This was my fourth time in Budapest and the city never disappoints!

After dropping our bags in our flat, we headed out for a late lunch. The area around Lizst Ferenc Ter has lots of cools places, but we stopped at Menza, an old favourite (lunch for three including drinks and tip for 12000 HUF).

We then explored the area around Andrassy Utca and Kiraly Utca, stopping at the Opera House and checking out the many cool bars around before heading back to our flat for the evening.

In the morning we visited the Central Market Hall. There you can buy local produce, souvenirs and paprika in all its forms. It’s a great place to visit and to stock up if you’re self-catering.

We then took the bus to the other side of the river to explore the area around Buda Castle and the citadel for a bit, although it was cold and a bit rainy.

We had lunch at the beautiful Mazel Tov (lunch for four including drinks and tip for 12000 HUF). They serve lots of yummy Middle Eastern food with plenty of veggie options.

In the evening we stopped at Szimpla, the most famous of Budapest’s ruin bars for a drink (drinks for four for 3500 HUF) before going home to cook the food we’d bought at the market earlier in the day.

Thermal baths are very popular in Budapest, and as usual we headed to Szechenyi. This is a massive complex of indoor and outdoor thermal pools, and a nice way of spending a few relaxing hours (weekend day ticket for 5000 HUF).

For lunch we visited Porto di Pest, a nice but a bit expensive place in Liszt Ferenc Ter (lunch for four including drinks and tip for 20000 HUF).

After stopping at our flat for a bit, we met my local friend for drinks and ended the night at Kuplung, which served nice but dodgy cocktails (two drinks for 1200 HUF).

Our last full day in Budapest was nice and sunny, so we walked to the Shoes on the Danube Bank, a memorial to victims of World War II. We then walked all the way back to Jonas, a craft brewery with nice views over the river (four beers for 3000 HUF).

To finish the trip in style, we had an early dinner at Pomo D’Oro, an upscale Italian restaurant serving delicious pasta and yummy desserts (meal for three including drinks and tip for 24000 HUF).

HOW TO DO IT:

• Go: We took the train from Vienna (takes about 2h30), but there are plenty of flights from London. Budapest is also a great option for the end of an Eastern Europe trip as it has good connections with the whole region.
• Stay: We stayed at this fancy place in Kiraly Utca, which was both a great place and the perfect location. Budapest has lots of good accommodation options, so it’s easy to find a good alternative.
• Money: Budapest is very cheap and even upscale places are affordable in comparison to London prices. Exchange places are easily available and generally the rates are very good as there’s lots of competition.