Explore the Beauty of Budapest

Top 5 Places to Visit in Hungary!

In October 2023, we got the chance to visit the beautiful country of Hungary. Budapest is the capital of Hungary and consists of 23 districts, we stayed in District VIII. It is a magical city and everywhere we turned, the beauty of the city spoke to us. The architechure is absolutely breathtaking and it was simply stunning to see. The city is split into three main sections Buda, which has 5 districts, on one side of the Danube river and Pest, which consists of 16 distrcits, on the other. Then northern Buda side is known as Obuda ("old buda") and has one district.

1. Hungarian Opera House: It was built in 1884 and is a historic opera house in Budapest. The wood carvings, beautiful ceiling murials and gorgeous marble is something you don't want to miss seeing. If you love to learn the history of building, the people from the time period and who contributed to building this beauitful landmark- do an opera tour! The opera house will still put on a 15- 20 min opera skit for you to get a taste of what attending the Opera House for a show would be like, it was incredible.

2. Great Market Hall: This place is massive and will take you a couple hours to really walk through and see all that the hall has to offer. Local vendors come and sell food, spices and souvenirs. So much local cuisine to see here, we got our paprika here to take home for a local farmer. We also got to taste a ton of local foods, chimney cakes are to die for and you can get them in many different ways, a must try for sure!

3. Explore Castle Hill: This area on the Buda side of the Danube is so beautiful and old world feeling, from the castles and architechure to the hills of Budapes, the views will not disappoint!

   1. Budda Castle- is a historical castle that was built between 1749-1769 and palace complex of the Hungarian Kings in Budapest. It is also referred to as a Royal Castle. The grounds are beautiful and there are two musuems that you can pay to go into as well to learn more of the history.

   2. Fisherman's Bastion- Also known as Halászbástya, reminded me of a princess tower, there are multiple towers you can climb for a fee and there is a beautiful walkway that leads to a breathtaking view of the city. The terrace has a great restaurant that I highly recommend as well.

   3. Matthias Church- The Church of the Assumption of the Buda Castle, has a tower you can climb for a fee as well. It is absolutely gorgeous and all of these landmarks are within walking distance to one another. You can take a trolley like transport up from the road called the Budapest Castle Hill Funicular, which is a fun and relaxing way to get up to the top.

4. Hero's Square: There is a beautiful monument when you get to Hero's Square and this is the entrance to City Park where there are museums, a medicinal bath and a hot air balloon ride you can do. Great way to spend an afternoon.

   1. Vajdahunyad Castle- built in 1896 in City Park and is a copy of Corvin Castle in Romania and built for a Millenium Exhibition. There is a museum inside that you can pay to go into, there is also a store with Hungarian foods, clothing and more.

   2. Széchenyi Baths- This is the largest medicinal bath in Europe and is in City park as well. The water is supplied by two thermal springs and the architechure is a stunning to look at while you soak all your worries away.

5. Explore the Jewish District

   1. Dohány Street Synagogue- also known as the Great Synagogue and the largest in Europe and second largest in the world. It is located in the 7th district and you can pay to go inside, it is stunning! The synagogue opened in 1859.

   2. Ruin Bars- Collection of bars in abandoned buildings with graffiti & plants, different color lightening, artists with vendor tables that create an area everyone can enjoy. You can get anything from beer, wine, liquor and food. Such a fun environment to hang out.