Budapest is such a beautiful city that its the river banks and the city's most famous boulevard Andrassy Avenue (below) are all UNESCO heritage listed.
Budapest is known for being the Paris of Eastern Europe. It's not hard to see why with the city's never-ending, tree-line avenues and architectural style which is similar to Paris.
The colour of the buildings in Budapest are significantly darker than Parisian architecture, and there is a mix of styles as Budapest adopted a more stark Bauhaus architectural style in the 1930s and 1940s. The latter being that of our hotel, the Mamaison Hotel Andrassy.
The hotel was fantastic, the service was great and we were upgraded to big, spacious rooms. The hotel also had a great location on the leafy Andrassy Avenue. At the western end (closer to the city centre or downtown) the avenue is lined with cafes, restaurants and luxury shopping.
At the eastern tip, the avenue hits and ends at the vast Heroes' Square which honours Hungary's greatest leaders.
The Square is flanked on both sides by monumental buildings of the Museum of Fine Arts and the Palace of Art. Behind the Square is City Park which is home to many attractions including a zoo, museums and Europe's largest thermal bath, the Széchenyi Medicinal Baths and Swimming Pool.
We arrived in Budapest Friday lunch time. The weather was sunny and warm and we explored Andrassy Avenue which is home to numerous museums, such as the House of Terror Museum with its fantastic overhanging roof. The museum remembers the victims of the fascist and communist dictatorial regimes in 20th century Hungary.
We ended up down town among the shops where we found the usual high street brands (Zara, H&M, Esprit etc) and also local wares such as crystal, some of which Mum ended up purchasing.
The weather was taking a turn for the worse and it was getting chilly. As the rain fell over Budapest there was nothing better to do than sit inside at a warm restaurant on the banks of the Danube with a bowl of Hungarian goulash. It's a soup or stew with beef, vegetables and paprika. Paprika is a popular condiment on any Hungarian dish.
The next day while the rain had passed, the overcast skies remained. We found ourselves sight seeing on the Buda side of the city which is home to the Buda Castle, the official residence of the Hungarian kings and built a top Castle Hill.
From Pest to get to the Castle District, you cross the Széchenyi Chain Bridge.
And take a little train to the top of the hill.
The Castle grounds are vast and everything is monumental in size, like the statues, buildings, fountains and these gates below.
We found the Castle Museum, a comprehensive museum that traces the history of life in Budapest since it earliest days. It was surprisingly empty (admission is also free) and Mum and Dad enjoyed not having to queue and elbow tourists after their Italy holiday.
We walked along the top of the hill to the Fisherman's Bastion, a pretty terraced area with views across the Danube River. The bastion was named after the fishermen who defended the city during the Middles Ages. Today it's filled with eateries and live entertainment. One of the most popular lunch places is right on the terrace.
But it does get quite crowded and tourists walk through the tables along the terrace, so we opted to dine in the tower.
We found ourselves a private outdoor dining area with uninterrupted views over the Danube and to the gothic Parliament House.
Not sure why people weren't keen on the tower. The terraced area is actually higher than the main one and the menus are exactly the same, serving up traditional Hungarian dishes. We got to enjoy lunch with views and without the company of other tourists.
After Castle Hill, we made our way back down and across to Pest to join the very popular Opera House tours.
The interior of the Opera House is a stunning sight. We only grabbed a few photos as it was quite dark and it cost extra, on top of the tour price, to take pictures. Below is the performance hall and the most expensive seat in the house.
The ceiling artwork in the hall.
And the entrance for VIPs only.
The tour wasn't very long, and it was very crowded. After a day of walking and sight seeing we spent some time among the Budapest cafe culture on Andrassy Avenue. Then headed for more food and drink at Menza, which our Budapest Wallpaper Guide describes as "communist chic." Menza would become our favourite eatery for the trip for its excellent food, drinks, service and atmosphere.
The next day we woke up to blue skies and sunshine, and thank goodness for that because we planned to visit the Széchenyi Baths. We started the day with breakfast at Lukács Cukrászda Patisserie (our second favourite Budapest eatery, which we visited again, the next day along with Menza).
The patisserie is co-located with a bank and has a really pretty dining room. The food and coffee were great too.
After breakfast, we walked up to City Park to find the baths. Lots of people had a similar idea as it was turning out to be a beautiful day.
Budapest lies on top of 130 thermal springs coming from 1000m below the ground. One cannot visit Budapest without experiencing the baths. Széchenyi is the oldest bath in Europe and its character shows, even in the changing rooms.
When you purchase an entry ticket, this includes a little change room for the day. There are literally hundreds of wooden changing rooms at Széchenyi and the complex also has a modern gym, massage rooms, eateries, a bar and of course indoors baths and a whirlpool.
The indoor baths have water ranging from 20 to 40 degrees Celsius. As the waters are medicinal, the indoor baths have a slight sulfuric smell, but you get used it once you are inside for awhile. We spent almost the whole day at the baths. Mum and I had massages, and all of us just let time pass as we soaked in the water.
Later in the day we walked to Margaret Island which sits in the middle of the Danube.
The sun was setting pretty quickly, so we didn't stay long after watching the musical fountain which plays music as the water dances.
We also paid a visit to the Parliament House. We would have liked to have toured there but time was limited and tours only ran for half the day over weekends.
On our way back to the hotel, we came across a Design Fair, which was fun to browse and where I picked up something little for Mel.
As it was our last night in Budapest and dinner at our hotel restaurant Baraka was booked.
It had wonderful, beautifully presented dishes and a moody atmosphere. Also the the best creme brulee.
On our final day, we squeezed in visits to our favourite eateries, Lukács Cukrászda Patisserie and Menza for breakfast and lunch. And then said goodbye to a wonderful and fascinating city called Budapest.
