Top 5 Cheapest City to Visit in Europe – Budapest!

Day 01 // Buda Day

First thing first, the Hero’s Square! Walking along Andrassy Ut (main street) towards the square is an unique experience. Ofcourse there are also buses and metro lines all over the city, but it will be nice to see beautiful trees and people sitting along benches.

The Hero’s Square is right in front of the busy intersection at the end of Andrassy Ut. It is a ‘grande’ scenery of the crowded city with tall statues standing around. We return to the same spot at night, and it’s a different scenery.

So, after the Hero’s Square, there is the Vajdahunyad Castle – a Hungarian castle, which surrounded by river as part of the Millennial Exhibition to celebrate the 1,000 years of Hungary in 1896 (you know, actually I googled it hahahahaha). Important to say, that it is a nice castle like how I imagined in fairytales.

And then, this is the most exciting part of the day – the Szechenyi Thermal Bath!!!!! The weather is so hot in Budapest during July, so it’s a good timing to enjoy the sun, water and massages. There is indoor pool and also outdoor pool. Outdoor pools are chill and cool with lots of people sun bathing around the pools. There are some thermal pool indoor, hot and cold. I found that warm pool like 30-40 degrees are quite comforting, but I really can’t get into the cold pool, it’s like going back to ice age. I can’t do it, really. The place close at 11pm, so we even had a change to watch a euro cup match on a big screen beside the outdoor pool. It is a nice and unique experience.

It is a different experience in Budapest and I suggest that the thermal bath thingy is a must-visit-place! If it was winter, it may be more exciting!

Day 02 // Pest Day

The most significant tourist spot in Pest is the gorgeous Castle Hill. The old castle is now the National Gallery, which located up the hill where you can see it from far. There is the famous Szechenyi Chain Bridge to cross from Buda to Pest. It is situated right infront of the Castle Hill that you can picture all of them in a frame.

After crossing the bridge, you can either take the cable car or a bus or walk up the stairs to reach the Castle Hill. As we are not fitness-type of person, we took a bus up the hill. There is also a small town up the hill, with some restaurants and cafes. There are some look out point to the city down the hill, where you can see the chain bridge, parliament building and basilica in a picture. The Fisherman's Bastion is a great place to visit as well!

At night, there is a very nice place to chill out - the Akvarium Club! There is a huge pool, where there's a club underneath and a open air theater with pub and food stalls. We watched the euro cup - the epic match of Italy VS Germany!

Day 03 // Parliament and Basilica

Last but not least, the Parliament Building that located on the riverside. While walking along the river, there is a place called Shoes on the Danube Bank, where pairs of shoes made of steel, lining along the riverside.

After that, we had our dinner near the Basilica St. Peter. There are alot of restaurants and cafe around the basilica, where also a place for the locals to hang out during night time.

At Last // Overall Experience

Price ★★★★☆ (cheap food but traditional Hungarian food slightly expensive)

City Atmosphere ★★★☆☆ (clean and pleasant pedestrian street, but lack of shading)

Transportation ★★★★★ (you can rent a bike anywhere! tram and metro are convenient too!)

Friendliness ★★★★☆

** 1-5 stars, from poor to good!