What can I say about Budapest....? It was very different to what I expected I'll tell you that.
We stayed in Budapest for 4 nights, and in terms of travel, we flew from London Stansted with Ryanair pretty early in the morning. I'd never flown with Ryanair before, and as a pretty anxious flier I was petrified, but surprisingly the flight there was one of the best I have ever had. The flights, return, only cost £129.30 for two of us, not including baggage.
Our hotel was absolutely gorgeous, and the only fault I had with it was the wifi being a bit dodgy, but I had intended for this to be a relaxing break anyway so I guess it was a blessing in disguise. We had breakfast every morning which was a buffet style, and we were given a free hot drink of choice, naturally I went for a soy latte. The breakfast buffet was so unique, with foods such as Chia Pudding, Homemade Granola and Smoked Salmon on offer, as well as the usual cooked eggs and bacon etc. The interiors of the hotel were what attracted me initially, and I can honestly say in person they were just as impressive. I would highly recommend staying at the Hotel Rum Budapest if you want to grab a couple cheeky instagrams!
On our first day we walked along the Danube just to get an idea of our surroundings, and on our way home stumbled across our first restaurant, Good Bar Good Burger, one I would highly recommend to any of you going. It's just a general burger restaurant, a bit like GBK, but the staff were insanely friendly and the cocktails were amazing, and cheap! Day two was a bit more action packed, with us hitting the famous Citadel, a fortress at the top of Gellért Hill. The view over the city was amazing, and well worth the massive uphill climb. For some reason we wanted to do a bit more walking and went to investigate Budapest Palace, which was stunning. We only saw the outside as the inside was closed on the day we went, but I got some lovely photos and it looks even more beautiful up close. We discovered a local italian for dinner called Perfetto, which served homemade pasta, I highly recommend the Pesto Pasta if anyone goes.
The Szechenyi Thermal Baths did not disappoint either, even offering an old school gym, which was handy as we were feeling extremely lazy. The baths were really relaxing, and although some of them were a bit stinky, and it was 4 degrees outside, the two thermal baths outside made the trip worth it. This was probably the highlight of the trip for me and I highly recommend going. On a less positive note, I wouldn't bother going to Margaret Island unless you are going in the Spring/Summer, it was just a shabby park, but we did see the Shoes along the Danube memorial on the walk there.
Fisherman's Bastion is something I would definitely go to see if you are in Budapest. Another place for amazing views, and we climbed up at sunset and it was stunning. As well as this, St Stephen's Basilica is a must see for those of you who appreciate amazing architecture and beautiful stained glass windows. On our last night we decided to treat ourselves to a more upmarket dinner at a Lebanese restaurant called Baalbek, where we shared a mixed grill. Compared to what you would pay in England, this was great value for money, and made us feel a little less stodgy after all the carbs we'd eaten. How could I almost forget to mention The Donut Library?! It was possibly my favourite thing about Budapest, is that bad...? I'll leave the pictures to explain, but the donuts were incredibly cheap, and better than any Krispy Kreme I've ever had.
Overall, I'd say it's not the sort of city I feel that I need to return to, unlike Paris, but nonetheless it is an absolutely stunning city, especially in terms of its architecture and old fashioned trams. I would highly recommend going at some point, especially if you love a drink or two!