We missed our connecting flight from Istanbul and arrived at Budapest much later than when we intended to. Nevertheless, we decided to make the best of it and had a gala time there. The weather was pretty warm even for July. Here are few things to do while you are at Budapest.

• Chain bridge: This is one of the iconic places that people usually identify with Budapest. It connects the castle side which is usually calm at night to the St Stephen’s Basilica side which is a party hub. The bridge gives a good view of all the monuments along the river. It’s better to be there very late at night to get a clear shot of the bridge with the right amount of traffic.

• Buda Castle: This castle guards the entire city. It is a 5 minutes climb from the chain bridge. You get a panoramic view of Budapest and can enjoy the view for hours. We were on top of the castle at around midnight (the gates to the top never close and only the museum inside the building has time restrictions) and enjoying local beer sitting on the walls with a bright city in the backdrop. It was very calm and the cool breeze wore down all the tiredness from flight.

• Fisherman’s Bastion: This is another fortress around 10 minutes’ walk from Buda Castle. This is a very pretty monument and has a completely different style of architecture. Just like the castle, here also we were able to get on top pretty late at night and enjoy the place without too many people.

• St Stephen’s Basilica: This one is also at the heart of the city. When we went to this place at night 1 AM it was still very crowded. There are a lot of pubs around so the square is usually occupied by party goers. We revisited this place Sunday morning during mass time. The square was clear and the church bells were ringing in the background. It was wonderful.

• Parliament Building: This is located near the bank of the river is one of the largest monuments that you can see from the castle. We initially mistook it for a cathedral.

• Breakfast: There is nothing that defines vacation like a breakfast at a restaurant outside on the street along with beer. No worries about getting late or thinking through your agenda for the day. We had it along the road leading to St Stephens Basilica.

• Party: Budapest is a very happening city, especially in the peak season. While we were returning back to our hotel from the pub, there were hundreds of people still standing in queue to enter the pubs at night 1 AM. We asked around and came to know that in Europe the parties go on till 5 AM. This part is always surprising to early risers like us. Or you can have a silent party for yourself at the top of the castle 🙂

• Drive outside the city: Half an hour of drive north from the city and you will touch upon some very beautiful landscapes along the road. Many different colours of fields are stacked together and they will fill your frame with all shades of colours.

Quick tips:

• Stay near the city center as everything is in walking distance from here. And you will end up staying out pretty late. Without Uber, walking is the best option that you have at those hours.
• Try to explore the buildings during late night to enjoy them to the fullest. Use the day time to take rest or look inside the museums.
• Even though it’s a part of EU, but still at some places they don’t take euros. And even if they do, they will return the change in Hungarian Forint (HUF). We ended up using credit card in a lot of places as we don’t want to accumulate HUF. And we brought back most of the euros that we carried with us.