Trip to budapest on your own, prices and plan. Travel to Budapest on your own, prices and plan From Budapest to Vienna on your own
- Interest in art and hipster entertainment.
- Amazing alcohol capacity.
- Furious communication.
Let's start solving the problem: prices in Budapest
Day 0
Place for dinner: nice restaurant Puli - Andrassy ut, 34. Open from 12:00 to 00:00.
About the way from the airport:
- Exit the passport control area and see an information desk with a red sign - go there.
- Ask for a ticket to the city and you will be given a transport card and two tickets - one for the bus to the metro, the second one for the metro. You can pay by card.
- Then get out, look for a stop (it's hard not to understand what it is) and take the E200 bus, you will reach the final one.
- To pay for the fare, you need to put 1 small ticket into the device on the handrail on the bus, the date must be affixed.
- At the final stop, it will seem to you that you have arrived at a shopping center. Don't be scared. You need to go inside, go upstairs and there will be large signs to the metro. Don't wait for the dungeon, a regular train will arrive. You can not pay for the subway (I never found out how to do this) and save the ticket for later.
There is no point in buying a travel card, you will not need it.
Day 1
Breakfast | 3942 ft (883 RUB) for coffee, lemonade with mango syrup, a huge sandwich with cheese crust, egg Benedict and bacon. |
Walk to Városliget park | For free |
View the huge statues in Heroes' Square | For free |
Atmospheric photos with the Vajdahunyad Castle in the background | For free |
Dancing joy on the sunlit lawn | Priceless |
Honey with lavender in a gift shop | 2500 ft |
Coffee at New York Cafe (the most beautiful cafe in the world according to someone else's version) | 2600 ft (582 rub) + 30 minutes in line |
Cigarettes | 1200 ft |
vintage shop | Disappointment |
Walk in the Jewish quarter | For free |
Jokes about the Hungarian language | Infinitely priceless |
Lunch-Dinner | 1780 ft (400 rub) for huge hummus shawarma and lemon beer |
Beer in the store | 3 bottles for 333 ft (75 rub) |
Addresses
- Place for breakfast: STIKA Budapest - Dob u. 46/a. Opens from 8 am. It is best to come to the opening, as there are only 5 tables in the establishment, and the locals love to have breakfast there. Sit at the table facing the window, order a set from the table, and this morning will be the best in your life.
- Heroes' Square - Hősök tere, 1146. By the way, this is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Vajdahunyad Castle - Vajdahunyad vár, 1146. Open from 10 am to 5 pm.
- New York Cafe - Erzsebet krt. 9-11. Works from 8 am to 12 pm.
Important! Take nothing but coffee or hot chocolate. The food is tasteless and very expensive. In general, this is a very touristy place, which reminds me of my teenage years - too much jewelry and obvious overkill.Going to New York Cafe is worth it just for show and beautiful photos.
- Place for lunch and dinner: Hummus Bar - Király u. 8 (in general, they have a lot of points around the city). Open from 11 to 22. This is the best fast food ever: shawarma didn't fit in the palm of your hand!
Day 2
Breakfast | 2300 ft (515 rub) for something designer with avocado + coffee and pumpkin juice |
Weakness for pretty things | 3990 ft (894 RUB) for a cute decoration made by local young design students |
24-Hour Hop on Hop Off Tour Bus Ticket | 7000 ft |
Yellow line trip (1 hour) | Included in ticket price |
Ferris wheel ticket | 2700 ft |
Coffee at Starbucks | 1090 ft |
A little sleep at the hotel | Free and essential |
Greedy dinner at an Asian restaurant | 11 495 ft |
Addresses
- Place for breakfast: Szimply Breakfast & brunch - Röser udvar, Károly krt. 22. Be prepared to wait outside for a short time. You will be given a nice squeaker (like we have in food courts). The wait is worth it.
- Designer shop: Rododendron - Semmelweis u, 19. Open from 10 am to 7 pm on weekdays.
- Hop on Hop off bus. Booths selling tickets can be found everywhere. All lines start from Varoshaza park. The ticket is valid for 24 hours (there are options for 48 and 72 hours) and the time count starts from your first landing. First bus at 9:30.
- The Ferris wheel is located in the Erzsébet tér park. Works from 10 am.
- Asian restaurant: Wasabi - Podmaniczky u, 21. Open from 11:30 to 23:30. What is the point and why is it so expensive? You pay entry and eat as much as you like. And the food comes to you along the conveyor on small plates that you need to grab in time. Drinks are charged separately. I admit that the advice is rather ambiguous, since cunning always wins over greed. But it was cool.
Day 3
Breakfast | 3760 ft (842 rub) for coffee, fresh juice, scrambled eggs, sausages, toast and salad |
Trip on the blue sightseeing bus line (1 hour) | Included in ticket price |
Road to the Citadel along the orange sightseeing line | Included in ticket price |
Hot wine on the mountain (winter option) | 1500 ft (336 rub) for 0.3 |
Long descent down among the stones and mosses | Free and picturesque |
A piece of film bought at a garage store | 100 ft |
Photo on a super-long bench | For free |
Castle Garden Bazaar | Free and awesome |
Kurtoshkalach (this is such a roll) | 1000 ft |
Walk to the Parliament along the coast (the building itself is located on the opposite bank) | Free + classic photo for Instagram |
Walk along the famous Széchenyi Bridge | For free |
Bar No. 1 (dinner) | 4190 ft (939 RUB) for 2 beers and a huge Hungarian pizza |
Unbridled fun in slot machines | 200 ft (44 rub) for racing and ruthlessly killing giant zombie spiders |
Bar No. 2 | 1870 ft (419 rub) for 2 beers |
Dance Quake at Bar #3 | 4996 ft |
Bar No. 4 | 1338 ft |
All other bars | 6245 ft |
Addresses
- Place for breakfast: the same STIKA Budapest (Dob u. 46/a), as it is close to the stop of the sightseeing bus.
- Garage market: Tabani Garazsvasar- Döbrentei utca, 10. Open every day from 10 to 19. At the entrance is a hefty chic dog that you need to step over. Don't be afraid, he's kind.
- Castle Garden Bazaar - Ybl Miklós tér 4, 1013. Open from 06:00 to 00:00.
- Bar #1: Spiler BistroPub - Kiraly u. 13. Works from 8 to 2. Be sure to go down to the ground floor. In winter there was a tree behind bars.
- The slot machines are located on the same street as the Spíler bar. There is no exact address, but you will recognize this place by the wide doorway with PVC curtain.
- Bar #2: Mazel Tov - Akacfa u. 47, open from 12 to 2. Very nice interior.
- Bar #3 - next door to the left of Mazel Tov. The sign will say Point club, but inside there are about 7 dizzying establishments: from a rooftop bar with a giant angel cat to a dark basement where DnB returned my 2008.
- Bar #4: Szimpla Kert - Kazinczy u. 14. The most famous ruin bar.
Day 4
Breakfast | 600 ft (134 rub) for a great cappuccino, 1900 ft (425 rub) for pancakes with bacon and vegetable salad |
Central Market | Free and useless |
Walk to the museum | Free and helpful |
Museum | 3200 ft (717 RUB) for 3 floors of contemporary art |
Lunch at the museum | 1030 ft (230 rub) for coffee and sandwich |
Walk back to the center by tram number 2 | The ticket must remain from the airport |
souvenir | 4900 ft |
Dinner | Langosh with an obscene amount of beef - 1950 (437 rubles). Tea - 450 (100 rub) |
Addresses
- Place for breakfast: Sonkapult- Rumbach Sebestyen u. 7. Works from 8 am. There are only 2 tables and the place itself looks like a cozy kitchen, where a nice hostess girl prepares a delicious breakfast in front of you.
- Central Market- Vamhaz krt. 1-3. Open from 6 am, closed on Sundays. Worth a visit to appreciate the neo-Gothic building and buy some sausage. I must say right away that there is nothing to do on the second floor at all.
- Ludwig Múzeum - Komor Marcell u. 1.
- Souvenir without Chinese bullshit: Artushka Unique Hungarian Handcrafted Souvenir And Gift Shop- Klauzál utca 4. Open from 10 am to 6 pm.
- Place for dinner: Langospapa- Andrassy ut, 38. Need to be clear: langosis a traditional Hungarian dish. Imagine pizza on a thick dough, only the dough is very similar to a fatty deep-fried doughnut. Be sure to drink strong hot tea. By the way, the portion is enough for two, you can ask the waiter to bring you one langosh for two plates.
Day 5
It is better to spend the last day entirely on a bath, massage and relaxation. This is the best way to end the trip. And do not spoil the mood with emotional terrorism in buses and the subway, let you (such vegetables after a massage) be delivered from door to door. And then you blissfully oversleep the whole flight.
Prices and opening hours of the bath .
Total
103 644 ft (23 234 rub) for the destruction of giant spider zombies, a dancing earthquake, a shawarma that does not fit in the palm of your hand, and new experiences.
Important information
- About flights. Best to fly with a group (low-cost carrier). Even if you pay for food on the plane (by the way, this can be done with a card) and for choosing a seat, it will still come out cheaper.
- About housing. Settle in the areaOctogon. Easyhotel would be perfect.
- About tobacco shops. Identification mark - letter" T
Task: Visit 3 capitals of 3 different countries no car and no hurry.
Given: 4 days.
Expenses: airfare, hotel and three bus transfers cost me 126 euros.
Status: completed successfully.
I share a ready route: Budapest - Bratislava - Vienna. Moreover, I recommend repeating this journey in this sequence in order to get as many different impressions as possible.
I assume you already have a visa. But don't forget about insurance. Link - .
Buy tickets:
Book accommodation in Bratislava () and Budapest ()
Buying bus tickets:
Budapest — Bratislava
Bratislava — Vienna
Vienna — Budapest
To date, the cheapest way to buy tickets is from RegioJet - not only are they cheap, they also have monitors in their chairs and free Wi-Fi.
General plan for the day:
Day 1: we arrive in Budapest, check into a hotel, see the city (or part of Buda, or part of Pest)
Day 2: we continue to explore Budapest, in the afternoon we relax in the baths
Day 3: early in the morning we leave for Bratislava by bus, check into a hotel, walk around Bratislava
Day 4: early in the morning we leave for Vienna, walk around Vienna, in the evening we leave for Budapest
Day 5: Early flight home from Budapest.
Getting to Budapest:
From Russia:
It is easy and inexpensive to fly from Moscow to Budapest with the low-cost airline Wizzair, which flies from Vnukovo. From other cities of Russia, you can fly to Kaliningrad by the Pobeda low-cost company, and then get to the airport either in Gdansk or Warsaw.
From Kyiv to Budapest, Wizzair also makes a direct flight.
From Warsaw, it is most convenient to plan a direct two-hour flight. There is also the option of a long bus ride, but since the price usually turns out to be about the same, I don’t seriously consider a bus plan. If you plan to start from Krakow, you can take the PolskiBus bus.
Things to see in Budapest
If you are in Budapest for the first time, then the best thing you can do is take a walk around the city, and in the evening look into or the Széchenyi Baths to relax in the healing water and gain strength.
The most popular places are:
Part of Buda: Castle Hill, Old Town and Royal Palace.
In the part of Pest: Vaci pedestrian street, Pest center, Danube embankment
Separately, I would like to note the Central Market in the Pest part - it will appeal to both architecture lovers and gourmets with gluttons. On the first floor, mainly local edible delicacies are sold, and on the second floor, handicrafts, in places very curious. There are also several local eateries with authentic dishes.
I also really like the abundance of various non-standard excursions in Russian in Budapest. I would go to The History of Coffee Budapest, would you?
Moving to Bratislava
The city is quite small, and one day was enough for me to get around most of the important objects and go to the castle nearby. But it was a beautiful day! Bratislava seemed to me the sweetest island of originality and a sort of childish disobedience.
In short: plan a trip to Devin Castle in the morning, which is 10 km from the city, and in the afternoon, when the main flow of tourists subsides, head to explore Bratislava Castle, St. Martin's Cathedral and the City Museum, from the top floor of which a gorgeous view of the city opens .
Moving to Vienna
Get ready to keep your posture and learn to drink tea with your little finger sticking out - after all, you are in the most aristocratic city in Europe! Vienna has more than 100 museums and many gardens, parks and squares. By the way, if your visit falls on the first Sunday of the month, you can visit most of the museums for free.
In order to see all the beauties of this city, not even a week is enough. But if you only have 1 day, then it is worth visiting the Schönbrunn Palace with its huge park. Entrance to the park is free (and you can safely spend at least half a day in it, just take something to eat with you), and tickets for a tour of the palace should be purchased in advance via the Internet.
In the afternoon, drive to the very center of Vienna - to climb the tower of the symbol of Austria - St. Stephen's Cathedral (the view from the North Tower is better than from the South), walk along Graben and Kohlmarkt streets, treat yourself to the famous Viennese waffles and coffee and buy an umbrella or a handbag with high-quality reproductions of famous paintings (Gustav Klimt - my love!). You can have a bite to eat and buy goodies for family and friends at the Naschmarkt market, which is located not far from the center. Very tasty and fragrant! The main thing is to make sure that you have cash in advance - it is almost impossible to pay by card in this market.
Budapest was a former part of the Habsburg Empire. The baths of Budapest are unique, there is hardly another such city in Europe that allows you to combine relaxation in the baths, interesting sights and relatively cheap prices. For young people in Budapest there are interesting bars, discos, and for older people there are baths, gardens and parks. In this article I will tell you how to organize your trip to Budapest, what to see, where to go, which bath to go to. The prices in the article were updated on December 15, 2018.
Further, the content of the article, if you are interested, skip something specifically.
Budapest is the capital of Hungary, a city of baths, magnificent architecture and relatively cheap prices for everything. Most of the impressive buildings in Budapest were built at the end of the 19th century for the millennium of finding the Motherland. What nation in the world still celebrates such a strange holiday?
Currency of Hungary
10HUF - $0.0349
10HUF - 0.0309€
10 HUF - 2.32 rubles.
10 HUF - 0.074 new Belarusian rubles.
10 HUF - 0.966 hryvnia
It is best to change in the city at official exchange offices. At the airport, the exchange rate is not very profitable, and there is a high probability of deception and fraud from the hands.
Language of Hungary
Hungarian. The language, of course, is very peculiar and hardly readable, but Hungarians have no illusions and do not expect knowledge of Hungarian from visitors, so they learn English, many sellers know the necessary minimum in Russian. During the years of our common socialist past, the Hungarians learned Russian at school and the older generation remembers a few words, while the youth working in tourism teaches. In all tourist places, all inscriptions are duplicated in English. The German language is also very common in Hungary; for several centuries, the Hungarians lived together with the Germans in the same country.
Why go to Budapest
See the city where East meets West. If you are traveling from the East to Western Europe, then Budapest will be the first city where you can feel the breath of Western civilization. But if you move in the opposite direction, then in Budapest you will experience the taste of the East for the first time.
See everything that was built for the millennium of finding the Motherland, for example, the magnificent Hungarian Parliament, Heroes' Square and many other impressive buildings.
Improve your health by bathing in thermal water.
Good, tasty and not expensive to eat, drink tokay or palinka eaten.
Look at the oldest subway in mainland Europe. The first underground was built in London, but Britain is an island and the price level there is completely different.
Prices in Budapest
Prices in Budapest are very moderate. According to the numbeo portal, life in Budapest is 12% cheaper than life in Moscow, but everything is not clear here. For example, restaurants in Budapest will be cheaper than restaurants in Moscow and by 40%, but travel to public transport more expensive in Budapest. yet the cost of living and the cost of vacation are very different things, but the data is encouraging.
In tourist areas, prices can be very high. For example, kurtash-kalach (an analogue of the Czech trdlo) in chain stalls costs 290 HUF, and at Christmas markets it costs from 800 to 1500 HUF, a piece of Esterhazy cake in the pretentious confectionery Gerbo costs 2000 HUF, and in a simpler confectionery 500 HUF, and so in everything. There is no such thing in Vienna.
How to get to Budapest on your own
By plane
The Polish-Hungarian low-cost company WizzAir flies from Moscow and St. Petersburg to Budapest, so it’s really possible to fly cheap to Budapest. If for some reason you were not able to buy a cheap ticket to Budapest from St. Petersburg, you can read my article on the bedstead.
Naturally, you need to take tickets 3-4 months before departure, then the price will be optimal. The longer you think, the more you pay in the end. And keep in mind that WizzAir is a low-cost airline, the price is indicated without luggage, and you will even have to pay for choosing a seat in the cabin.
Monthly ticket price change calendar. If you do not live in Moscow, enter your city, the calendar is interactive.
Transfer in Budapest from the airport
The minimum cost of a transfer in Budapest is 530 HUF (1.7 €). To do this, you will have to use public transport and exchange some money at an unfavorable airport rate. You need to buy a ticket with the possibility of a transfer and validate it, take the ticket from the machine at the bus stop, it is more expensive from the driver. The ticket gives the right to travel in public transport for 80 minutes from the moment of composting during the day and 120 minutes at night. Right at the exit from the airport, take bus number 200 and go to the nearest metro station, the bus ride will take 30 minutes. Then take the metro to your hotel.
Shuttle transfer available. I described this option in more detail in the article.
A taxi will cost 32€, I highly recommend using the site, in Eastern Europe it is very common to overprice a taxi at the airport many times over. You make an order on the site in Russian, pay, the driver with a sign with your name is waiting for you at the airport, here you can pay for the entire transfer on the site and not change money at the airport. In the opposite direction, this method also works fine. On the same site you can order a transfer to other cities in Hungary.
Ready tours
With tours to Budapest from St. Petersburg, everything is not very good. Tours are offered for 3 days price from 22000 rubles. while living in the periphery. From Moscow everything is much better from 14,000 rubles, the flight is offered with WizzAir, here you need to carefully consider the requirements for hand luggage, baggage, a fine will be charged for violation. Muscovites and without tours. firms will be able to buy a ticket to Budapest from WizzAir and choose any hotel. At the tour. firms usually have a very limited set of hotels.
Hotels in Budapest
Fountain hunting of King Matthias in the courtyard of the royal palace The cost of visiting the Hungarian National Gallery is 1800 HUF ∼ 5.55 €, there is no Russian audio guide. The Royal Palace was completely destroyed during the assault in 1945, so it was not fully restored, the interior looks very modern. The permanent exhibition presents medieval church art, Hungarian artists, there are Raphael, Brueghel, Titian, El Greco. On the third floor is contemporary art.
The cost of visiting the Museum of History is 2000 HUF ∼ 6.17 €, there is no Russian audio guide.
Basically, these two museums are visited by holders of the Budapest City Card, for them they are free.
Under the castle rock there is a "Museum of a hospital in the rock and a nuclear bunker", which are very popular with tourists. A ticket there is expensive 4000 HUF ∼ 12.35€, but many people like it. A visit to this museum will give you an idea of what Hungarians think about the Second World War and the Soviet period, which they definitely didn’t tell you at school. Guided tour in primitive English.
Viewpoint on Gellert Hill Second day
It is logical to start in Pest on Lajos Kossuth Square. This is the square in front of the Hungarian Parliament building. Everyone has seen photos of the parliament from the Danube, on the other hand it is no less good and the buildings standing nearby are also worthy of attention. The Parliament building can be visited with a guided tour, but this is an expensive pleasure - 6000 HUF ∼ 18.52 €, read more in a separate article.
The center of Hungary is under the dome of the parliament building You should definitely take a look at the neighboring Freedom Square, its architectural ensemble is very good. Then go to the Danube to look at the "Shoes on the Embankment", this is a monument to the memory of the Jews shot on the embankment. then walk along the Danube, admiring the Buda Castle. Or you can make yourself river trip to the pier near the Marriot hotel. Vereshmarty Square is not far away, the famous Gerbeau confectionery is located on the square and Vaci Street, the most shopping and restaurant street of the city, starts from it. Vaci street will take you to the city.
Building of the Central Market of Budapest There you can buy souvenirs if you are not going to make country trips and just look at the Hungarian national products. On the second floor of the market is the largest stand-up bar in Budapest.
The third day
Vintage subway car in the Metro Museum But before that, you should go look at the St. Stephen's Basilica - the main cathedral of Budapest. I let you into the cathedral for alms. Inside is very beautiful.
St. Stephen's Basilica From the cathedral, go back, your goal will be Andrássy Avenue, it was built up for the millennium of finding the Motherland in 1896. The avenue is built up with chic mansions, palaces, and it houses the Budapest Opera House, two squares and the Museum of Terror. This is again about the oppression of the Hungarians during the years of Soviet rule, when the objectionable were exiled to Siberia, and a giant statue of Stalin stood in front of the Budapest parliament.
Terror Museum 
Heroes Square There are art museums on both sides of the square. The Museum of Fine Arts, the people are very praised for a worthy exposition, but contemporary art, of course, is not for everyone.
Behind the square is the picturesque Transylvanian Vajdahunyad Castle. In fact, the castle is fake, it is a copy, built again for the celebration of the millennium of finding the Motherland, but it looks very impressive.
Vajdahunyad Castle The famous Széchenyi Baths, the zoo, the chic and expensive restaurant Gundel Etterem are located nearby. If you want to try all the Hungarian dishes in one place on a budget, pay attention to the chain ones.
This is a very busy plan for exploring Budapest for 3 days, it will not be possible to insert the baths in three days the fastest, it will take more time.
Day trips from Budapest on your own
Hungary regarding cheap country and excursions there are very budgetary, many excursions also include a lunch with a national flavor. It is never harmful to look at prices on the Internet, you will be able to compare with what they will offer you on the streets of the city or in a hotel.
Organized excursions, of course, will allow you to see more per unit of time than independent trips by public transport. To organize independent trips, use the site of the Hungarian Electric Trains (HÉV), the site of regional bus lines. If you have any public transport pass in Budapest, show it when buying a train ticket, you will be given a discount. Further, the name of popular stations in Hungarian, to make it easier to substitute on the site.
Budapest-Nyugati - Esztergom is by train
Visegrad - by bus number 880
Gödöllő by bus number 880
Vác on bus no. 880
In Hungary, you can take tickets for trains and buses right on the spot, it will not be more expensive than on the Internet.
If you are 3-5 people, then renting a car will be financially justified. The car greatly saves time, creates additional convenience and relieves you of the need to deal with public transport in a foreign country. . Prices start from 60€ for a three day rental.
The most popular excursion from Budapest in winter is the Bend of the Danube. During the bus tour you will be shown as many as three small towns - Esztergom, Vyshegrad, Szentendre. In the process of an independent trip by public transport, it will be possible to have time to see only one of these objects or a maximum of two, but only in summer time, it gets dark early in winter.
Main square of Szentendre If you decide on an independent trip, it is best to opt for the town of Centedre, as the most colorful. Read.
From Budapest to Gödöl and Vác on your own
For those who are interested in the fate of Empress Sissi, a trip to Gödöl (30 km from Budapest) is popular, where the Grasszalkovich Palace is located. At one time, the palace was the summer residence of the Emperor of Austria-Hungary, Franz Joseph. There is a large park around the palace. A ticket to the palace costs 2500HUF ∼ 8.1€, there is a Russian audio guide (800HUF ∼ 2.5€), entrance to the park is free. On the same day, you can have time to visit the small baroque town of Vac. If you visit both of these sites, you can say that you got acquainted with the Hungarian Baroque. Or you can take a tour.
Grasszalkovich Palace Gödöle can be reached both by train and by bus. See which train station is closest to your hotel.
From Budapest to Lake Balaton on your own
The next most popular excursion from Budapest will be Lake Balaton. Of course, the best experience from this trip can be obtained in the warm season. Usually a day trip to Balaton by public transport looks like this:
- By train from Budapest South Station (Déli pályaudvar) to Siófok (ticket price 3750HUF ∼ 12€), you will have to spend 1 hour 20 minutes on a high-speed train or 2 hours 20 minutes on an ordinary one.
- From Siofok to Balatonfuredom by boat on Balaton (cost 1600HUF ∼ 5.2€)
- From Balatonfuredd to Budapest by train (ticket price 3750HUF ∼ 12€)
Siofok and Balatonfüred are typical resort towns on the shore of the lake, in summer you can swim and sunbathe there. Near Balatonfured is the Tihany Peninsula, there is a nature reserve, a monastery and it is very beautiful, usually tourists tend to visit this place.
Tihany Peninsula With the tour you will be able to see not only the Hungarian Sea - Balaton, but also swim in the famous lake Heviz. This is an all-day activity, is only held on Thursdays and requires booking.
On the same site you can take an excursion to Miskolc or Hajdúszoboszló - these are two more Hungarian resort towns with thermal spas.
From Budapest to Vienna on your own
You can go from Budapest to Vienna, but preferably not for one day, Vienna is a very large city rich in sights. Purely on the road you will have to spend 3 hours one way, six hours on the train in one day is hard. Departure of the train from the Keleti station (Keleti Pályaudvar), it is better to buy a ticket online on the website of the Hungarian railways, it will turn out cheaper, from 13 € for a one-way ticket. Curiously, a ticket from Budapest to Vienna is cheaper than a ticket from Vienna to Budapest. On the website of the Hungarian Railways, you can immediately take a ticket there and back.
Also, the weather is always good. This is especially felt in the spring. In early April, it is still cold in Moscow, you can get under the snow. You get on the plane in a jacket, and in Hungary you take this jacket out of the plane not on yourself, but in a backpack, and then you completely forget it at the hotel. This happened to me, and on April 10 in Moscow I had a great jump and it seems I caught a cold. I haven’t retuned since Budapest, and I didn’t even have a jacket.
Baths
The main thing in Budapest is, of course, the baths. In this regard, the only place comparable to Budapest is apparently Iceland (in general, as a country, there is also a place to swim on every corner, although only the Blue Lagoon is world famous). There are baths in Budapest in every district. Whatever you take - the most famous and popular. It's good that there are a lot of them, otherwise there would be pandemonium. It is so in some way there, especially on weekends. Of all of them, they singled out a couple for themselves, and it was them that they visited. This is probably the TOP-2 baths, at least judging by tourist books and websites. Gelert - located right inside the huge hotel Gelert at the foot of the mountain of the same name. They are perhaps the most sophisticated. Remind either the palace, or the station. In general, if you swim in the hall of columns, feel yourself in a chic place for ridiculous money - then here. And if diversity - then to the second place we visited: Széchenyi. There are several types of sauna and water aerobics, and there are more pools and each has its own water temperature (from 16 to 38 with an interval of 2 degrees). The area of the Széchenyi baths is also larger (but there are more people here), and in April the outdoor pool is also open (it is closed in Gellert). With chic and pomposity, a little worse, but the interior decoration of the halls is compensated by the appearance of the Szechny baths, with their openwork yellow buildings. And of course, famous chess players floating in the water and moving black and white pieces. This is certainly not chessboxing, but something close to it, and with a much longer history (Szechenyi baths are obviously older than chessboxing).
The photo is not mine. This is REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo. We didn't have a camera with us in Széchenyi.
In general, shooting and swimming, and steaming in the sauna, and looking after the baby at the same time is somehow not convenient. Donated photography.
With regards to caps in the baths. At first it turned out that some setup. When I am eating somewhere and suspect that swimming in the waters is possible, I take care of the maximum swimming trunks (sometimes also a towel). Here we need hats. But firstly, of course, they are sold in numerous kiosks, and secondly, it turned out that they are in demand only in the main pool. That is, the largest, sometimes even with swimming lanes, or at least an adjustable direction of movement (counterclockwise). I always didn’t understand why swimmers in these pools move counterclockwise and only in this way, athletes and just students run at the Fiztekhov stadium. Buddhists walk the other way around, clockwise! Well, this is a lyrical digression. In all other pools, warm, cold, you can go without a cap. And all there without a hat. Only the caretakers watch the most important thing and blow a whistle at the sight of a swimmer's uncovered hair. It was not possible to find out whether bald people whistle without a cap.
Getting it right doesn't seem easy at first. Around the cash desk, all the inscriptions are in Hungarian. But gradually it becomes clear, and the cashier always speaks English. You can take either a box (+ a chip per pass) or a booth (+ a chip per pass). The cabin is certainly more convenient (you can change clothes normally there) and not much more expensive. One ticket (chip) is valid all day. Bathing ends at eight in the evening (do not believe some guides! who finish them earlier).
Family selfie in Gellert
A couple of Budapest sightseeing tips
Of course, it is difficult to call yourself an expert on the Hungarian capital, especially since it left more mysteries than revealed its secrets. But after the first visit, I somehow developed a set of hints and recommendations.
1) Collect cards at the hotel. Similar stands hang in all hotels. In Moscow, I also met them, but I never used them. I saw it here and started using it. Discount at the Rubik's Cube store, discount at the Zoo, in the Labyrinth. Oh cool, I love discounts. And at the same time, you can not prepare for the trip at all and see what these cards offer. Pretty good overview of Budapest. On the reverse side they have the location of the object. Very comfortably. Either find it, or immediately score it, as we did with the Tropicana (some kind of oceanarium with crocodiles and sharks on the outskirts of Budapest).
2) Maps of the city. We start recruiting directly from the airport. In Europe, all city maps are always free. In Budapest, at the airport, there were also the most sensible and faithful. They, for example, had the fourth (green) metro line. Recently built and missing from all other maps.
3) Tour bus. Many cities have it. A lot of places are useless. But here in Budapest it is very relevant. There are no traffic jams in the city, there are many wide avenues passing through the center, and actually one of the trump cards of Budapest is its pompous architecture. There are several companies we have used seems to be the most common: HOP ON HOP OFF. Actually left the hotel, and he went straight past. This is the peculiarity of the routes: they pass through all the sights and through the main hotel places. You can make a different circle by listening to the instructions, and then get off at the sight of interest. And then drive it to the next one. The ticket is valid for two days, and is applicable to three routes: red and yellow in the city, blue - a boat on the Danube. At bus stops, you have to wait a maximum of 15 minutes. But the boat is less common, it is better to familiarize yourself with its schedule in advance. Schedule - of course on the free cards handed out on the bus.
4) In the morning, going for a walk, take swimming trunks and a towel with you. It is not known where everything will end, but the probability of being in one of the baths is very high.
Here is such a voice recorder switch installed on buses. Choose any language and listen. We found. that it is even better to ride on the first floor of the bus (they are two-story). Firstly, they go there less often, these recorders are not very used and the contacts are normal. And secondly, it doesn't blow that much. The second floor is often just without windows for example!
Geopolitics
Where now without it? Geopolitics in Hungary turned out to be a bit strange, not quite expected in Europe. Yes, at first a large number of young people with yellow-block symbols were noticed. It is fashionable to support the independence of a young small country that is being attacked by an aggressor. True, as it turned out, half of these people speak Russian and are Ukrainian tourists. The Hungarians themselves experienced all this a hundred years ago. The collapse of his great Austro-Hungarian Empire, the loss of 70% of the territory, constant memories of past greatness and revanchist sentiments that drowned in the banal weakness of the state. The older generation, and I spoke with him, says that after the euphoria of joining the European Union, which lasted two years, a retreat began. Having collected orders from the Hungarian production, the Europeans refused all of them in a couple of years, and already managed to quarrel with the East. Yes, and in the same East, for example, Mercedes seized a fair share of Ikarus routes. And two years later, the Hungarians, who in the 80s felt themselves at the forefront of world Socialism, felt themselves on the outskirts of capitalism. In the European Union, only Greece looks poorer, not even Romania. The city is full of beautiful houses, even on the main streets, which are under construction (actually slowly falling apart) and for sale. Budapest is full of real homeless people, it was a revelation even for me. That is, it would seem such a beautiful and sublime city, but the homeless are sleeping in the passage. Another feature of similarity with St. Petersburg (although probably in St. Petersburg, and even more so in Moscow, there are more of them). In Europe, I have not come across anywhere else.
A very unexpected foreign policy. A well-known case is how an Azerbaijani hacked an Armenian colleague to death with an ax in a NATO military training camp in Hungary. Of course, the Hungarians condemned the Azerbaijani and even tried to imprison him, and then suddenly they took him and handed him over to Azerbaijan (they say that in exchange for some kind of oil contract). In Baku, he was released and awarded as a national hero right at the airport, on the ladder of the plane. And the Hungarian embassies besieged the pro-Armenian demonstrations for a long time. Or now, there was a PACE session, a completely incomprehensible body, why and to what. But, as expected, he gathered for the next session and unanimously condemned Russia for annexing Crimea. And suddenly a Hungarian deputy broke through to the microphone, suddenly declaring Hungary's claims to Transcarpathia. Well, yes, this is a small part of those 70% of the lost territory. As I remember now, in the summer of 1998 we walked along the Carpathian ridge - the path wound between the border posts marked as Poland and Austria-Hungary. But the pillars were installed a long time ago, and the deputy spoke now, shocking the rest of the European deputies.
But what can I say, if over the Parliament building, solemnly guarded by sentries, two flags are proudly blowing on two giant flagpoles. Hungarian and mysterious like this:
As a connoisseur of flags, I have been trying for a long time to understand what the mysterious Pacific territory of Nauru has to do with Hungary. Known for easily (for money) recognizing independence (for example, Abkhazia and South Ossetia) and signing agreements with them on mutually beneficial cooperation (I wonder how many Abkhazians have visited Nauru and vice versa). Then I realized that this is not Nauru. It turned out - this is the flag of the Szekelys. I mean the Hungarians living in Romania. They demand autonomy, but the Romanian government presses them. But the Hungarian supports. In fact, it is as if, even before the annexation of Crimea, in Moscow, next to the Russian flag over the Kremlin, the Crimean, or Transnistrian, was suddenly hung out. The political leader of Hungary, Viktor Orban, playing just on nationalist sentiments, won the next election, right on that weekend (April 5-6) when we were visiting Hungary. This is such a difficult country in general.
Hungarian cuisine
Of course, this is one of the countries that deserves such a chapter in its description. For example, I can hardly imagine Swedish, Swiss, Dutch, Belgian cuisines. I do not have the feeling that they have left a noticeable mark in the world of culinary. No, of course they did, but the words "Swedish cuisine" do not drool, even if you dined at least a thousand times in Ikea. And at the mention of "Hungarian cuisine", not only drooling flows, but the rumbling of the stomach begins, or vice versa, some incredible interest, anticipation awakens. I would boldly put it on a par with the original and unique Georgian, Chinese, Italian cuisines.
Hot paprika quickly became a symbol of the cuisine, and at the same time simply of Hungary. Although the characters are full. Probably, there is no need to photograph them, we were somehow more engaged in consuming them. completely forgetting about the Instagram “didn’t take a picture - didn’t eat”. Goulash, lecho, perkelt - and all Hungarian words. I was amazed by the sausage there, I have never eaten such a tasty one anywhere (it melts in your mouth). Goose liver is consumed throughout Budapest. This is a strange delicacy, with it the story is almost like with olives. The first acquaintance - what an incomprehensible disgusting thing, and then you gradually realize that it is an incredibly tasty thing and please give me another piece. It is also cooked in an unusual way. Geese are fed corn. They take a hose with a supplied food mess and forcefully shove it into the throat of a goose, which overeats and its liver acquires especially delicate flavoring aromas. Throughout civilized Europe, animal rights activists have already protected geese and banned goose liver from the menu. But Hungary continues to go its own way. Prohibiting the production of goose liver there is the same as banning vodka in Russia or lard in Ukraine.
As in the movie "Grand Hotel Budapest", the real Budapest also has its own Mandel, before whom everyone melts, from tough bandits in prison to the guards guarding them. Only it is called Gundenl. In general, it seems to me that Mandel was a parody of Gundel))
photo walk
Probably stop writing. Let's go for a walk. Budapest is Buda and Pest. Two different cities, once merged into one. Therefore, some kind of tourist trip has to be shared. The first day, while still full of energy, went to Buda. This is a mountainous (or rather hilly) right bank of the Danube. Here on one mountain is the Buda Castle with the Royal Palace, on the other is the Citadel of Franz Josef. We started from the Royal Palace.
Turul bird. Very important for Hungarians. There are two main legends. First: Emese (mother of Almos, father of Arpod, considered the progenitor of the Hungarian kings) became pregnant in her sleep when this bird took possession of her. The second, more decent, although also sleepy, tells that the leader of the nomadic Hungarians dreamed that eagles attacked their horses. Then the bird Turul flew in, dispersed the eagles, which was interpreted as a reason to roam further, until the same bird showed the place where to stop. And so the Great "Finding of the Motherland" happened. The stories do not contradict each other, so both probably took place.
Here, as elsewhere, the city is full of monuments. Both new and old.
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1. Istvan Bethlen. Prime Minister of Hungary 1921-1931. In 1945 he was taken prisoner by Soviet troops and died in Moscow in 1946.
2. Unknown to me Hungarian partisan. Located between Eugene of Savoy and the Matthias fountain
3. Austrian warrior Eugene of Savoy. He made a decisive contribution to the liberation of the Hungarian lands from the Turks. It's funny that when the money allocated for the installation of the monument ran out, a philanthropist, Emperor Franz Joseph, came to the rescue. And he ordered the monument to stand at the place where the monument to Franz Joseph himself was planned.
4. Passage-arch from the front facade to the courtyard of the palace. I had to hang around here for five minutes, so that finally "no one was walking." However, the photo still came out the same way.
And here is the Matthias fountain itself. One of the most beautiful fountains in Europe. Too bad it just doesn't work. But the coins are still being tossed.
The plot is based on a romantic ballad about a hunter - King Matthias, who met in the forest not only game, but also a beautiful peasant woman, Ilonka.
Another courtyard of the Palace
Monument next to the fountain. Less popular with tourists. I didn't even bother to ask who it was. The farther, the less and less there was a need to figure out who these wonderful Hungarians were. There are a lot of monuments, the history of the state is really eventful. Outstanding nation. It is really strange that with such a rich history and such people, they are a small Central European state in terms of territory. But there are all outstanding, no one wants to move.
Gate of Corvinus. As befits the Corwins - with a raven.
Changing of the Guard. A real show, to which tourists from all over the castle came to stare at noon. In addition to the Moscow guard, I also observed the Stockholm guard (also by chance) and now this one. In general, the Stockholm one was more fun, where they did everything with the drummer. But here they waved rifles with bayonets so much that it dazzled in the eyes. Cool waving, almost like in a circus. True, it is not clear who in the modern army this will scare. But a tribute to tradition. As well as sabers instead of rifles at the head of the guard.
Shiklo means funicular. The Hungarian language is incomparable!
Bas-relief with strange antique either sled or carriage
Since I wanted something unbanal, we went to the Labyrinth. Of course, it is called something about Dracula, but of course it loses to the Romanian counterparts. But it's beautiful.
What pill do you want? Move? Red yellow or blue?
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They let what is called dust in the eyes. It turned out pretty and mystical.
and there is a throne
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1. Monument to Andras Hadik. The people said about him that all hussars were hussars. He rose from an ordinary hussar to marshal of the governor of Transylvania. Against his background, Petra also decided to go hussar and saddled dad.
2. Matthias Cathedral. A special model for the little ones (and also for the blind, everything is signed in Braille and you can feel it)
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He is really very handsome. And the chestnut trees are in full bloom. Are those chestnuts?
There is also the Fisherman's Bastion. One of the main symbols of the city (probably along with the parliament). Seven of its towers - according to the number of seven nomadic tribes who came to the territory of modern Hungary and settled here.
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1. View from one of the towers to the other three
2. The dragon has as many teeth in its upper jaw as we have in both jaws...
Trabant on the city street. It even seems to be on the move. But at the same time he collects alms to pay for gasoline and operation. Money can be thrown through a narrow gap in the window, very convenient.
From the Fisherman's Bastion - the classic and most popular view of the Danube with the Parliament
Once again Parliament. Separate from people. The Hungarians were constantly gaining and achieving something. Tenacious people. In 896, the acquisition of the Motherland. "The motherland does not have its own home," the poet Vörösmarty wrote in the 19th century (he is also the ballad on the basis of which the Matthias fountain was created). The Turks were expelled at the end of the 17th century, and the legislative assembly met in Pozsony (Bratislava). And only at the end of the 19th, in the wake of the rise of national self-consciousness, did the construction of the Parliament in the capital begin. All convenient central places were occupied, so they chose the place of the city dump. It turned out very cool, and sublime and pompous. The height of the Parliament, as well as the Matthias Cathedral, is 96 meters. This is in honor of the same year 896.
Continuation of the panorama down the Danube. It can be seen that all the buildings along the embankment are classical architectural styles, but there are "two false teeth" of new houses from the era of socialist architecture. These are the places where in 1945 Soviet tanks broke through the city to Think. Just through the city...
Parliament
We went to parliament on the third day. This is the holy of holies of the Hungarians. Actually our friends recommended to go there.Unlike the Kremlin, of course, it is not closed, but very accessible for tourists. But still there are many limitations. And the officer constantly follows the group, urging all those lagging behind.
Somewhere near the entrance is a model of the Parliament, assembled of course from matches. 896 pieces of course!
Conference hall. This is an old hall, they are not allowed into the new one. But the old one will be prettier.
If you look closely, you can see two canvases, about two key events in Hungarian history. Assembly of people's representatives in 1848 and the Coronation of Franz Joseph in 1867. Between them are the coats of arms of the royal dynasties that ruled Hungary. Arpads, Anjou (French), Hunyadi (again crows - Corvins), Jagiellons (Poles), Zapolyai (reminiscent of the Szekely flag!) and the Habsburgs. Well, the coat of arms of the kingdom of Hungary itself (until the middle of the 19th century).
typical Hungarian invention. In meetings there are breaks that turn into smoke breaks. They smoke expensive Havana cigars. They didn’t have time to finish smoking during the smoke break, it’s forbidden to smoke in the meeting room, so the cigar was left right on the windowsill. In order not to get confused - everyone has their own parking place.
View from the parliament to the street
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2. This is a photograph of the same central, high and beautiful dome of the Parliament. Bottom view. I became interested in Petra, who crawled along the red carpet there and obviously intended to lick some kind of relic, if not to pull off, then at least to lick it. Therefore, I did not hear a warning that photography is not allowed. And I took a picture of the dome, I usually always start from the dome ... Then the tourists and the guide shushed me, and even the same officer who accompanies the group immediately appeared. I apologized, of course, I got carried away. But they didn’t ask me to delete it, so I’ll even post a secret photo here. I don’t know what would have happened if I started taking pictures from the crown. It is just below the center under the dome, behind glass, next to the scepter and orb, guarded by two guards. She has a very interesting, almost detective story of all sorts of burials, hidings, finds and travels around the world (she even visited the USA after the Second World War). During one of the stages, the cross on it bent, from the impact of the lid of the chest where it was located. However, it was decided that the historical truth should remain true and he was not kicked back.
The photo is not mine, I found it on the internet. Some people seem to be able to take pictures!
Mount Gellert
We quickly reached the Gellert mountain (hill) on a sightseeing bus. It is named in honor of the holy martyr Gellert, who was thrown here into the waters of the Danube by pagan Hungarians. Known since ancient times for healing waters gushing from under it and not so anciently for the Citadella fortress, where the fortified garrison of the Austrian army was located. The place is the highest in the city, it is not surprising that it put pressure on the Hungarians and was a symbol of oppression. The Austrians left it at the end of the 19th century, but an amazing thing: there was simply not enough money to demolish it to the ground. Therefore, it still existed in 1945, when the military post of the Nazis and Nilashists (these are the Hungarian fascists of the Second World War) did not strengthen. Now here is the so-called bunker, or rather its remains with an exposition of wax figures. Despite the abundance of swastikas, the place is more like a museum than anything fascist or anti-fascist. Because of my love for the dungeons, I came here too, but it can hardly be called much more interesting than the Labyrinth on the Buda Hill.
Some kind of "Claustrophobia" start
Items are not just scattered on the museum shelves, but arranged as they should
Military archaeologists should like
But not really for me. Whether business views. Panoramas of the Hungarian capital from the top of Gellert, perhaps the most comprehensive.
view of the Buda mountain
and to the other side
The place, which was a symbol of oppression in the era of socialism, simply had to be embellished with a monumental statue of liberty. No worse and no better than our Workers with a Peasant Woman or Motherland. To the warehouse in Memento Park not taken away - and that's okay. Probably not enough money again.
Here she is. Back view. In fact, she hovers over the city. It is curious that instead of demolition, they simply removed all the inscriptions in Russian and corrected the inscriptions in Hungarian. It turned out a new meaning and there is no need to demolish the monument! Comfortable. The woman is holding a palm branch, but I have seen original souvenirs where she holds a paprika pepper.
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2. Stained glass windows in the Gellert Baths
Budapest metro:
Photographers are so strange... What did he see there?? Then I also tried to shoot it in a raskaryaku, but nothing sensible comes out ...
A new, green line, already the fourth in a row in the Budepest metro. It strikes with the scale of transitions and exits to the street.
While the oldest one is yellow, on the contrary. Captivates with its modesty, home-sized stations and trains of 4 small trailers. It is the oldest subway in continental Europe. So old that there are no escalators and two different platforms (wrong direction - cross the street).
Heroes Square at night. We lived on it. In theory, one could be upset that there is no such amazing view from the window, but on the other hand, it immediately became clear that our "windows into the courtyard" with the boring walls of neighboring buildings are an ideal option. Very quiet, you can't hear cars from the street. Birds are singing! In the center of a major European capital, it is even difficult to imagine anything better. Mirage Fashion Hotel.
Heroes' Square and the Hall of Arts on it in the evening
The second day we just walked leisurely with a stroller along Andrassy Avenue from the Heroes' Square to the center. Parallel to it, there are several more streets, completely charming and immersed in greenery (at least in spring).
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2. In the Center there is someone to measure the belly with
We went to a museum. East Asian art. The exposition seems to be changing, now it is devoted to Javanese theatrical masks, collected by some Hungarian ethnographer about a hundred years ago. It was necessary to shoot inside for some money, so I only took it from the outside. Shadow theater secrets. To memories half a year ago.
Just walk along the avenue and take pictures from left to right. Better yet, just stare and admire. Something like the first distant childhood visit to St. Petersburg. Well, yes, they are similar, only Budapest is bigger with its old part, and the climate is better, which cannot but affect the condition of the buildings.
But the House of Terror is a memory of socialist times. Inside the museum - did not go. The museum apparently has something about Solzhenitsyn
Even sitting on dad’s neck, Peter is no taller than American actor-president Ronald Reagan
Glory to the liberators! Glory to heroes!
Remembering the terror of the 60s, the Hungarians do not forget about the liberation in the 40s. The monument is not destroyed, but is in very good condition.
swings right on the street. favorite pastime. stuck there for a long time. it is also not easy to select one from two dozen photos
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2. Just a lattice on one of the houses
Just an arch with the entrance to the house. The impression of the city is formed from such endless "just ..."
Monument to the Little Princess on the embankment.
The waterfront of Budapest is somewhat of a disappointment. In the literal sense, there is no embankment. Along the Danube, on both banks, there is a highway, then a line of trams, and then some buildings and a promenade, which can be considered an embankment, just begin. To get to the river, or rather to the berths for pleasure boats, you have to cross all this through underground and ground crossings.
Hotel Astoria in the Center, at the crossroads of two major avenues. And it turns out that no one needs a neighboring building in such a trump card. Only McDonald's on the first floor. Anything above is empty. This is also one of the faces of modern Budapest.
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This is another picture of Budapest:
In search of the unbanal, I really wanted to visit the Rubik's Museum. But it turned out that there was no such thing. Strange, two of the greatest Hungarians of our time: George Soros and Erno Rubik. And there are no museums of either one. Probably because both are still alive! However, they seem to write that the Rubik's Museum will be built by 2018 and will collect not just Rubik's Cubes, but all the achievements of Hungary as such.
So far I had to be content with a puzzle store. It is also not Rubikovsky (although it may be Rubikovsky, it’s just not indicated in the title). It seems to me that no ... Located on the Oktogon metro, at Eotvos 39
Inside, of course, there were many Rubik's Cubes. For Petra, we bought 2v2v2. To be honest, I confused it and tried to assemble it - so far without success. I took 3on3on3 for myself. I'm still afraid to touch it, although at school I knew how to assemble it ... Then my eyes just ran wide. For the exotic, I also took a 4x4x4 cube as a souvenir. But I looked at 5, 6, 7 and 8 size cubes with horror and reverence. God forbid to take one in your hands - you will immediately confuse. I asked if they were given assembly instructions with them. No, there are none, but it was recommended to watch YouTube. There is. The store still has a new one - Rubik's Ball. I asked Rubik's Tetrahedron, I once had it in my childhood, an interesting toy, and it was easier to assemble than a Cube. They should have been like, rummaged through the warehouse and, unfortunately, did not find it. Rubik's dodecahedron proposed. The thing looks awesome, but scary. I didn't buy. He asked - it is even more difficult to collect the Cube. Even those cubes that are many on many on many. At least there are predictable collection induction methods.
Finally, they still managed to run around the zoo until Petra fell asleep. Of course, it is more interesting to go to the zoo with a child. I wouldn't go for anything myself.
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But I did see a bird. she walked around without any restrictions and behaved interestingly. In general, there are very few restrictions for animals. For example, anyone can enter the enclosure with goats and alpacas. the only requirement is to close the gate behind you so that the animals do not scatter around the zoo.
Crocodiles swim in the same pool as catfish
Our favorite sight is of course the fish.
Then they fell asleep and reached the giraffes, elephants and other things ...
The fourth day we did not photograph anything at all. It just so happened. On the one hand, it’s a pity - the Széchenyi baths were never included in the photo report, on the other hand, maybe it’s for the better - I wouldn’t know when I would have been able to finish this post ...
The city still consists of two halves - the Danube clearly divides it into hilly Buda and flat Pest. The characters of these parts are different, but it is necessary to start acquaintance with him, of course, from Buda. If only because Pest is more complicated, livelier, more diverse and more interesting; Pest is the Hungarian "today", while Buda is responsible for the past, keeps the Hungarian "yesterday" in public memory and preserves history. And without history, it is impossible to understand the present ...
Buda Castle
“Fortress Hill” or “Castle Hill”, or “Buda Castle”, or simply “Castle” - this is how the Hungarian words are translated in different ways, meaning the hill on which stands the ancient royal palace and the buildings surrounding it. From here, acquaintance with Budapest usually begins, since the castle, towering over the Danube on its right, Buda, bank, is visible from afar and immediately attracts attention.
- You can climb to the top of the Buda Hill by bus (No. 16), on foot or by funicular. The Buda funicular is not large (only 95 m of track, the height of the lift is 51 m), but it is interesting as a monument of the pre-electronic and pre-electric era. Opened in 1870 on the initiative of Eden Széchenyi, son of the famous Count Istvan Széchenyi, it was originally powered by a steam engine. The upper station of the funicular is located on the observation deck, which offers a magnificent view of Pest.
Funicular cost: €2
Royal Palace
The most important building of the Castle Hill. The reign of King Matthias was a golden age for the palace. Then they said: "There are three most beautiful cities in all of Europe: Venice on the sea, Buda on the hill and Florence on the plain." With the death of King Matthias, everything ended.
The Turkish threat was growing, and the successors of Matthias were no longer up to architectural amusements. The Battle of Mohacs (1526) marked the end of independence. When Buda was liberated from the Turks in the 17th century, the palace was practically destroyed. In the 18th century, under the Habsburgs, it was rebuilt again. But even these buildings burned down during the Hungarian revolution of 1848-1849.
The Royal Palace on Castle Hill was rebuilt at the end of the 19th century. In that version, the palace had a magnificent neo-Renaissance dome (you can get some idea of it by looking at the dome of St. Stephen's Basilica). In the late autumn of 1944, during the capture of Budapest by the Red Army, the palace was destroyed for the third time, and many other buildings of the Castle Hill were also damaged.
By visiting the tour, you will be able to learn the most Interesting Facts about this attraction.
Fountain of King Matthias
The king is hunting, next to him is a deer shot by him, a little lower is a retinue with dogs, and on the right is a girl with a deer clinging to her. The sculptural group reproduces the plot of Mihaly Vereshmarty’s ballad “The Beautiful Ilonka” (1832), which tells how a village girl met a young hunter in the forest, fell in love with him, but, having learned that King Matthias himself was the hunter, withered and died of grief. On the left, not taking part in the general scene, the chronicler of the king, who recorded this story for the first time, sits on a stone.
- From April until the first cold weather, the sculptural group turns into a fountain: water falls down from the rock on which the king stands, and a bronze dog drinks it at the feet of the hunters.
Matthias Church
Known to everyone as the Matthias Church (and by no means "St. Matthias"!), In fact, it is a church Holy Mother of God. King Matthias rebuilt and expanded the old church: it was then, in the 15th century, that the large southern bell tower, 80 meters high, appeared - the tallest building in the Buda Castle. It was already damaged during the first assault on Buda by the Turks, and in 1541 it was turned into a mosque. The paintings were hidden under a layer of whitewash, the altar was destroyed. For almost a century and a half, until the end of the 17th century, the church building served as the main mosque of Buda.
And in 1686, when the troops of the Holy League stormed Buda, trying to knock out the Turks from it, the following was discovered: the Hungarian defenders of the church managed to hide the statue of the Virgin Mary by erecting a wall in front of it in the temple. A cannon ball fired from the side of the League hit the church building, the wall collapsed, and the Virgin Mary appeared again. The Turks were shocked, and on the same day the city fell.
At the end of the 19th century, on the eve of the great Hungarian holiday, the Millennium of Finding the Motherland, the church was rebuilt again in order to finally give it a true, original Gothic appearance. And the wonderful multi-colored roof covered with tiles of the famous Zsolnay factory in Pest, of course, also acquired its present appearance only at the end of the 19th century.
Address: Orszaghaz St, 1
fishermen's bastion
fishermen's bastion built in 1899–1902 so that the church will have a worthy environment, and the public will have the opportunity to walk here and admire the views of the Danube and Pest.
The seven Neo-Romanesque towers should symbolize the seven Magyar tribes who came to these shores a thousand years before the construction of the bastion, and the name reminds that in the Middle Ages it was the fishermen's guild that took responsibility for the defense of this section of the castle in the event of an enemy invasion.
On a small square between the southern facade of the church and the Fisherman's Bastion stands an equestrian monument to Saint Stephen, the first king of the Hungarians. Istvan was the direct heir of Prince Arpad, who brought the Magyars to the banks of the Danube. He came out victorious in the struggle for supreme power in Hungary, and on Christmas Day 1000 (possibly 1001) he was crowned by the legate of Pope Sylvester II Astrik. St. Stephen's Day, August 20 - the main national holiday of Hungary at all times in its history.
On Lord's Street Uri utca) is the entrance to labyrinth (Labyrinthus), a system of underground passages and caves 1200 meters long.
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Visit the Labyrinth or not, but by this time travelers usually have time to get hungry. You should go past the Plague Column to the west, in the opposite direction from the Fisherman's Bastion. There, on Szentháromság utca, a tiny coffee shop has been operating since 1827. Ruszwurm. It is worth trying a piece of Esterhazy cake here or just having a cup of coffee - and the feeling of traveling to the 19th century will accompany you for a long time during further walks in Budapest.
Restaurant Alabardos hides in a medieval building across from Matthias Church. "Alabardos" - halberdier. The interior contains guns, shields, those same halberds and other romantic paraphernalia. The menu offers European and Hungarian cuisine, including catfish from the Tisza River. Fish fillet fried in a pan is served with Hungarian cottage cheese dumplings and fish sauce. The restaurant is open only in the evenings. In the afternoon, it is worth looking into the “antiquities shops” at the entrance to the institution.
To have something to talk about, it’s good to visit establishments “with history” - a restaurant gundel, once owned by national cuisine reformer Karoy Gundel, the oldest cafe in the capital Gerbeaud or luxurious New York.
National cuisine in the "tourist" version is presented in restaurants such as Matyas pince or Paprika; the same, but without starched tablecloths and the need to book a table in advance - in small restaurants in the depths of Buda and Pest, under the signs of Étterem or Vendéglő. You can have a quick and tasty lunch in two Budapest restaurant places: on Franz Liszt Square ( Liszt Ferenc ter) or on Radai street ( Raday utca).
- Smoking is prohibited in all public places. On terraces and in street cafes - allowed if there is no prohibition announcement ("Tilos a dohányzás!").
Heart of Budapest
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Most of what attracts this city concerns one not very long period in the life of Budapest. This is the time from the unification of the city in 1873 to the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1918. All the best, all that we admire, that the people of Budapest proudly show us, come from there, from that beautiful era.
Sometimes this time is called “Budapest noon”.
You can start with Heroes Square. area and adjoining Varoshliget park- this is exactly the place where in 1896 the Hungarians celebrated the Millennium of the country. The sculptures of the Millennium Monument depict horsemen led by Prince Arpad, who came to the banks of the Danube in 896, and the Archangel Gabriel, and all the main characters of Hungarian history: each has his own place in it, his own legend and his own story.
It's hard to imagine, but a magical building Vajdahunyad castle in the park - nothing more than one of the pavilions of the exhibition that unfolded here in the same 1896. In addition, it acts as a kind of "architectural-historical summary": its constituent buildings are copies of various buildings erected in Hungary at different times and in different places. Night Vaydahunyad is a fabulous sight; travelers who have heard that legends about Count Dracula are connected with Hungary can find a silent reminder of him in the castle ...
Nearby - a yellow building with domes, which one would like to call a palace or a museum, thanks to the solemn porticos and various sculptures on the roof. In fact, they are famous Széchenyi baths. Entering through the entrance that looks at the park, the traveler will see an interior decorated with mosaics, more befitting a palace than a bathhouse. If you enter the building from the opposite side (from the side of the Zoo), then through the windows of the glazed buffet you can look inside and make sure: baths! The most beautiful, hot, functioning in the open air all year round.
You can spend a whole day in the vicinity of the Heroes' Square. In addition to the park with the Vajdahunyad castle and the Szechenyi baths, the Budapest Zoo, the Circus, the Gundel restaurant and the Contemporary Art Exhibition Hall are also located here. It would be necessary to mention the Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of Transport and the Amusement Park, but in the next year or two they are all closed for reconstruction: stay tuned.
Andrássy Avenue
Andrássy Avenue (Andrássy út), the most beautiful avenue of the Danube capital, leads from Heroes' Square to the city center. More precisely, on the contrary: the avenue was built to become a solemn road to the place of celebration. It is named after Count Gyula Andrássy.
This character of Hungarian history reproduced in his own biography the most important turns in the fate of the country: an active participant in the revolution of 1848–1849, he was sentenced to death and even symbolically executed, but nine years later he took the oath to Franz Joseph, and after another decade he became minister-president of the Hungarian government of the dualistic monarchy, in the creation of which there was also his merit.
Unlike much busier other radial avenues - Rákóczi út, along which the routes of a dozen regular and several tourist buses, or Váci (Váci út), which carries the main flow of transport to and from the city - Andrássy Avenue was and remains a "solemn prospect". In this way, it resembles Nevsky, but unlike the main avenue of St. Petersburg, it is not public buildings that dominate here, but residential buildings.
- In the center, streets and boulevards are given to trams, radial lines - to trolleybuses and buses. In addition, tram lines are laid along the embankments on both banks of the Danube. There are four metro lines in Budapest. The first, yellow line (M1), Földalatti is the oldest in continental Europe. The red (M2) and blue (M3) lines were built in socialist times, and since 2014 the green line (M4) has been operating, which, like the red one, connects Buda and Pest. The first three branches intersect at Deak Ferenc Square (Deák Ferenc tér). The fourth has transfer stations at the East Station (Keleti pályaudvar) and Kalvin Square (Kálvin tér).
- There are both one-time coupons (300 forints each, if you buy ten at once - about € 1), and travel tickets. It is best to buy them at metro stations or from vending machines at tram stops (there is an instruction in Russian on the display). Tourists are especially comfortable with a ticket for a group of up to 5 people for one day. It is valid for 24 hours, that is, having bought it in the afternoon, you can use it the next day in the morning.
house of terror
Among the tenement houses, on the right, if you move to the center, the side of the avenue stands out the House of Terror. The letters of the word "terror" are carved into the canopy that completes the façade at the level of the eaves, so that its name can be read against the sky and in the shadow that falls on the wall. At one time, the Hungarian State Security Administration was located here, and before that, the headquarters of the Hungarian Nazis, the Arrow Cross party. Now there is a museum dedicated to both terrorist regimes.
The museum is heavy, scary; perhaps not even a museum as a scientific institution, but a huge installation that does not pretend to be objective, but tells about what has been experienced. It is arranged in such a way that the visitor receives not so much new knowledge as direct emotions, especially since part of the exposition is the prison premises themselves, used by one organization of state terror, then another, and presented to the audience without condescension to their feelings.
Among other prisoners here in 1948 was Cardinal Jozsef Mindszenty. Released during the revolution of 1956, after its suppression, he took refuge in the American embassy in Budapest, where he lived for fifteen years; his memoirs describe in detail his stay in the prison on Andrássy Avenue.
Address: Andrássy út 60
Entry fee: €7
State Opera
Behind the Oktogon square, that is, the “octahedron” (and the square is really octahedral), the most front part of the avenue begins. Here you can turn into any street to the left or right and be sure that something will certainly come across noteworthy: either the restaurant square with a statue of Franz Liszt, or the famous Budapest Operetta, or a youth nightclub that turns into an antique market on Sundays, or - if you're lucky and can look inside one of the old Pest houses - one of the magnificent courtyards with galleries that can tell about life here is bigger and better than any guidebooks.
And if you don’t turn off, then ahead is a meeting with the Hungarian State Opera, whose majestic building is impressive both from the outside and from the inside - especially if you get on one of the daily excursions. True, it will not work to sit in the imperial box, but it is worth going into the neighboring, adjutant's box.
Váci street (Váci utca) stretches along the Danube from the Customs Square ( Fővam ter) to Vörösmarty Square. Previously, it did not end on it, as it does now, but passed into Vaci Avenue ( Vaciut) and led further to the city of Vác (hence the name).
There are many restaurants and souvenir shops, more often sounds English language than Hungarian, and the whole street is a continuous tape of entertainment, food and shopping. At the post office building on the left, you can not miss the red mailbox. These boxes of Budapest are the same hello from the times of Austria-Hungary, like a metro line built in the 19th century, or tenement houses with lions and atlantes on the facades. They stand on the sidewalks, not clinging to the walls of houses, separately; this is how benches or monuments are usually placed.
No matter how hard it is to take your eyes off the endless rows of shops with paprika, scarves, hats, magnets, toys and other souvenirs, interspersed with equally endless rows of restaurant tables, it is worth looking up.
Vaci Street has many very interesting buildings and monuments. Most of them are residential buildings built in the second half of the 19th century. Exception - solid building New City Hall. Its first floor is reminiscent of the Florentine Renaissance palazzo, but the columns inside, despite the presence of Corinthian capitals, correct order bases and even flutes, are already cast iron; this makes itself felt "iron age", the age of industry. It is worth considering the details of the design of the facade: openwork door grilles, stone carving, painting.
At the intersection of Pala Nyari Street, a row of residential buildings is interrupted by Church of St. Michael. Its gray building with white baroque details stands in line with neighboring houses, and a bell tower with a clock rises high above their roofs under the very eaves. Concerts of classical music are constantly held here. They play Mozart, Bach, Handel, Vivaldi.
Every house can be viewed here. Not a minute is left unattended by tourists, for example, the house that belonged to the heirs of Michael Thonet, the inventor of the famous "Viennese chairs": the facade is decorated with Gothic and Renaissance motifs and fantastic, unparalleled ornaments. Recognizable details are triangular balconies, statues in niches on the top floor and a gallery with an openwork fence stretching across the entire facade.
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Visiting Budapest and ignoring the baths is like going to Athens but not climbing the Acropolis. The second half of the day should unconditionally be given to one of the baths. There are plenty to choose from:
- Szechenyi - fun, crowded, sheer delight; but for a very strict taste - not always perfectly clean (in the summer on Saturdays - night youth discos);
- Gellert - Art Nouveau luxury, mosaics and stained glass windows; in summer, in addition, in the outdoor pool there is an artificial wave;
- Rudash - "men's club", women and men are allowed together on weekends, on Tuesdays only women, but the remaining four days in the bath - only men;
- Kiraly - everything here is preserved as the Turks did in the 16th century, without changes;
- Lukacs - cozy, although far away;
- Veli Bay - boring, but as hygienic as possible.
Everywhere there are indoor and outdoor pools.
- To enjoy the thermal baths to the fullest, we advise you to come to the baths early in the morning, when there is still no influx of tourists, but only local patrons
Entry fee: €10-16