With the long weekend fast approaching, we have a great travel inspiration for those who are still considering a trip abroad to spend the holiday away. If you are looking to dedicate 4-6 days to travelling, you can discover the best of both Budapest and Vienna even on a short trip like this.
If you look at the map, you will notice that Budapest and Vienna are very close to each other. In fact, Vienna is only a 2.5-hour train ride from Budapest! So if you are planning a trip for a few days, 3 days in each capital is just enough (although seasoned travellers know it is never enough if you fall in love with a place!) to experience the most important highlights these two wonderful cities have to offer.
We recommend Regiojet trains for a comfortable and easy journey between Vienna and Budapest. The prices are a great value for money, for example, a return fare in business class was only EUR 50 in July 2022.
The seats are comfortable, there is plenty of space to store your luggage and you even get complimentary Julius Meinl coffee! There are individual chargers by every seat which means that you don’t have to worry about draining your battery while on the train. Free wifi is also available.
Budapest
- Stay on the Buda side
The Danube river runs through Budapest and divides the city into Buda and Pest. The two sides have very different vibes but both offer a lot to do and see so it may take some deliberation to decide which side you would like to stay on, especially on your first visit.
While a lot of attractions are located on the Pest side and therefore it is a more popular choice where most people prefer to be based, Silvia and I decided to stay on the Buda side and we can’t recommend it enough. It is definitely quieter but it is full of history and charm and there is a lot to see, especially if you are staying in the Castle Hill area steps away from the famous Halazbastya (the Fisherman’s Bastion), Buda Castle and numerous museums.
Our best picks we highly recommend are two lovely boutique hotels on the Buda side located steps away from each other and all sightseeing spots.
The first hotel we stayed at was Maison Bistro & Hotel. The building has a fascinating history dating back over 300 years when a baroque house was built from ruins and turned into a famous bakery known as the Spiegel House. Today you can still see the bakery’s insignia proudly displayed on the front gate.
The hotel offers 17 charming rooms, a courtyard and a lovely bistro where you can try traditional Hungarian dishes. The room we were staying in was small but very comfortable.
The other hotel, Baltazar Boutique Hotel, was also a lovely surprise despite the unassuming-looking exterior of the hotel building. It is located a couple of minutes walk from Maison Bistro in the Castle Hill area. We loved the wallpaper with bookshelves and the comfy beds.
However, please bear in mind that their front desk is not open 24/7 and no one is manning the desk early in the morning (we checked out shortly after 7 am and there was no one at the reception desk). We suggest you inform the front desk in advance so that they can accommodate your schedule.
2. Try Hungarian food
Hungary is famous for its pepper sauce so some kind of a local paprika dish is a must! There are a lot of nice places serving the local cuisine in the city but we decided to try it at our hotel (Maison Bistro & Hotel) because the bistro looked so enticing.
Our first meal in Hungary definitely lived up to our expectations – we had chicken paprikash, the famous traditional paprika dish, a dessert and a lovely homemade lemonade.
Hungarian cuisine shares its roots with Austrian cuisine so there is no surprise that you can find apple strudel on many dessert menus in Budapest. However, if you want to fully immerse yourself in the Hungarian food culture, try a cherry strudel, a Hungarian take on the well-known classic.
We highly recommend Ruszwurm, a bakery with a nearly 200-year history, to try this delicious treat. We were not particularly impressed with the service but the coffee and the cherry strudel made up for it.
We were very impressed by the quality and presentation of food at every single place we dined at. For those of you who, like us, enjoy all-day breakfast we highly recommend Mokka Cukka. Our favourites were eggs benedict and specialty coffee.
Something to bear in mind is that there are not many restaurants that are open or serve food in the evening, at least on the Buda side. It can be a little bit of a shock to the system coming from Dubai where everything is open till late or even past midnight. Well, not in Budapest. We spent quite a while looking to grab a bite in the area close to our hotel and could not find anywhere with an open kitchen. Luckily, the staff at Maison Hotel & Bistro saved the day and recommended Riso, a lovely Italian restaurant that is open until 10.30 pm daily. The food was simple but delicious (and Silvia-approved!). We went with the classics – a bruschetta and a Margherita pizza. We also highly recommend Riso’s elderflower lemonade, very refreshing.
3. Opera tour
No visit to Budapest is complete without booking a tour of the State Opera. We recommend booking directly on the Opera website well in advance as tours in English go very fast. We booked a few weeks in advance, however all English tours were sold out on our preferred dates so we went with a tour in Spanish (one of the languages both Silvia and I understand well so we didn’t mind).
Having previously visited various different opera houses around the world, we must say that the Hungarian State Opera is one of our favourites as it is absolutely breathtaking. At the end of our tour we were treated to a lovely performance by two opera singers – it was totally unexpected and a perfect way to end the tour of this majestic opera house.
4. Budapest cat cafe
If you are a cat lover, we highly recommend visiting the Budapest Cat Cafe located on the Pest side steps away from St Stephen’s Basilica. There you will be able to enjoy pawesome coffee and the company of many diverse and pampered felines.
Some of our favorites were regal Maine coons who looked like they ruled the place and they sure did attract a lot of attention from the cafe patrons.
5. Fisherman’s Bastion at night
Budapest is absolutely magical by night and we highly recommend visiting the Fisherman’s Bastion after dark when the city is all lit up. A little tip – if you visit after 8 pm you can climb to the viewing platform free of charge.
6. Vintage Garden
Vintage Garden is a cute cafe on the Pest side and arguably much more beautiful than Budapest’s famous New York cafe, in our opinion at least having visited both.
Despite being very instagrammable, the adorable pink-themed cafe was not very busy when we visited so we had the privilege to enjoy it properly.
The food was excellent and we loved the wide selection of refreshing lemonades (I loved them so much that I had to try two!).
7. Day trip to Godollo
Godollo Castle has an interesting history – it was a coronation gift from the Hungarian people to Empress Elisabeth of Austria (also known as Sisi) and her husband Franz Joseph I in 1867. Sisi had a deep connection to Hungary and its people and she loved spending time at this castle away from the rigid Viennese court life. This beautiful baroque castle is just 40 minutes away by car from central Budapest or you can take a direct train from the Keleti train station.
We highly recommend booking the Sisi experience guided tour where a lovely and knowledgeable tour guide dressed like Sisi will take you through the rooms of Godollo and tell you about the palace from Kaiserin’s perspective.
8. Cafe Gerbeaud
There is no shortage of cosy cafes with a rich history in Budapest, however one of the most famous cafes is Cafe Gerbeaud.
There is no more quintessential Hungarian cake than Esterhazy cake bursting with walnuts. Many cafes in Budapest and Vienna offer their take on this famous cake, however, having tried it at quite a few places, we can confirm that Gerbeaud wins hands down – they have the best Esterhazy cake.
9. Danube cruise
A cruise on the Danube is a very popular tourist activity in Budapest and there is an overwhelming number of cruises to choose from. However, not all cruises are created equal, and we were not impressed with any of the recommendations we found in travel blogs and Youtube videos. The boats seemed to be overcrowded with no guaranteed front-row seats to enjoy the views of the city.
After doing our own research, we came across Duna Cruises, a recent offering on the cruise scene in Budapest. Wonderful reviews and very enticing photos of the boat on the company’s website convinced us to make a booking and it turned out to be the best decision as the cruise definitely lived up to our expectations. We enjoyed it so much that we wanted to book another cruise for the next day but unfortunately our schedule was too tight and we did not have enough time to enjoy another cruise. We are definitely coming back next time!
Although they do accept walk-in passengers, we recommend booking your cruise a few days in advance as the best seats go very quickly. Duna Cruises offer a selection of several cruises per day and you can book them directly on their website here. The best seats are in the VIP area of the panorama deck from which you can enjoy an uninterrupted view of the Danube and the beautiful architecture of Budapest.
The boats depart from Marcius 15 Square, Dock 10 just by the Elisabeth Bridge. We suggest you should aim to arrive well in advance of your cruise as it is not easy to get there by car and drop you off at the right spot and you may have to walk along the pier for quite a bit to get to the boat. The cruise lasts an hour and you will see the following landmarks: the Liberty Statue, Gellert Thermal Baths, the National Theatre, the Great Market Hall, Gresham Palace, the Parliament, the Fisherman’s Bastion and the Buda Castle, amongst others.
It gets chilly on the river, even in the summer, so do not forget to bring extra layers to keep you warm.
10. Parliament tour
The Parliament building is absolutely spectacular from the outside, but it is just as impressive on the inside so do not miss your chance to explore it by booking a guided tour.
As this guided tour is very popular with tourists, you should book it well in advance, especially if you would like to have it in English. We booked it 10 days before our visit and all English tours were already sold out. There is a selection of a few other languages in addition to English and Hungarian, so we picked Spanish as we both understand it.
A word of advice – allow yourself enough time to get there and bring a printed ticket as they need to scan it at the security entrance. The main entrance for the tours is not very well signposted and we did a mad dash around the back side of the building before we found it tucked away.
The tour lasts for 45 minutes you will be following your guide who will tell you fascinating facts about the building and its history. Well worth it!
There is of course a lot more to see in Budapest and the beauty of this city is best discovered on foot as it is very walkable. Every street has something eye-catching to admire – from the impressive architecture on the Pest side to the quicky shop signs on the Buda side.
Stay tuned for Part 2 where we will share the best things to do and see in Vienna.
