10 Things I Wish I Knew Before Visiting Budapest

If you want a weekly travel tip and an update from where I am, feel free to follow my newsletter: bit.ly/TheTuesdayTravelTip

This city owns my heart. I've been there two weeks ago and I'm coming back in June, never liked an european country that much. Loved the vibes, the food, the architecture, the lively market s, it's truly an hidden gem. Love from Italy ❤❤❤

Budapest used to have a very BAD dog poop problem. Like you couldn't take a step from all the dog poop. In the late 2000s the city tightened up on dog owners to pick up their dogs poop and regulations tightened up in parks, playdrounds, etc. Dogs have dedicated doggie parks where they can go to. Maybe there was an overcorrection, but it was really, really bad before.

There are tourist traps in Budapest, but Szimpla, and Karaván definitely not. And in Gozsdu udvar you can find exceptional food for example in Spíler, but there are smaller places like 2 Spaghi which is run by italians and they make great pasta. The tourist traps are usually around Váci utca, and around all of those Thai massage places.

PERHAPS the grass is so pristine BECAUSE no one is allowed on it 🤔👀

I love your videos so much! You have the best energy and I just feel happy when I listen to you. Love your positivity and your heart-warming sense of humor. I'm doing some long slow travels myself and will be spending a month in Budapest in May. I can't wait! Thanks for all your helpful tips and wisdom.

Hahaha we definitely had one of the sketchiest entrances to our Airbnb too 😂 it was a great place once inside though and realistically we felt safe the whole time!

Glad you liked Budapest. I liked your video. A couple of things you could have shared but missed - Aran is not a traditional Hungarian bakery. It's great but Irish with international influences. There are many traditional Hungarian bakeries in each neighborhood. Most are great. Bread bakeries are "pekseg" and cake/sweets bakeries are "cukraszda." I would also suggest you get out of the 7th district (Jewish Quarter) and the 5th District (Parliament and Vaci) if you want to walk on grass. Complaining about not walking on the Parliament grass is like complaining about not walking on the grass at the White House. Respect it please. If you need grass, from Parliament you were about 700 meters from Margit Island. An incredible green island park in the in the Danube with open fields, running paths, trees and event venue and pool and more. Or if you want an even bigger green space go to the Varos Liget behind Heroes Square. All the grass you require plus the National Music House, bars, restaurants, museums, a Zoo and the famous Szechenyi Baths. It is true that some of our parks do not allow dogs but there are many dog parks as well. Most people come to Budapest and see the same 5 things, eat some gulyas and langos and think they know Hungary. I'm glad you want to see more. Perhaps on your next visit you could take the train to Eger, our beautiful middle ages city or visit Lake Balaton. There is a lot more to see than the ruin bars.

This video was crazy helpful! Thank you so much!!!

So, about the grass :) We actually allow people to go on the grass pretty much everywhere. I can't name any place other than the Parlament where it's not allowed. The Parlament is a national security zone. You can't go near the building, and the grass is the buffer-zone. You also can't use drones there. But it's a special thing for the Parlament. They also have special guards there with automatic weapons :D So really, steay away from the building! There are guided tours inside you can attend! As for dogs. Budapest was a very dog-friendly place. Maybe up until... covid... where EVERYBODY got a dog. Now there are too-too many dogs for the city. The god-pee actually kills grass, and with the amount of dogs now around, that is a real problem. Also people who love dogs aready got dogs before. The "new" dog-owners are... questionable people. There are more and more dog-shit on the street, as they don't pick up. It's very rare that these people actually get caught, and you can get away with it so easily. So more and more shops and parks are banning dogs recently. Sad, but we made our bed, and now we have to lie in it. If dog-people behave better in the future, we may see improvement.

Forgot to mention -> To the N of the Parliament building you have the Olympic park. It is free to use and it's great for kids and it has splash pads, Bascketball rims, playground, lots of shaded areas, bathrooms (VC), and it's next to a Coop and a wine store.

I’m going to budapast Thank you for amazing information

Thank you for making this video.

Thanks for this! Great Info !

I spent a month in Budapest as well and I agree about the ruin bars. Good to check out, but overpriced and turning into a tourist trap. The central synagogue was also much too expensive. Wish I knew that before I went.

Been there a couple of days ago. Before I spend a month in Switzerland supposed one of the most expensive countries in the world and I have to say that Budapest is ridiculously expensive. Many things even more expensive than Zurich. So Budapest Is a must?, yes absolutely, is an incredible city with tons of culture and history. will I return?, sadly I have to say not, you get better for your money in other places in Europe.

You can tell us soooo much in 2 minutes wooow :) you are a talent :)

The 11th thing is that half of the population earns less than 700 EUR ... where one cafe is 3-5 EUR, one cocktail is 12 EUR and one pizza is 10 EUR..

I didn't understand why you basdhing the magic, i ate there really delicius burgers. And a drink with sparkles in it.😅 They even have cool magicians.

Perhaps you should tell travellers about the honour system of the public transport network (one of the best in any city, that also puts your point in your previous video of the city being "too" spread out into question). You need to get a ticket and VALIDATE it. Too many tourists get caught out by ticket inspectors. Otherwise quite informative, but there's so much more you could have said.