close to OP's hotel.

Prosecco boat trip sounds great .

Also book marking this sounds right up my street.

Go on the railway run by children.
Another vote for Széchenyi Thermal Spa.
We ate a couple of nights in Street Food Karavan amid the ruin bars. Had an absynthe or two there as well.

https://m.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=100070046363303

You had a lucky escape from Mazel Tov @Vanillalime Awful food. For an Israeli restaurant, they can't make hummus or falafel for toffee. Flavourless. DP had a large slab of toasted goats cheese with 5 salad leaves thrown on it. The amount they served him was, we suspect, the cause of his all night indigestion. They even managed to make pudding flavourless.

We'd heard good things too, which is why we went. Music was great. Ambience was alright. Food was a massive massive let down.

Budapest is a beautiful city @YouBelongWithMe You'll have an amazing time.

And I can highly recommend Kadarka too. The staff in there were brilliant. They asked what we liked, gave tasters around those flavours and helped us make good decisions of wine to choose.

http://kadarkawinebar.com/

Definitely Karavan for street food

We got back on Wednesday. It was very hot but I think has cooled now:

I would recommend Memento Park - old communist statues and Normafa (country park), great views. We would have liked to go on the chairlift near the children’s railway but shut this week. We also did the Parliament tour which is good.

Also consider booking tickets for the state opera. Much cheaper than the UK and an amazing building and bar.

The citadel is a building site currently.

We stayed at the Mystery Hotel which was beautiful.

Tati Farm to Table was a lovely restaurant and reasonably priced.
We did a free (donation at the end) walking tour of the Jewish quarter which was great.
The buses and trams are good and you can download an app and get day group passes that are really good value.
Definitely agree Szechinya baths worth a visit and Central market, Fisherman’s Bastion and Karavan for street food and beer.
We hired bikes and cycled round Margaret Island in the Danube which was fun.
If you like caves the Palvolgyi caves are good.

https://halaszbastya.eu/en/gallery
We ate here a couple of years ago, and ate at a table set on the castle walls. Fantastic food and stunning views.

We went in October 2018. It was so lovely. We did a twilight boat cruise on the second night which was amazing.

There's one thing I vaguely remember that a lot of things were closed on a Monday so it may be worth checking it out.

Definitely Memento park.

OP, if you Google "gluten free Budapest" there are a few coeliac bloggers who review different cities and the GF options available - completely GF venues, mainstream places that have good GF options, and common dishes you'll find most places that are GF.
Budapest gets a great write up for GF options - it's on my list!

Definitely do the baths - we did a few, Gellert was my favourite. Szimpla Kert for drinks then Karavan for street food (they are very close together). Go to Margaret island for an afternoon wander. The cheese and charcuterie wine tasting with this company tastehungary.com I wanted to go here but didn't get the chance retekbisztro.hu/en/homepage Expensive, but lovely, roof top cocktails from here highnoteskybar.hu/en/

Just to add, public transport is excellent. Tube is clean and very quick. We bought paper 72 hour and 24 hour passes from the purple machines at the metro. Some have ticket offices. You can also use an e-ticket from Budapest go. Also their map app. Don’t trust Citymapper, it was incorrect on 2 occasions for us.

https://szechenyibath.com/
These baths are awesome - lots of info available online to prepare you; bear in mind they may not (didn't when I went) speak much English. And Hungarian pronunciation is challenging!

Cross the Chain Bridge (I think it should be open again now) and climb up the hill in Buda and explore Castle Quarter.

Explore Andrassy Avenue - and while you're there go to the Terror Museum https://www.terrorhaza.hu/hu - really reminds you of how much of this 'history' took place in our lifetime.

We did a walking tour - I think a Communist history one through https://www.viator.com/en-GB/searchResults/all?text=Budapest+Walking+Tours

I was going to recommend a really traditional restaurant - Kadar Etkezde - which sadly looks like it has closed.

Have the best time!!

Thank you all so much!! This is amazing. Lots of new additions to my Budapest map :)

We liked Rudas baths and the guru walk free walking tours.
you can take the no 2 tram along the river as part of your multi day transport ticket .
you must go to see the shoes along the river . We went at sunset and it was very moving with people lighting candles and stopping to pray / mediate / pay their respects