Is Budapest worth a visit

[LandOfFruitAndNut]

Just that really. I’ve been given some money to spend on a mini break and was thinking it might be fun. Or is it full of stag dos like Prague?

We went as a family last year. Loved it. Lots of culture, nice spas, food architecture. Easy to travel round and very safe.

It's a lovely place for a short break. I visited Bad Gelert for the hot pool and would love to try the outdoor Spa another time. The old restored city is beautiful, the food is nice.

It wasn't full of stags when we went , but it was just ok for me, lots of European cities I prefer. It was very affordable. However we saw some of the 'renovation' work going on at the castle and they were building from scratch with breeze blocks and rendering it! I liked some of the bars, we had some good food, the museums were good , the thermal baths were novel but I just didn't love it. Have to say though we stayed in a lovely hotel if you are thinking of going. It was called hotel collect. Beautiful, very cosy and excellent location for walking around.

https://www.booking.com/hotel/hu/collect.en-gb.html

Have been a couple of times and didn’t appear to be full of stag dos. I love it: great for walking, restaurants, architecture, museums..

Yes, lovely. In addition to all the places mentioned already, the Jewish Quarter is fascinating.

Here now and I’m really enjoying it. It’s very walkable, beautiful buildings to see along the way and lovely restaurants. It’s not cheap like it used to be though and I only saw one stag do but they were on the champagne!

It’s lovely, so much to see.
Though I’ve never had an issue with Prague and Stag Dos, and we’ve been a few times.
It always seems to be more couples and families.

DH and I went in Nov and didn't see 1 group of stags! I'd return tomorrow, even if I could only go to the Gellert baths. We really enjoyed it. Easy enough to walk everywhere.

-St Stephens Basilica was beautiful. I personally wouldn't bother paying extra to see the view from the lookout at the top. The queue for the tiny lift was ridiculous and although the view was nice- we were essentially looking at a view of buildings we didn't know/recognise.
-Book the parliament building tour before going, otherwise it can be booked out
-We spent half a day at Gellert baths which were amazing. Outdoor hot pool, indoor pools of various temperatures, steam room, saunas, plunge pool etc. We took our own flip flops and one of those compact, microfibre towels I bought from sportsdirect. You only need a swimming cap if doing laps in the central pool- for all the others, you don't need one. You can't hire towels onsite, only buy them, so we were glad we took our own.

We stayed here in the Jewish quarter. 24hr English speaking concierge, very secure and an apartment. We could eat out, but also bring snacks home or eat in if wanted.
firsthost.hu/budapest/elisabeth-downtown-apartments/en

I wouldn’t visit. I couldn’t support Victor Orban’s regime. His love for Putin and how anti LGBT he is. I’d give it a miss.

Went last summer and loved it, we went monday to Thursday so missed any stag weekends. Gellert spa is lovely, the market is good. Had love food in the Jewish quarter and enjoyed visiting margaret island. Moving war history to pay respects to as well.

Went for a 4 day break with my daughter in May. Enjoyed it. Slightly bland because of the complete lack of ethnic diversity. I have walking difficulties so we got lots of their equivalent of Ubers and they were startlingly cheap. Only saw one stag and one hen do.

I have had a great time in Budapest especially staying in a beautiful Belle Epoque building, the spas, Houdini museum, children’s railway and chair lift. My colleague experienced racist verbal abuse there tho sadly 😔

Yes. Beautiful!

Love Budapest. Loads to do. Ruin bars. Nice places to eat. The spas. The central market.

Yes, perfect for a mini break. Lots to do and cheaper than anywhere using the euro

I loved it. My favourite city break ever. So much to see and do. The thermal baths and spas everywhere, from Roman to Art Deco are beautiful. There's a lot of WW2 history, with the House of Terror Museum and the brilliant secret hospital (now museum) built inside a cave. You can take a cruise down the Danube, hire a huge family sized quad pedal bike to tour Margret island with its musical fountain and Japanese garden. There are gorgeous old cafes for coffee and cake, crazy bomb-ruin bars for a drink, and lots of cozy restaurants, and gorgeous covered food markets. Lots of squares with fountains for relaxing if you get tired. There's the children's railway - still run by teens, that takes you up Buda Hill to countryside walks. There's a bear sanctuary a short drive away.

I loved it too. Beautiful city, well worth a visit.

I’m very keen on WW2 / Cold War so it’s looking like it could be good.

warm enough in late March?

We did a fab walking tour of the Jewish quarter (one of the pay what you want ones). Was really interesting on WW2 and Cold War. Our guide said her grandmother was still mourning the demise of the communist party. Loved the thermal baths. We went to a few exhibitions and did a cave tour. Ate some nice food at reasonable prices. We went in August though so can’t help about weather in March. I really liked it as a city.

We went late April and had very mixed weather - 26 degrees and sunny the first day, low 20s the second day and around 18 and raining the third day. I don’t know how typical that is.

We loved it though. Do go over to Fisherman’s bastion for the view. I would also recommend going midweek if you can rather than an actual weekend, as it will be quieter. When DS and his partner went last Autumn they reported long queues outside the ruin bars and once they got in, it was uncomfortably packed. DH and I went a couple of years ago and found it very good value.