Budapest is a vibing city located in Central Europe. In the last few years, it has become one of the budget-friendly cities to visit in mainland Europe. A lot of people will tell you it’s the place to go for cheap alcohol however, there are many more activities and sights to see than just bars and clubs.
I want to paint the perfect picture of how I and one of my travel companions conquered the city of Budapest in under two days (30 hours to be exact). My aim is that hopefully by the time you finish reading this post you will be planning your trip to the heart of Hungary.
Places to stay…
Finding accommodation in Budapest wasn’t that difficult. There were plenty of hotels, hostels and Airbnb places to stay. Location is very important for short city breaks, you don’t want to be far out because then you will be spend more time travelling into the city from the outskirts. As a side note, for solo trips, I tend to look at bed & breakfast rooms or hostels. If you’re travelling with a friend, a hotel and even a hostel might be the better option depending on your budget, hostels can be great for meeting new people and being close to city attractions. Most new hostels offer private rooms options if you want the privacy a hotel offers you & many provide you with complimentry breakfast. For groups of 4 or more, I would highly recommend looking at Airbnb.
Pricing
I found the prices in the Istvanmezo area were very reasonable for a few days. These will vary depending on the season you travel in but it worked out at £16 per night including city tax.
The room I booked came without a private bathroom, but this wasn’t an issue as I was only there for one night also we planned to leave early in the morning. We decided to stay at the Dominik Panzio hotel.
Jourduhns Tip The further out from the city you are the cheaper the price will be if you are travelling on a budget. Our hotel was located about a 10-minute walk from the central station. The further in advance, you book the better too.
Travel
Overall the best method to get around is the Tram line. You might hear that there are over 40 lines, which is correct however there are only a few that you need to see the whole city.
Lines 4 & 6 are the most common lines, which run along Grand Boulevard and also connect Buda & Pest (yes the city is split in two by the Danube River, with Pest to the east and Buda to the west).
You can purchase single tickets that cost around €1 or you can buy a block of 10 tickets that can be used for 10 single journeys that cost €8.50.
We only used the tram for one stop just to say that we went on it. Because we were visiting the city for new content and only had 2 days, we decided to walk instead which I must say was worth it.
Attractions
There are many places to visit in Budapest. Depending on your time in the city, you may not be able to see them all. But here are my highlight ones.
- Parliament Building – The largest congress building in the European continent, its gothic architecture is one for the eyes to see.
- Castle Hill – This was painfully worth it. The sun was beaming down on us and with all our luggage we hiked up the hill, but the view from the top is spectacular. (small tip there is a side road you can walk up instead of the stairs and steep pathway.
- Buda Castle – At 800 years old it is easily one of the most beautiful buildings I’ve ever seen. It gets ten times better at night when it’s lit up.
- Szechenyi Chain Bridge – This bridge was the first bridge to connect Buda & Pest over the Danube River.
- Heroes Square. This Monument was built in the 19th century to celebrate Hungary’s 1000th anniversary since being founded.
Other places worth seeing if you have the time are:
- Stephen’s Basilica
- Matthias Church
- Central Market Hill
- Szechenyi Thermal Baths
Summary
Overall Budapest Is a beautiful city and I can now see why it is one of the most visited in mainland Europe. Two days were enough to see the basics of the city as we only sat down to eat and were on our feet walking until midnight then were up at 6 am the next morning.
It wasn’t an expensive trip either. The flights cost me £13 (with WizzAir) The hotel was £16 for the night. All together food and drinks for the two days came at around £40 and travel while in the city including transfers came up to a total of £7.
That brings a total of £76 for 36 hours in Budapest. That’s cheaper than a train ticket from London to Manchester.
The trip would have even been cheaper had we stayed in a hostel and maybe found somewhere cheaper for it, but overall I would highly recommend Budapest for anyone to visit. It’s got history, easy to get around also the majority of people spoke English and its very cost-effective.
There are more pictures of my trip to Budapest on my Website http://www.jourduhnvisuals.co.uk and my friend who joined me on this trip his instagram handle is @orangetiephotography. You will be able to see his wonderful work there.
If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment in the section below and I will be sure to get back to you.
Jourduhns Journey 
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