THE ENCHANTING CITY OF BUDAPEST

Budapest is a city that I have always wanted to visit, so I decided to surprise my mum at Christmas! We travelled from 17th February to 21st February 2015. My mum was under the impression that Hungary was still a dark country due to its communist history and the problems it faced during and after world war 2, however she could not have been more wrong! Budapest is now my favourite city break destination! I could have spent much longer there and would definitely return but with my partner as it is a very romantic city. You might have to bare with me on this one as i've got so much to talk about! Also, please note, all prices listed were correct as of February 2015.

Things to do: It is impossible to get bored in Budapest as there is so much to do whether you are on a tight budget or you want to splash out. There is simply something for everyone! PARLIAMENT BUILDING: This beautiful building sits right on the bank of the Pest side of the river Danube, it can be easily seen on foot or by river cruise. It is a lovely building which was inspired by the UK Houses of Parliament. It is possible to enter the Houses of Parliament and have a guided tour in multiple languages, the tours run between 9am and 4pm and prices vary depending on your nationality. If you an adult EU citizen the tour is 2000 HUF which is around £4.50-£5.00. A child EU citizen ticket is half of this price and if you are not an EU citizen an adult ticket is 5200 HUF which is around £10 and the cost of a ticket for a child who is not an EU citizen is half of the adult price. Children under 6 can join the tour for free. Unfortunately I did not get to do this as when I visited Budapest, Putin was in the Parliament building, meaning it was closed to the public. However speaking to other people who have visited this lovely building, it seems well worth it! BUDA CASTLE DISTRICT: Buda castle district is situated on the Buda side of the river right by chain bridge. It is at the top of castle hill which you can access 3 ways, the first is to walk up which would take around 10 minutes, you could also get the number 16 bus which goes from Deak Ferenc Ter, which is a square just by the Pest side of chain bridge, or the most fun and typically touristy way is by getting the funicular cable car which goes from the Buda end of chain bridge and costs 1700 HUF for an adult return ticket which is around £4.00 or 1000 HUF for an adult one way ticket which is around £2.50. I chose to take the cable car and although it is only a short journey, I personally think it is a must do if you want to experience the tourist side of Budapest. Queues can be quite long but definitely worth the wait! Buda Castle district is well worth visiting and has plenty to offer including Fisherman's bastion which looks beautiful at night, Matthais church which is a typical Hungarian stunning building and also a little hidden gem which is a lovely cafe. It has large windows all around and offers you a brilliant panoramic view of Pest. This is a must see! I wouldn't recommend the hot chocolate here though! This cafe is more expensive than most others in Budapest, however it is worth paying a little more. There are plenty of little traditional shops which sell traditional Hungarian souvenirs. ST STEPHEN'S BASILICA: This is one of the most beautiful buildings in Budapest and right in the centre! It is located in the Pest area and is a must see whether you are religious or not! I really enjoyed visiting even though I am not religious. It is free to visit but they do accept donations. You can go to the top of the dome for a panoramic view, this costs 500 HUF which is around £1.25. This is only available during the summer season. There is so much to see inside this beautiful church, I would recommend visiting. I spent around 30 minutes in the church but could have easily stayed longer. DOHANY STREET SYNAGOGUE: This beautiful synagogue is also known as the great synagogue as it is precisely that! It is the largest synagogue in Europe and one of the largest in the world. I can't even put in to words how beautiful it is and my photos do not do it justice at all! You need to see this amazing place for yourself to appreciate its beauty. Entrance fee is 3000 HUF for adults which is around £7.50, the great synagogue does not open on Saturdays. The Jewish Museum And the Jewish cemetery are also situated on site, they are both included in the entrance fee for the synagogue. The cemetery has memorials for Jewish people who lost their lives during world war 2 and is a real eye opener. HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL CENTER: This is a chilling experience but it is well worth visiting. It makes you appreciate your life and your freedom. It includes plaques of true stories which are written in Hungarian and English, there are videos which show how Jewish people were treated during world war 2 and the exhibition is set out as a time line which tells you the story of the holocaust. I spent 2 and a half hours here which was not long enough as I wanted to read every single piece of information! The entrance fee is 1400 HUF which is around £3.50, however if you have a Budapest Card you are entitled to a 50% discount. I would definitely recommend going to the holocaust memorial center as it is such an emotional experience.

GELLERT HILL: Gellert hill is a UNESCO world heritage sight and it easy to see why. The citadella is located at the top of this hill which is a fortress. Also at the top of the hill is a the liberation monument which is a statue of a woman holding an olive branch. Both are free to visit. Personally I was not too bothered about either of these, however is it worth going to the top of Gellert Hill? Of course it is! Here you will have the most breath taking view of Budapest! There are 2 ways to get to the top of the hill, the first of which is to climb. However it is quite steep and can be a bit of a struggle, I chose this way, it took me 20 minutes and I was very out of breath when I got to the top, but it was definitely worth it! The other way is to get the number 27 bus which takes you right to the citadella. You can get this bus from Moricz Zsigmond square in Buda. Buses cost 450 HUF which is around £1.00 each way. The cave church is also on Gellert hill which is a functioning church which was built in the cave. It is 500 HUF to enter which is around £1.20 and is a quirky little tourist spot worth popping in to on your way to the top of the hill.

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE: Budapest has so much more to offer than the typical tourist sites. If you would like to try something different why not visit a ruins bar or join a pub/bar crawl. Budapest pub crawl charge 10 euros if you book in advance and 15 euros if you pay at the time of the tour. These typically include: free entry into pubs/bars, drinking games, free queue jumping and a free welcome drink/shot. Budapest has thermal baths and spas dotted around the city. The most famous is Szechenyi baths. Entrance will cost around £15 but it is well worth it if you want to experience Hungarian culture. Don't forget to pack your swimming costume or swimming trunks! Another brilliant experience is trap (team race against puzzles) you are locked in a room and have 60 minutes to find the clues to get out! There are 5 different rooms which are: medieval, Armageddon, egyptian, Amazon and secret of tomb. You can pick which room you would like to do and each game costs 12000 HUF which is around £28.00. This price is for the whole team, not per person, minimum 2 people and maximum 5. I did the medieval room and really enjoyed it! I would love to go back and try another room, the staff are very friendly, dedicated and help you out as much as possible without giving the game away. Trap is open 7 days a week from 9:30 am and the last game begins at 10:30 pm. For a totally unique experience try the invisible exhibition. This is designed to give you an insight into the day to day lives of people who have partial or no sight. You enter the exhibition in total darkness and will be guided around the exhibition by a person who is partially or fully blind. You will rely totally on your other senses. The exhibition is set out as a normal house. I was really looking forward to this exhibition and it did not disappoint. If is not something that you will fully appreciate unless you do it yourself. It costs 1700 HUF which is around £4.00 and if you require a foreign speaking guide this will be an extra 500 HUF and you will need to book in advance.

Getting around: Budapest has such a reliable public transport network including trams, buses, trolley buses, metros and trains. Trams are very popular and frequent, (they are supposed to be around every 5 minutes but I don't think I waited any longer than 30 seconds for one). Some trams run through the night and cover all of Budapest. Buses are also popular and easy to access, some routes have night buses which run less frequently than in the day. It is worth noting that bus number 200E runs from the airport to the metro terminus Kobanya Kispest, from here you can get the metro in to the centre. The bus ticket costs 350 HUF if bought in advance and 450 HUF if bought from the driver, this is around 75p- £1.20. The most cost effective way for tourists to use public transport, is to purchase a daily ticket which includes unlimited travel on buses, trams, metros, boats and trains within the Budapest district. This ticket costs 1500 HUF which is around £3.75 and lasts 24 hours, or if you are planning to travel round Budapest for a few days you can purchase a tourist ticket which covers the same transport, but lasts for 72 hours. This ticket will cost 3750 HUF which is around £9.00. You can also navigate your way around Budapest and its main attractions on foot or by bike. You can rent a bike for 4 hours from budabike for 1500 HUF which is around £3.75

Sightseeing: There are many different tours and excursions available in Budapest but I would personally recommend doing a hop on hop off tour. They usually have 2 bus lines and 1 boat line, your ticket will include unlimited access to all 3 lines for 48 hours. Some hotels will sell you discounted tickets for these tours, ticket prices are usually between £15-£20. I would recommend doing this tour on your first full day in Budapest as it helps to find out where things are and allows you to plan the rest of your trip. I would also also recommend doing a river cruise on the Danube of some sort. There are many different cruises available including lunch cruises, dinner cruises, cocktail cruises, live music cruises, or just tourist attraction cruises. I chose to opt for the lunch cruise which included 2 free glasses of champagne or orange juice and a hot Hungarian and international buffet. My ticket cost me around £22 and I think it was worth every penny as the food was delicious and the panoramic views from the boat were excellent. It is also possible to do the cruise without lunch for half the price. Each tour is between 1 hour, 30 minutes and 1 hour, 45 minutes. This river cruise offers many photo opportunities, particularly of the parliament building. If you want to splash out and share an intimate, romantic experience, why not go for a helicopter tour? You can expect to pay around £160 for a 20 minute tour of Budapest by air.

The damage to your bank balance: As you can probably tell, Budapest is a very cheap capital city, but is is cheap to get there and stay there? The answer to that is yes it can be. I paid around £200 for 4 nights accommodation in a 3 star hotel and return flights from London Luton airport for 2 people! Food and drink: food and drink prices vary across Budapest but to give you an idea, you can expect to pay around £2-£3 for a 40ml spirit with a mixer, £3-£4 for an alcoholic cocktail, £1-£2 for a pint of local beer and between £5-£10 for a decent bottle of wine. Fast food meals are around £3-£4 and an upmarket eating place will cost around £20-£25 for 2 courses. I went to TGI fridays and had a main meal and 2 alcoholic drinks. This would normally cost me around £25-£30 in the UK, but in Budapest it cost around £15. Cigarettes: Hungary do have some cigarettes which are popular in the UK, for example malboro and benson & hedges. There is no discount for buying in bulk, it will cost you the same to buy a pack off 200 as it would to buy 10 packs of 20. On average 20 cigarettes would cost you around £2.50 and 200 cigarettes will cost around £25.

Whats the verdict? i absolutely love this city, it has so much to offer and there is something for everyone. There are so many beautiful buildings and great ways to experience them. Budapest is much cheaper than the UK and is one of the most affordable capital cities in Europe to visit. You will need at least 3 full days here to experience everything Budapest has to offer. It is a lovely place to visit any time if the year as there is always so much going on, although it does get very cold in winter, so if you plan on visiting Budapest in the winter months make sure you wrap up warm. Budapest is a lovely city to just stroll around any time of the day! If you plan to visit I recommend a hop on hop off tour, a Danube river cruise and an experience or exhibition that you wouldn't normally do (such as the invisible exhibition). Come and see this gem of a city for yourself and find out what all of the fuss is about.