In April 2025, we explored Budapest, Hungary, from Eindhoven, Netherlands, with a direct flight. We experienced local food, local markets, and different architectural marvels as the weather was pleasant during our four-day stay in this city. Here are ten key takeaways from our trip to keep in mind on your next visit to this city.

Must-read to travel frugally by tram/bus.

1. Bridges Connecting Buda with Pest.

There are many bridges constructed over the river Danube, which connect both Buda and Pest together to form the name of the capital city. But four specific bridges (Liberty Bridge, Elizabeth Bridge, Széchenyi Chain Bridge, and Margaret Bridge) are present close to Budapest’s centre and worth visiting around them, close by restaurants. Two of these have tram tracks with normal car and bus lanes.

2. Explore Frugally

You can find many ticket vending machines to buy tickets. If you want to go to selective places and don’t want to use the hop-off and hop-on bus, then the best deal is to go for the “Block of 10 Tickets“, as it is a lot cheaper than other options to travel around the city. You can use one ticket per person to go from one end to another end, but make sure you punch the ticket (validate the ticket) in the punching machine after getting into the bus or tram; otherwise, you will be fined if not punched.

3. Light Art Museum

The visual effect with the sound of this museum is just amazing. Also in some of these rooms, you can feel the vibration of the ground. You can visit with kids and elderly parents but have enough time to feel the visual presentation.

4. Boat Ride @ Danube

The Danube River is separating “Buda” and “Pest”. You can find many boat trip options around that place. Some Hop-Off Hop-On bus tickets include boat trips in specific time slots, but there is a long queue for this category. Another option is to directly book a boat trip online, which is less crowded. Note: Choose the (late) evening time slot on summer days because then you can explore the lighting effect of important buildings around the river on the trip.

5. Local Food

Langos is one of the famous Hungarian street foods with different toppings like cheese, chicken, etc. We felt it was a bit heavy, so order it as per your appetite. Also, if you have a sweet tooth, then you should check out chimney cake, which is of a cylindrical shape and is made from sweet dough. You can find ice cream fillings with chimney cake.

6. Places to Visit

We visited the below places during our stay, as we didn’t want to make it hectic. You can experience the scenic beauty of the river and the lighting on both sides of the river during morning and evening walks.

7. Szechenyi Thermal Bath

The open pools are one of the main attractions in the city. There are small pools inside buildings, while one big one is outside. While buying a ticket, you have the option for private rooms (a bit expensive) or general rooms for changing clothes. The general rooms are also well-maintained and have lockers too. Note: Go early and reach 60 or 90 minutes before your allotted timeslot, as it is usually very crowded and you can see a long queue. Links for tickets are below:

https://thebudapestguide.com/product/szechenyi-spa-palinka-experience/

https://www.szechenyibath.hu/prices

8. Rubik’s Cube & Chess Grandmasters

The Rubik’s Cube was created by famous Hungarian architect and inventor Ernő Rubik. He was born in Budapest and invented this household puzzle cube, known as the toy of the year in 1974. He refers to himself as a bibliophile, as books offered him the possibility of gaining knowledge of the world, nature and people. You can find beautiful wall graffiti of Rubik’s cubes around the city.

Geniuses are made, not born.

László Polgár is a famous Hungarian chess teacher and educational psychologist. He tried his strategies on his daughters to become chess prodigies, known as the Polgar sisters. Many documentaries and books explained the Polgar prodigies, environment to make geniuses, etc.

9. Commute

Public bus service has provided good connectivity around the city. It is very convenient for specially abled and elderly people. Taxi service is not that expensive compared to the Netherlands. Note: payment needs to be done in their currency, unlike the euro. And you can easily find exchanges around the city centre.

10. New York Cafe

Last but not least, the most famous and beautiful cafe in the world, in Budapest, is New York Cafe. It looks very royal with respect to decor. You can explore food with traditional flavours and typical Hungarian dishes or enjoy elegant international cuisine with live music. Most people go for paparazzi. Note: You need to book an appointment for obvious reasons.

We connected the dots, looking back before memories will start fading with time, but it will help others for their upcoming trip. Please share your experience. Last but not least, while planning for this trip, we got tips from our dear friend Sachetan, which were helpful to navigate.

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