In late September of 2022, my husband and I headed to Budapest, Hungary, to spend a few days prior to boarding our AMA Waterways River Cruise on the Danube River. We landed at the airport, and quickly located our ride that would take us to our hotel for the next 3 nights. The Matild Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, was our home for the next few days. This hotel is so beautiful, very luxurious, and I highly recommend staying here. The location is ideal for exploring the Pest side of Budapest, and walkable to the famous shopping street, Vaci Street.
Budapest is a beautiful city, with a vibrant vibe. From our hotel, we were easily able to walk to some of the amazing places I am about to share with you. For our first day, we decided to look up Szimpla Kert; a huge pub with old mismatched items & a disused Trabant car, with music, food, market and a garden. I highly recommend visiting this pub, we could have spent hours here just looking at everything, such a cool and eclectic vibe.
Later that same day, we took a walk to Vaci Street; this is the main shopping street of Budapest. Great vibe, with shops and outdoor cafe's, as well as a market to explore.
After spending some time browsing around and admiring the cobblestone roads, we went to dinner at the oldest restaurant in Pest. Szazeves Etterem, established in 1831, is a traditional Hungarian restaurant, with a lovely band playing while you enjoy fine wine and delicious food.
Day 2 in Budapest, and today we are venturing out for a wine tour in the Etyek Region. We visited Etyeki Kuria, a Winery located about 30 minutes from Budapest. Many people do not realize that Hungary makes some amazing wines, and this winery is a modern, beautiful winery, and we enjoyed all of the wines that we tasted here. We also visited a small family winery, where we were treated to a traditional Hungarian lunch along with our tastings in a lovely traditional setting.
After the wine tour, it was the perfect time to enjoy a cocktail at the rooftop bar of our hotel, the Matild Palace. This rooftop bar has such amazing views, you definitely must visit!
Day 2 came to an end with cocktails and dinner at Spago, a Wolfgang Puck restaurant located at the Matild Palace as well. This restaurant is simply fabulous, and so convenient to be right at our hotel.
Day 3 in Budapest, and off on a tour today to visit Heroe's Square and Fisherman's Bastion.
Starting with Heroe's Square, I felt goosebumps when I stood admiring the Millenary Monument. Designed in 1896 to mark the 1000th anniversary of the Magyar conquest of the Carpathian Basian, it is an incredible site to behold.
Next, we travelled to Fisherman's Bastion, and WOW, this is fabulous and definitely cannot be missed! It was built to provide the best viewing point of the Danube River, as it flows thru Budapest, and it most certainly does. The Gothic Revival and Romanesque Revival architecture here is incredibly beautiful. Do not miss visiting while in Budapest.
After visiting the Fisherman's Bastion, we took a trip to the Great Market Hall, the largest and oldest indoor market in Budapest. It is honestly worth a visit, even just to see it. We did purchase some Hungarian Paprika, and some leather products for a reasonable price. We enjoyed browsing the different vendors offerings, as well as admiring our beautiful surroundings.
After a busy morning of touring, we decided that some relaxation was in order. Budapest sits on a fault line, and is well known for its thermal baths. Naturally fed by 120 hot springs, these baths are very popular with both the locals and tourists. We decided to spend a few hours at Szechenyi Spa, the largest spa complex and likely the most popular. We were not disappointed, we purchased a pass that included a private cabin to change and rest in, bath robes, towels, and slippers. We actually felt that the pricing for this premium visit pass was quite reasonable, and recommend it to others. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit, with 15 indoor baths and 3 grand outdoor pools at varying temperatures, it was definitely the relaxing and invigorating experience we had been hoping for.
This was the end of our stay in Budapest, as we were leaving the next day to board the AMA Verde, and head out on the Danube River for a 7 day River Cruise with AMA Waterways. Interested in taking a River Cruise? I am a River Cruise Specialist with AMA Waterways, visit my site below for more information.
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