Budapest is such a beautiful city, filled with so much history and culture. Back in the day Budapest used to be three separate cities, Buda, Pest and Obuda. These three cities make up what we now know today as Budapest. There’s a few tourist hot spots and must sees when visiting Budapest, including a heap of historical buildings, thermal baths and delicious restaurants. A few of my favourite places in Budapest would have to be Mazel Tov, Széchenyi Thermal Baths and Fisherman’s Bastion.
Széchenyi Thermal Baths
The thermal baths in Hungary are just something else, I’ve never seen anything like it. To get to the outdoor pools you walk through endless indoor pools at different temperatures filled with locals. During peak season in their summer the outdoor pools are filled with tourists, but the vibe is lovely and its such a nice place to spend the day at. Or just for a few hours to relax and get some sunshine. There’s a few outdoor baths to choose from which seemed to be the most popular ones. The lap pool is your regular pool temperature, but make sure you’ve got your hair in a cap, or get ready to be yelled at by pool staff. Then there’s the heated pool which is so relaxing, but not always as refreshing when its 35 degrees outside. Overall I loved this place and was such a nice day to relax from walking around seeing sights all week.
Fisherman's Bastion
Fishermans Bastion has to be one of the most beautiful buildings in Budapest. Its on the Buda side of the Danube river, and is located around Matthias church. From here you can see a beautiful view of the city of Budapest.
Hungarian Parliament Building
This place is just as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside. But be aware to go inside you have to book a guided tour in your language, during the time slots that they have available. If you don’t have time to go in, I’d recommend just looking at it from the outside. As its located right along the Danube, I'd recommend crossing to the Buda side of the river to see the whole building. It jut stunning, and even prettier at night when its all lit up.
Boat cruise
Another thing I'd recommend doing in Budapest if you don’t have a lot of time to see everything, or even if you have too much time in Budapest. Is to do a boat cruise down the Danube River. For young people there’s a heap of night party boat cruises, or booze cruises as they like to call them. But if you’re wanting something more informative and tour like there’s a heap of tours running all day that will take you up and down the river and tell you about all the wonderful buildings you’ll pass along the way.
Margitsziget- Margaret Island
This island is located in the Danube River between Buda and Pest. It’s such a beautiful park I’d recommend coming here for a few hours just to enjoy the peace and quiet. This island is so relaxing and serene every part of it is just so beautiful, you’ll honestly fall in love with it.
House of Terror
House of Terror is a museum located in the heart of Budapest. Before the building was renovated it was the former headquarters of the Nazi regime, and then the Soviet Union’s Communist regime after World War two. House of Terror contains exhibitions related to the communist and fascist regimes in the 20th century in Hungary. The House of Terror is also a memorial to victims of these regimes. It is a memorial to those who were detained, tortured, interrogated and killed in the building. In the lower levels of the building you can actually visit the location of exactly where these people were detained, tortured and killed. It’s a very surreal experience, and I probably wouldn’t recommend it for children. Towards the end of the audio guide you enter a lift that takes you down to the lower levels. Some say this lift causes claustrophobia and can be very overwhelming. But to be honest you’re in a large glass lift that you can see out of and the lights are slightly dim, really not scary at all if you ask me. Obviously this museum is not for everyone to visit, if you find this sort of thing overwhelming, but I thought id add my input here as it was a very historical place to visit. I learnt a lot about the cities history in the one place, and was glad I was about to learn something new.
St. Stephen's Bascilica
Located in the 5th District of Budapest lies the Roman catholic church, St Stephen's Bascilica. I love the symmetry of the building, and like most churches in Europe the inside is beautiful and worth going inside. I love that you walk down this side street and for a while you can see the church in the back ground, and then at the end of the street you hit this big open square with the building right there in front of you.
Dohany Street Great Synagogue
