Brunch, beers and baths: a budget weekend break in Budapest

Thinking about Budapest for a budget weekend city break? You really should. I visited with two friends in early February for a budget weekend and practically actually fell in love with the place.

Budapest is somewhere that has been high on my list to visit for years and yet somehow I just hadn’t managed to get there – just like Krakow or Prague. But after picking up some decent flights in the Black Friday sale from Eurowings, we headed there for a flying 48-hour visit.

Here’s what makes Budapest the perfect place for a budget city break weekend.

Budapest is beautiful

One of the things you’ll notice first when you visit Budapest is just how beautiful it is. And luckily the city is very walkable – we spent almost all of our Saturday happily walking around and exploring Budapest by foot.

I was particularly taken with the buildings of Budapest. Even those buildings which have been left unkempt and uncared for in recent years still have a grand feeling about them – and somehow many of them really suit an aura of ‘managed decay’. The Jewish district – where we stayed – had a particularly high concentration of these buildings.

After ambling along the river to the see the Parliament building (which was really striking), we then took the incredibly expensive funicular – €4/£3.50 for a 60-second ride – up to Castle Hill, where you have some fantastic views across the city – particularly from the arches of the Fisherman’s Wharf.

View of Castle Hill

Me, checking out the Cathedral

Me on the Fisherman’s Walk

As the sunsets behind Castle Hill, there are some fantastic views from the river as the sky turns a deep purple.

City break in Budapest: food & drink

Let’s be honest, one of the most important staples of any budget city break in Europe is cheap alcohol and good food. Let’s be clear straight away: Budapest has both.

We stayed in the very Bohemian District VII neighbourhood (also known as both the Jewish District and Erzsébetváros) which is home to lots of ruin pubs, small bars and cafes and a growing number of craft beer bars. As my travelling companions Denise and Marko are huge craft beer connoisseurs, we did a lot of bar hopping to see what was on offer. We never really found out why but lots of bars and cafes in this area were really very intimate (i.e. tiny) – and also all of them had an even smaller little mezzanine/balcony above.

Great bars in Budapest

[easy-image-collage id=5643]

(Images courtesy of Denise)

FIRST Craft Beer & BBQ – this is a very cool and modern craft beer bar located really centrally. While Denise and Marko tried a couple of the different beers on tap, I had some really lovely Hungarian wine. The atmosphere was nice and chilled and it was a comfortable mix between pub and bar.

Legfelsőbb Beeróság – our first stop during our weekend was this popular craft beer bar on lively Dohany street. They had some decent good options too including pulled pork, chilli and burgers.

Hopaholic – smaller and less commercial-feeling than Beerosag. According to Marko, much better options on tap.

Brewdog Budapest – we spent a few hours here playing cards and drinking beer. Really nice interior, good staff and everything you’d expect from Brewdog.

Like craft beer? Check out this craft beer guide to Cologne

We also ate very well in Budapest, although we somehow tragically seemed to miss goulash, which was the one thing I wanted to try… oh well, next time. The best meal we had was definitely an incredible brunch at a beautiful Jewish café located in the beautiful ruins of an old building. (It rivalled the shakshuka that I had in Warsaw that I still think about…)

Top restaurants in Budapest

[easy-image-collage id=5639]

Mazel Tov (pictured above) – this place was amazing, both inside and out. We got there early on a Sunday morning while the place was still half empty, but within half an hour it was almost full. The exterior is a beautiful crumbling ruin, while inside is a hipster courtyard and cocktail bar. They had live music and the food was fantastic – the shakshuka with feta was immense. I bought myself a mug as a momento.

FIRST Craft Beer & BBQ – we also ate here on the Saturday night. The menu had classic pub food like burgers and chilli and some nice Hungarian dishes. I went for a steak which was really good.

Falafel Bar – in all honesty, our 2am visit to pick up a falafel on the way home probably doesn’t do this place justice, but it was a really nice falafel and would easily make a nice sit-in veggie option.

Pizza Manufaktura – very cool little pizza place. Limited seating, but huge variety of pizzas available. Apparently there is using a queue out the door, but again we were lucky and got there during a quiet period. Great pizzas and ideal for after visiting Gellert Baths.

Visiting the famous Budapest baths

According to every single blog and guide book, one of the quintessential experiences of a budget weekend break in Budapest is to spend a day/afternoon/morning at the baths. And you know what? They’re right.

After our fantastic brunch at Mozel Tov, we then headed to Gellért Baths, located south o the main city centre on the Obuda side of the river. It was definitely our main expense during the course of the weekend, but at €19.50/£17 for the three hours we spent there, it was definitely worth it.

Read more: What to expect from Gellért Baths

Budapest on a budget: how much does it cost?

So just how budget is Budapest? Here’s a break down of our costs for the weekend.

Our beautiful (and spacious) AirBnB

Accommodation costs in Budapest: Our beautiful and roomy AirBnB for two nights set us back €50 each. Personally I think this is a bit of a steal considering that the flat is meant to sleep seven and there was only three of us. Plus, we had a prime location in the heart of District VII, two bathrooms and underfloor heating… it’s really just a shame there weren’t more of us.

Transport costs in Budapest: Our return flights with Eurowings from Cologne cost €76 each. The Airport shuttle bus from the centre to the airport cost €3 per person, each way. The one tram ride we took set us back €1 each.

Food and drink costs: I didn’t record all of our food and drink costs, but here are a few as a general guide: a round of three craft beers in Hopaholic cost an average of about €10; pizzas at Pizza Manufaktura were around €4 each; brunch at Mazel Tov (orange juice, a tea/coffee and shakshuka) cost €10 each; sweet pastries from a bakery were just over €1 each and tea/coffees in a café cost around €2 each.

Activity costs: our time at the Baths set us back €19.50 each. The very expensive funicular cost us €4 each.

Total costs for a weekend in Budapest: in total (including flights, accommodation and all spending money) I spent €243. I’m really happy with how much we spent and what we did – we definitely weren’t fine dining every night, but we were also weren’t trying to avoid spending money either.

For another budget city break destination, check out Lviv here.

Budapest: the perfect place for a weekend break

Testament to the bants we had in Budapest

Ultimately I think Budapest makes the perfect weekend break. The city itself is beautiful and easy to navigate – plus there’s enough to see and explore on foot without the need to spend hours in museums or to sign up for a walking tour (however I will definitely be doing both on my next visit). It’s a great place to spend a lot of time relaxing in bars and cafes too, without having to be on the go all the time.

I also feel very happy that we left enough for next time. I would love to explore more of the city’s history on my next visit (on the Jewish history walking tour, or visiting Heroes’ Square for example) and to visit in the warmer months.

We were also very fortunate with flights from Cologne – we left at 18.00 on a Friday evening, and then arrived back at 23.30 on Sunday night: a full weekened without having to take time off work or arriving home in the wee hours.

All in all: top weekend. Would do again.