How to experience Budapest
Heres our guide on experiencing Budapest in a cheap way (as a student, or anybody else).
Activities and Places to visit
Beautiful/interesting places
Fisherman’s Bastion
From here you can get a really nice view of the city, and it’s completely free!
Great Synagogue
The biggest synagogue in Europe, but the entry is quite costly.
Vajdahunyad Castle
A really nice castle in a big park. You can see most of it (from the outside) for free!
St. Stephen's Basilica
A really impressive and big place, that is worth a visit.
The Parliament Building
Looks absolutely astonishing. I recommend walking by in the night, when it’s lit up! There are also tours inside
Margit Island
A really big, quiet and romantic island/park to just stroll around. The Palatinus baths are located on it, so you can maybe combine both things!
House of Terror
If you are interested in the communist history of Hungary, this is a really nice place to learn more. But it is necessary to take an audio guide, as there are very few texts/written information. There is a reduced price for people under 26.
Where to eat Chimney Cake/Kürtőskalács
There are booths all over the city. Expected prices are 600HUF-1000HUF, don’t pay more then that!
The cheapest spot we have found was for just 600 HUF in the underground at the Blabla Lujza Metro Station.
Where to eat Langós
Expected price range: 1200-2000HUF.
The traditional flavor is sour cream + cheese (with garlic).
We visited the Langos n More at Király u. 8, 1061 Budapest, which we found quite good, cheap and with long opening times (but always fresh)! The most famous spot is the LANGOSOS at Aluljáró szint, Flórián tér 1, 1033 Budapest.
Where to get Paprika spice (and other spices)
There are a lot of tourist shops the all sell the same Paprika spice. But for some high quality products, visit The Spicery at Károly krt. 10, 1052 Budapest.
Where to eat Traditional cakes
We really enjoyed the Mûvész Cukrászda at Andrássy út 29, 1061 Budapest. They are not not super cheap (one piece of cake around 1600 HUF), but the cakes are really good.
One confectionery that is also recommended often is Daubner Confectionery, but except that it’s cheaper we didn’t find the cakes as good, therefore we don’t recommend it.
Typical cakes are the Dobos cake and the Saher cake.
Best thermal baths
The historical thermal baths are quite expensive. But if you just want to experience the thermal bath (without the nice historic
al architecture) and maybe use some Sauna as well, I really recommend the Palatinus bath. It’s quite cheap! But remember to take slippers (if you don’t have any, there are slippers at Decathlon for 3-5€).
Logistics, etc.
Accommodation
It is best to find accommodation in the Pest part of Budapest (this is where most of the cool spots are). We chose a small Airbnb - there you can cook for yourself and wash your clothes if you travel with Carry-On only.
Public transport
There is a good transport network. It’s recommended to download the Budapest GO app, there you can buy tickets/passes, including the ticket for the airport bus 100E. As a student you can buy a monthly pass for just 3.450 HUF that you can use for all busses/trams/subways and even some boats in Budapest (except the airport bus 100E).