For my 8 year anniversary with my boyfriend, I decided to book a few days away to Budapest, Hungary. My mission is to try and get to visit as many cities over the next few years before I have to eventually grow up and be a responsible adult! We had been told Budapest is a beautiful city and wanted to try somewhere in Europe completely new- plus, this wasn't going to be a shopping filled trip. We wanted to do tourist things, eat out and go for long walks the entire time.
Budapest is stunning. And no photo can do it justice. It like a cross of 1920's London and romantic Paris. The city is so clean, easy to get around... and the people are (genuinely...) friendly! The architecture is out of this world and with a city filled will an unbelievable amount of history- they have taken pride in preserving their buildings.
We stayed in the old historic centre of Budapest within the Castle walls (I was obsessed with the cute doors along each street!) in a chic boutique hotel called 'Baltazar' that's right next to The Fisherman's Bastion (which looks amazing lit up at night) and near the Castle - We stayed in one of the suites, which was designed in a loft style open plan, with quirky furniture pieces (that I just wanted to rob!), L'Occitane beauty products and this i-could-stay-forever-under rain shower! We ate at the Baltazar Grill- that is attached to the hotel and had a very delicious meaty hearty menu- think veal tongue stew with dumplings, bone marrow and pumpkin puree . We also ate at 21- another Hungarian gastro style restaurant, Tokyo- for some Japanese and had the most yummy street food- Kürtőskalács (a cinnamon sweet bread) and gyros were just some things that lined our bellies! So good!
I packed lightly and appropriately- Budapest was dry, but cold! Here are some of my favourite looks that I wore:
Night Look- Black polo- Missguided || Zara strappy lace up heels- similar here || Topshop Green midi skirt- Similar here || Metallic box clutch by Primark/Pennys
Day Look- Camel Cocoon coat- Topshop || Zara city messenger bag- similar here || Black coated Joni jeans- Topshop || Topshop Chelsea boots- similar here || Pom Pom key ring- River Island
(Yep, this is a toilet shot!) Travel Look- Primark/Pennys black trench coat- Similar here || Black coated Joni Jeans, as before || Black grandad shirt- Topshop || Airmax 90's- Size || Zara city messenger bag, as before || Pom Pom key ring, as before
-Do visit the baths. We went to the Széchenyi Thermal Baths- which are highly recommended and spent five hours there because we just couldn't get enough of them! We also booked at cheeky massage in as well (well after all that walking, you need to look after the body...)
- Do get a bus tour- preferably a hop on hop off one! They hit all the top stops and give you a great insight into parts of the city. I just would recommend another bus company instead of the Big Bus Tour company, as buses weren't as frequent as other companies!
- Do bring your walking shoes and something really warm. I wore a lot of faux fur and my airmax 90's to cross the bridges by foot!
- Budapest takes euro nearly every where, but change is given back in HUF.
- Do try and say small words in Hungarian- they really appreciate the extra effort!
- Have a good camera with you- we were snap happy on the bus tour taking pictures of the dated architecture, the river Danube and the many museums that are so beautifully lit up.
- We didn't get to visit the Jewish quarter so would love to hear how people go on there?