Top 20 BUDAPEST HUNGARY 🇭🇺 How to best visit Budapest - First Time in Budapest Hungary 4k

[Music] hi and welcome to budapest hungary if you are looking for the best european cities to visit and are thinking of a trip to hungary you came to the right place this is my first time in budapest and i've discovered so many amazing and fun things to do in budapest budapest is the capital of hungary and the largest city by far over 1.7 million people live in budapest roughly one-fifth of the total population of hungary which is 9.7 million in this hungary travel video i will show you the best places to see in budapest and give you some tips on how to best visit budapest we will cover all the must-see highlights in budapest city center including of course buda castle the majestic parliament building and since stephen basilica but i will also show you some off the beaten path travel ideas that are a bit away from the major tourist maps how about the world's largest flipper museum or a visit to some of the funky bars or the house of terror there are so many things to see in budapest and we'll cover all my favorite things to do in budapest what i like in budapest is that it has something to offer for everyone lots of historic sites in the city beautiful parks great restaurants and food amazing thermal baths markets and of course the overall charm of one of the great european cities for travel i will cover my top 20 best places to see in budapest according to the geographic location of the city that way you can explore the city in the most efficient way here's a map of the tour we are going on and i have an extra bonus tip that is on the outskirts of budapest that you don't want to miss on your next visit stick around to the end of this video where we'll provide 10 helpful tips that i found useful for my trip to budapest this video has chapters so feel free to also jump to the sections that are most useful to you let's start this european city travel guide and what to see in budapest and get right to it [Music] so if you're wondering what to do here when you come to this beautiful city this video is going to be for you let's check it out tip number one the parliament building the hungarian parliament building is a natural starting point for our tour it is the third largest parliament building of the world of london's westminster and romania's parliament building together with saint stephen's basilica which we'll visit later it is the tallest building the city of budapest built in 1896 to celebrate hungary's millennial birthday the impressive hungarian parliament building is also one of the oldest legislative buildings in western europe and eastern europe a whopping 88 pounds 40 kilos of solid gold were used in its construction it has 691 rooms and 12 and a half miles about 20 kilometers of stairs and some of the rooms can be visited with a guided tour which is available in several languages just make sure you bring your id to get in although the impressive building looks fantastic from every angle to see the whole building in its full glory it is worth viewing it from the other side of the danube [Music] [Music] tip number two danube promenade walk you can walk along the danube all the way from the parliament building to the chain bridge and further down to elizabeth bridge the walkway along the danube is a great way to see many of the most famous sites of beautiful budapest looking over towards the buddha side of the river you will see the buddha castle the liberty statue on gellard hill and the fisherman's bastion which we'll all cover later in this video along the walkway you will see a number of important sculptures which are worth seeing [Music] the most touching is called shoes on the danube promenade and is a haunting tribute to a horrific time in history during world war ii budapest was almost completely demolished with over 600 thousand hungarian jews murdered in the holocaust after the invasion of nazi-led germany even before the invasion jews were targeted by growing anti-semitic measures and violence enforced by the aeros cross party a fascist anti-semitic local organization that brutally and publicly terrorized the jews in budapest 60 pairs of iron shoes in 1940 style commemorate the 20 000 jews who were shot into the danube by the aeros cross military only after being ordered to remove their shoes it's a beautiful place of reflection and reverence [Music] tip number three the chain bridge [Music] the sichenny chainbridge is an impressive example of 19th century engineering spreading the river danube literally linking the two former cities of buda and pest on both sides of the danube together to become budapest opened in 1849 this cast iron structure was the first permanent bridge constructed across the river connecting to cheney square in front of gresham palace to adam clarke's square below the castle funicular the chain bridge is a symbol of bringing people together from all walks of life from the east and west of the city [Music] number four sang steven's basilica [Music] from the chain bridge let's head back into the inner city towards another highlight of our tour since steven's basilica this basilica is one of the most important religious buildings in hungary and can't be left out of any good video in budapest it is open to visitors and if you want to get a good view of budapest from above you can even go up to the base of the dome and look out over the city in addition another peculiar relict can be visited inside the mummified reported right hand of stephen the first king of hungary is on display in the reliquary well whether you have a fable for dead body parts or not the basilica is a must see when visiting budapest [Music] so [Music] number five andraste avenue just behind saint stephen's basilica we continue our tour on the majestic addressee avenue this impressive boulevard is the equivalent to the champs-elysees in paris and leads out to the beautiful city park which we'll cover later taking a walk down on drasiy is a great way to see a number of budapests different architectural styles and on the way do window shopping passing the many fancy boutiques and expensive brand stores the boulevard is lined with new renaissance townhouses and mansions and a number of different national embassies due to its interesting cultural heritage andraste avenue was declared a world heritage site in 2002. [Music] number six hungarian state opera house [Music] halfway along andressa avenue you will get to the impressive hungarian state opera house this new renaissance building was first opened in 1884 following a commission from emperor france joseph outside of the building you can see statues of fraren's urkel the composer of the hungarian national anthem and friends list the world famous hungarian composer the 1200 seat auditorium is considered to be one of the best in the world for operatic performances and if you want to buy a ticket to a show prices start from as low as 500 for end which is less than two dollars and go up to a still affordable thirty dollars per ticket to get a good seat you will need to book a couple of days in advance cheaper tickets are usually available until the last minute but they will only get you seats with a poor view of the stage tip number seven house of terror let's continue our walk along adrassee avenue crossing octagon square you will get to the house of terror this daunting building houses exhibitions about the successive fascist and communist regimes which ruled hungary during the 20th century the building served as the headquarters of the fascist arrows cross party and was later used as a prison and torture place by the state security services of hungary the excellent exhibition includes information about both regimes as well as testimonials from some of the victims since opening in 2002 the house of terror museum has become one of budapest's most popular attractions [Music] visitors can even tour the terrifying prison area in the basement entrance is 2 000 for ins which is about 6.50 tip number eight hero square heading further up on andraste avenue you will eventually get to the impressive hero square built in 1896 hero square features the iconic statues complex of the seven chieftains of the magyars who are believed to have led the hungarian people from central asia to the capacion basin atop the central pillar is the archangel gabriel who is holding the hungarian crown at either side of the central column are the two matching colonnades with the chieftains the square is also home to the memorial stone of heroes which stands in tribute to those who have died defending hungary the impressive buildings around the square house excellent fine art museums tip number nine city park in vacher hunyad castle just behind hero square walk over the bridge that crosses a beautiful man-made lake into the city park city park is a green park in budapest that invites for walks running boating and swimming during the winter months the boating lake is transformed into one of europe's largest ice rinks the park is also home to the budapest municipal zoo and botanical gardens the budapest circus and the fairytale-like hunyad castle which houses the museum of hungarian agriculture puerto hunter castle is a unique tribute to hungary's millennium long architectural tradition designed in 1896 as part of hungary's millennial celebrations which commemorated one thousand years since the medieval maguires first settled on the plains of pannonia westerhunt castle was originally intended to be a temporary exhibition and was constructed out of wood and cardboard the attraction however proved to be such a hit with locals and visitors alike that the more permanent structure was built in 1904 [Music] the castle itself is divided into four sections showcasing gothic baroque renaissance and romanesque architecture [Music] sitting across the castle you will find another interesting monument the statue of a hooded figure known as anonymous the statue looks a bit like the grim reaper but represents bella lugosi a not so anonymous writer who wrote the gesta jungarroro the history of the early magyars the eerie looking faceless figure holds a pen in its hand according to legend you should stroke the pen if you're in need of writing inspiration [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] tip number 10 sechenia thermal baths [Music] just across rajahunat castle you can already see the next highlight not to be missed on a trip to budapest the sechini thermal bath budapest is also called the city of baths as it is built on 118 mineral pools satani thermal bath is budapest's largest grandest busiest and very first thermal bath surrounded by ornate neo-baroque architecture and city park swimming in this place is like bathing in a palace the sashini bath complex is the largest medicinal bath center in europe the waters are rich in sulfates calcium magnesium bicarbonate and fluoride which are believed to help patients with degenerative joint illnesses and other medical issues for those who just want to enjoy the relaxing powers of the thermal pools there are a variety of different thermal pools inside as well as saunas and steam rooms massages and beauty treatments are also available at an additional fee [Music] [Music] number 11 the tramway for our next visit we will hop on the very convenient tramway while budapest is actually a pretty walkable city the many public transport options the city has to offer are very convenient the vintage state of many of its trains and trams make catching public transport even more than just a convenience the m1 line for example is the third oldest underground railway in the world after the london underground and the tunnel in istanbul the latter i'm covering in my video on instability to check that out too luckily public transport in budapest is cheap with a single ticket costing roughly 1.70 you can reduce the price to 1.40 per ticket if you buy a packet of 10 tickets at one of the metro stations or newspaper kiosks it's important to validate these tickets in one of the orange boxes before hopping on board to avoid any fines tickets work for trams buses and the metro and you can freely interchange between them which makes the integrated system so convenient tip number 12 duhani street synagogue exit the tramway at astoria and you will find our next stop just around the corner the duhani street synagogue budapest duhani street synagogue is the largest synagogue in europe and the second largest in the world outside israel the largest being the temple emmanuel in new york the historic house of worship has a seating capacity of 3 3000 people and standing room for another 2 000. the synagogue was built between 1854 and 1859 in the morris revival style with a decoration based mainly on islamic models from north africa and alhambra and spain and even its name derives from arabic tuhani means tobacco in hungarian borrowed from the arabic ducan yiddish the synagogue is also known as tabak shul duhani synagogue is a unesco world heritage site and absolutely stunning even to see just from the outside unfortunately it was close to the public at the time i was there tip number 13 hungarian national museum our next stop is just a short walk away from dohani street down museum avenue the hungarian national museum is home to thousands of exhibits detailing the history art religion and archaeology of the country including exhibitions from areas which are now considered to be outside of hungary's borders but even if you do not plan on touring the inside the beautiful neoclassical museum building and peaceful gardens outside of the museum are absolutely worth visiting so do check them out when you're here [Music] [Music] number 14 central market hall a few steps down the street you will get to another great place in budapest the central market hall also known as the great market hall this indoor market is budapest's most famous marketplace built in 1897 the historic near gothic-style venue holds more than 100 stalls over three floors here you will find anything from locally grown fruits and veggies and locally sourced meats to fresh pasties and baked goods to the ever-present paprika while many souvenir shops are located on the upper floors selling goods like traditional hungarian clothing central market is still very much an active market where locals do their grocery shopping [Music] [Music] [Music] number fifteen killer till with a liberty statue and citadel stepping out of the great market hall you will see the beautiful green liberty bridge to your left this iconic bridge was commissioned by emperor france joseph in 1896 to celebrate the 1 000 years of hungary's existed as a state we'll take the bridge over the danube to visit the many amazing landmarks on the buddha side of the city one building you will already see from afar is the famous gillard bath and spa center which includes an open air and wave pool a finnish sauna and a range of other saunas and plunge pools the complex was originally built between 1912 and 1918 in an art neurostyle and was extensively renovated in 2008 to bring the baths back to their former glory above the bath you will see the iconic liberty statue on gillard hill this is one of the few prominent communist statues which remained in place of the transition to democracy but more on that later the statue was erected back in 1947 to commemorate the soviet troops who lost their lives liberating the country but the engraving was later changed to remember all who sacrificed their lives for the independence freedom and prosperity of hungary the panoramic views from galertil are spectacular and the walk they are absolutely beautiful the 235 meter high galertil made up of dolomite rock is named after saint gellard hungary's first missionary who was thrown to his death from there by pagans atop the hill you'll find the citadella a fortress built in 1851 by the half sporks following the failed hungarian war of independence soviet forces used the fortress later to control the city during the 1956 hungarian revolution and tanks fired down on the city from there nowadays the citadel houses a restaurant a hotel and a museum but is currently closed for renovation number 16 buddha castle hill funicular [Music] let's head along the danube on the buddha side to our next landmark the buddha castle hill funicular [Music] this funicular which first opened in 1870 is the second oldest funicular of its kind in the world and is now a unesco world heritage site a system of weights and counterweights is used to help to raise the carriages up and down the hill the funicular is the fastest way to get to the top of the castle hill and is exceedingly popular because of its panoramic views out across the danube the speed of ascent was actually slowed down in 1988 to give passengers more time to enjoy their ride the track is open daily until 10 pm so it's also a great way to enjoy views of patched at night tickets cost 1200 forints which is about four dollars one way and about six dollars for a return ticket but you can of course also take the steps up the hill to buda castle to get some additional exercise [Music] tip number 17 buddha castle museum buda castle is the historic castle and royal palace complex of the hungarian kings of budapest it sits on the southern tip of castle hill surrounded by the castle quarter which is famous for its medieval baroque and neoclassical houses churches public buildings and monuments first completed in 1265 the massive baroque palace you can see today was mostly built in the mid 1700s destroyed during world war ii and rebuilt again in simplified form during the qadar era the castle now houses the hungarian national gallery and the budapest history museum entrance to the latter is 1600 foreigns which is about 5 students and seniors pay half [Music] buddha castle is definitely worth a visit even if you don't plan on seeing the museums it's a large complex of buildings monuments statues fountains lookout places that offer amazing views over the city and danube river [Music] the courtyards of buda castle are free to visit and can be even visited at night as the gates remain always open [Music] [Music] do [Music] number 18 fisherman's bastion let's head over to another great lookout on this side of the danube the fisherman's bastion unlike willa castle the fisherman's bastion only looks like a medieval monument but was actually built in the early 20th century in a near gothic style its sole purpose was to serve as a panoramic viewing platform if i may say so it does a superb job at it the bastion is named after the guild of fishermen which was responsible for defending the stretch of the city walls during the middle ages the seven towers of the bastion represent the seven margaret tribes that helped to settle the magure people in the capation basin fisherman's bastion is an open panorama terrace which you can just walk into and it's free of charge you do however need to pay 1000 forints about 3.50 if you want to enter the towers of the bastion for where you will have a slightly better view than from the other parts [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] number 19 pinball museum the flipper museum the flipper museum houses europe's largest ongoing interactive pinball exhibition and is a truly unique place located in a basement under a downtown residential building in the western part of budapest not far from budapest new gati train station this quirky museum is a heaven for pinball gamers started by a pair of avid pinball enthusiasts the surprisingly sizable museum is packed with rows of a total of 130 classic pinball machines all in working order and ready to be played entrance is about 11 and gives visitors the opportunity to play the games as much as they would like for the entire day students and seniors pay a bit less and even if you're not a pinball enthusiast it's a cool place to visit [Music] [Applause] number 20 going out in budapest red ruin bar [Music] as the evening settles in and you still have some energy in you why not head to the many ruin bars in the former jewish quarter wooden bars are essentially pop-up bars the ruins of apartments shops and rooftops prices are cheap the places usually feature inventive art installations slightly worn out furniture and their shabby chic decor is inspiring i checked out red ruin a quirky communist themed bar which happily merged communist propaganda with colorful pop art featuring the likes of karl marx vladimir lenin joseph stalin and mauricio dong all together celebrating a real communist party red ruin offers a wide selection of local and international beers but i opted for a fresh lemonade which was perfect [Music] [Applause] [Music] and here's my extra tip memento park now as promised here's a special additional recommendation for your trip to budapest sticking with the communism theme we are going to head a bit outside of the city to memento park located about a 30 minute drive from the center of budapest in one of the city's southern suburbs memento park is home to 42 communist era monuments that were pulled down after the fall of the communist regime in hungary in 1989 a small museum on the side also includes temporary exhibitions about life and the communist regime including information about the hungarian secret police memento park is open from 10 am to 6 pm every day and entrance is 1500 foreign a bit below 5 it is definitely worth a visit if you have a bit of extra time so when you come to budapest definitely check out momento park it's like traveling in time back into a different era of communism it's nice to see those statues here preserved as historic artifacts [Music] [Music] [Music] okay these were my top 20 things to do in budapest i think it's safe to say the city makes it on the list of the nicest places to visit in europe now let's get to some useful tips to help you plan your visit to budapest especially if it will be your first time in budapest you may find these 10 tips helpful for your travel in hungary number one when is the best time to visit the best times to visit budapest are from march to may and september through november during those months the weather will be likely good and the city isn't too overcrowded with tourists but even the summer months are okay as the climate is always relatively mild the temperatures rarely going above bearable levels winter months can get chilly cold but the atmosphere of the city can be quite beautiful too [Music] number two how do i get to budapest the four most common ways to go to budapest are by air train bus and car depending on where you're coming from your choice will vary thanks to its geographic location budapest is very easy and often inexpensive to get to if you come by air you will arrive at budapest friends list international airport which is located 16 kilometers about 9.9 miles southeast of the city center and the drive downtown will take you about 20 minutes the most convenient way of getting to your accommodation is by taxi ignore the towels in the arrival hall and head outside to the official taxi booth operated by fur taxi tell the person inside the booth your destination address and they will give you a receipt with a predicted fare which will usually be somewhere between six thousand eight thousand foreigns which is about twenty to twenty five dollars but your final fare will be determined by a meter wait a few moments and your cap will pull up in front of you if you come by train it is good to know that there are three main international railroad stations in budapest eastern which is called kaletti western which is called nuegati in southern which is called daily more than 50 trains a day provide direct links between budapest and 25 other european capital cities budapest eastern railway station keleithi is however the main international in intercity railway terminal in budapest and you are most likely to arrive there the train ride brightest lava slovakia to budapest will take a bit less than two and a half hours while from vienna austria it will be a bit over two and a half hours from prague in the czech republic you will need to factor in six and a half hours and from munich germany close to seven hours if you come by car you will likely come on one of the major motorways that lead to budapest make sure you purchase the vignette for about ten dollars which is required for any vehicle taking their motorway getting one is easy as they are sold at most gas stations there are frequent police controls of those vignettes so do not forget getting one in terms of parking this can be a bit of a hassle in budapest the good news is that you don't really need a car while staying in budapest so leaving it at a secure location for the time of your stay will suffice most recommendations at the city center won't have parking available and parking in the city center hotels is expensive you may find some public parking garages in the city center for around 5 000 foreigns a day but that can still add up depending on how long you stay street parking in the center is only short-term and not advisable alternatively you could park your car in a safe residential neighborhood a bit outside the center and take the metro back in number three how many days do i need as you could tell from this video there is a lot to see in budapest and you will need at least 2 days to cover the landmarks on my top 20 list but you will still need to be super time efficient i'd recommend to spend 3 days in budapest which will allow to get to more of the top attractions at a slower pace but you may find that you could easily spend even a fourth day in this beautiful city number four where should i stay well this largely depends on your style of travel and there is no one-size-fits-all answer i chose to stay in a rental apartment that was located very centrally in the city the accommodation was affordable and clean but there are also plenty of affordable hotels in the city and you may be able to strike a special deal as hotel prizes in budapest tend to be below those of other popular tourist destinations number five what should i bring be prepared to do lots of walking in budapest so bring good shoes neither flip-flops nor high-heeled shoes will be suitable as there are quite a few cobblestone roads in the center i'd recommend some comfortable sneakers or walking shoes i'd also bring a poncho foldable rain jacket or a small umbrella to be equipped for rainy days i also always carry some sunscreen sunglasses in the cap to protect against the sun if you're coming from outside europe bring an adapter sockets are predominantly rounded two prong type c euro sockets and the voltage is 230 volts at 50 hertz lastly bring your camera there are so many great pictures waiting to be taken in beautiful budapest number six how do i pay for stuff while hungary is a member state of the european union it hasn't adopted the euros currency the national currency in hungary is the foreign and while some places may accept euros and even dollars the rates will be so bad that i would definitely advise against paying in any other currency than foreign also stay away from the money exchange offices in most cases these will be a rip off you'll be better off using your bank and an atm and get foreign that way just check with your bank or fees you may or may not incur credit cards are also widely accepted in budapest but small businesses might have minimum payments or only accept cash so it's best to always carry a bit of cash with you number seven how is public transport well i already talked a bit about public transport early in this video so please check that out if you skip that section i highly recommend to use the public transport system in budapest and found it super reliable and easy to use but make sure you validate your ticket by simply sticking it in one of the orange machines at metro stations entrances and trams for a few seconds ticket inspections are very common and on the spot fines can be issued if you're traveling on an invalidated ticket if you see a self-service ticket machine at the station or stop you're departing from buy your tickets in advance there as it is always cheaper than buying it from the driver there is currently no uber operating in hungary if you need a taxi make sure to only use the reputable taxi companies such as food taxi and city taxi never hit a cab from the side of the street and you still want to make sure the meter is running when you set off number eight is budapest safe budapest is generally a pretty safe city but back snatching and pickpocketing are common be particularly careful and visit public transport and train stations at markets and at other places frequented by tourists passports cash and credit cards are favorite targets of thieves so keep those in a safe place don't carry large amounts of cash or valuable jewelry theft from vehicles is also not uncommon so don't leave any valuables in the car if you choose to come by car having said that i didn't have any issues during my entire visit and felt very safe all the time even when i walked through budapest at night just exercise the same caution you would in any big city number nine what should i eat and is the tap water safe to drink the food in hungary is excellent and budapest has a huge variety of excellent restaurants and yummy street food options i made a separate video on good food in hungary so check that out too if you want to get tips on what to try in hungary the tap water in budapest is safe to consume and actually even healthy drinking water is the most strictly controlled food in hungary and you will be able to refill your bottle at public water fountains unless mark otherwise number 10 what should i tip when you talk about sit-down eateries in budapest the standard tip rate for a good service is about 10 of the bill and 15 for an exceptional service however many restaurants in budapest already charged 12 and a half percent service charge on the total bill so you don't need to leave anything extra okay i hope you found this comprehensive hungary travel video for your first time in budapest useful hungary's capital city is one of the great cities in europe to see and i'm sure you will love budapest let me know in the comments about any additional tips that are not covered on my list if you enjoyed the video please also check out my other travel videos in beautiful hungary where i cover many more amazing places and what to see in hungary and of course many other amazing travel destinations and if you haven't done so already please subscribe to my channel and i look forward to seeing you in my next travel video have a good one bye you

Channel: januslog

Views: 67,314

Keywords: first time in Budapest, things to do in Budapest, Budapest Hungary, historic sites in the city, how to best visit Budapest, what to see in Budapest, good video on Budapest, things to see in Budapest, best places to see in Budapest, my trip to Budapest, Budapest city centre, Budapest from above, Hungary travel video, best european cities to visit, great European cities for travel, magyarország videó, budapesti videó, Budapest Hungary 4k, top 10 budapest, top 20 budapest

Id: fhmfM6hrUOY

Length: 41min 51sec (2511 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 19 2022