Hey everyone, first of all I would like to welcome you to my new contribution and hope you had a weekend which brought many interesting experiences into your life! I have spent some time in Budapest and would like to share something about my trip and hope you like my post.
With almost two million people, the capital of Hungary is the largest city in the country, which is in many ways an interesting place as well as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe which is full of cultural highlights. The city on the Danube River already has a long history and was created during the 19th century from the connection of several cities to which Buda, Pest and Óbuda belong, but the traces of the settlement in this area are much older and probably already the celts once lived here. I myself spent three nights there and managed to visit the most important sights during this period, but I really hurried and was exploring all day and it was a bit hectic to visit the most important things in this short period of time and if you don't want to hurry, you should plan about five days. Hungary is part of the European area but is not paid here with Euro, but the currency Forint and there are currency exchanges everywhere in the city where it's possible to exchange your own currency but it is also very popular here to pay with the credit card and even if Budapest has a great network of public transport, it can be worthwhile to take a walk through the city.
Those who walk through the city will discover historical buildings, sculptures or other interesting things everywhere, which is why it is worth taking a walk and especially at night many of the well-known buildings are illuminated and it's just a dream to observe them from the outside. There are numerous ways to eat well here and there is something for every taste, but if you are there, you should definitely try the classic Hungarian cuisine, but remember that some restaurants or cafes are so popular that it's definitely worth reserving a table in advance and if it's not an obligation, a tip of 10-15% can be given if the service was good. There is also a large selection of international restaurants that also offer numerous dishes for allergy sufferers and in general I found the city very clean and during a walk in the morning, I could See how the streets as well as sidewalks have been cleaned and compared to other cities, Budapest is very high when it comes to this topic.
Right on the first day I visited the Parliament of Hungary which can not only be visited from the outside, but it's even possible to visit a guided tour which takes place at regular intervals and is accompanied by an audio guide which is available in different languages. The tour took about an hour and then I went to the royal palace which is not only an absolute eye-catcher from the outside, but can also be visited from inside and various art exhibitions can be seen here. At the royal palace I bought a ticket for the Hungarian National Gallery in which thousands of paintings by different artists can be found and the visit lasted a few hours and if you have more time you can also buy tickets for special exhibitions there. In retrospect, I learned that it's even possible to visit a cave tour under the castle under which there is an interesting system of tunnels, but I also heard that not all of them can be visited and from the tunnel, which is several kilometres long, I think only one can be visited, but I can't say more about it, because I only learned it afterwards. Later I visited the famous Fisherman's Bastion which is located right near the palace and convinced by the special architecture and immediately afterwards I was in the Hungarian National Museum which is an absolute must for those who are more interested in the history of this beautiful country. I ended the evening with a boat tour on the Danube which I booked relatively late and allowed me to visit the city comfortably at night and for the boat trip there are different companies between which you can choose and the tickets can be purchased on site or like me online.
The second day I started with a visit to the Széchenyi thermal bath which is known for the healing powers and in Budapest there are generally more possibilities for a visit to the spa and locals recommended to me that the Rudas or Gellért bath should also be unique. After I had something to eat I visited the opera and decided to book a guided tour there which was absolutely worth seeing and lasted an hour and after the tour there was also a demonstration about this important form of art. On the way there I also walked past the New York cafe, which is one of the most famous coffees, but I could only visit it from the outside because the line in front of it was too long for me and if you want to have a cosy drink here, you should definitely make a reservation in advance, unless you want to queue for a very long time. I also managed to visit the Museum of Fine Arts the same evening in which there was an exhibition about the mythology in Mesopotamia and at the end of the evening, I was also in the Light Museum which was a great spectacle and is still open until late in the evening. It can be said that I definitely used my time well and tried to visit so much in the short period of time in which I was there, but it was also very stressful as mentioned and if you want a quieter holiday you should plan more time, but it's definitely possible to see everything in two days and Budapest was a great experience for me which I do not want to miss!
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you could learn something new about this exciting city! I captured these pictures with my Camera Sony Alpha 6000 plus 55-210 mm lens.