Budapest City Guide Beyond the Tourist Stuff

Welcome to my latest Brume & Daisy travel series, featuring a Budapest City Guide Beyond the Tourist Stuff. This is part of my most recent backpacking Europe series, in which I traveled from Berlin to Budapest by train and made loads of delightful little stops along the way. 

There’s a lot to see and do in Budapest, but since this is a Brume & Daisy travel guide, you’re getting my kind of trip — lots of walking, eating, and all that good stuff. Many Budapest City Guides will focus on the sight-seeing, and there is LOTS of amazing sight-seeing in Budapest, but I want to share a couple different ideas. Luckily, this Brume & Daisy kind of travel will help you keep your cost per day low if you’re a backpacker on a budget. Let’s dive into it! Let’s dive in!

Where to Stay in Budapest

Some locals on Instagram recommended we find an AirBnb in either District 13 or 14, near Újlipótváros, or District 7 near the Jewish Quarter. These areas are super cool — we spent a lot of time there. We didn’t have a hard time finding an AirBnb under $30/night, so cheers to Budapest for that!

Where to Eat & Drink in Budapest

Produce markets – we went to the one at Komjádi Béla Utca on the recommendation of a local friend. 

Kertem – This is a beer garden located in City Park Varosliget, near our AirBnb. It’s very laid back, the beer is cheap, and there are loads of dogs everywhere! All outdoors, so I think this is only open spring-fall. 

Földes Józsi – From what I understand, this family has been running restaurants in Budapest since the 1980s. The patriarch was a celebrity chef for a time, and then he opened this place to get traditional — and very good — Hungarian food. He passed away in 2012, but his family has kept it running. We had matzo soup, paprikash, and other staples that we just took our best stab at from the Hungarian menu!

Anjuna Ice Pops – It was over 95 degrees when we were in Budapest, so a fruity ice pop really hit the spot. 

Walzer Cafe – This little cafe is located in the Castle District, and I hung out here for a couple hours while Curtis went on a bit of an ambitious hike. The cafe owners were super kind, and they had WiFi. Perfect little spot to have an espresso and sweet. — Note, it’s cash only, but there are ATMs and hotels all over this area. 

My Little Melbourne – This cool little cafe was started by an Austrailian expat in Budapest. They do breakfast, coffee, and sweets. They even bottled their own cold brew (again, it was HOT!) which is pretty rare to find in Budapest. 

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Castro Biztro – This is a cozy little place to grab lunch. They have cool contemporary art on the walls, and usually live music. Food is Serbian — soups, curries, and other traditional dishes. 

Getto Gulyas – This is another place serving traditional Hungarian food, though less old school than Földes Józsi, I would say this is more geared toward the tourists. The food was good though. The plates are big, so you can definitely split an entree to help stretch that budget. 

Paneer – Sometimes you want fast food, and sometimes you want that to be deep-fried cheese. Paneer uses tons of fun cheeses, homemade ingredients, their own bread, etc. I want one in Iowa — I think people would go crazy!

The typical drinking scene in Budapest are ruin bars — these wild warehouse bars like Szimpla Kert, Anker’t, Ellátó Kert, and the like. That’s a bit intense for Curtis and I who aren’t so much party people, so here are some craft beer bars instead: Hopaholic, and Jonas Craft Beer House.

Walk and Wander in Budapest

City Park Varosliget – Like I mentioned, this is where we ate at Kertem. And afterward we went for a walk in the park, and found a big hill where lots of people where playing with their dogs — such a fun and relaxing way to spend an evening on the road!

I recommend you spend a couple of evenings just walking along the Danube River through the center of Budapest. There is nothing prettier than that sunset, and there are castles and stately buildings all around to explore. 

You will 100% want to do a little sight-seeing — Budapest is one of the most stately European cities I’ve ever seen. So one morning you’ll definitely want to head over to the Castle District on the Buda side of Budapest and explore up in the hills!

If you’ve got an afternoon to relax, Margaret Island is a fun place with lots of walking trails and parks for a slow afternoon. 

Where to Shop in Budapest

Massolit Bookstore – This is an English-language bookshop, cafe, and coworking space — I think, there appeared to be lots of people working in the lovely little garden with all its fig trees and plants. The books are really affordably-priced, and many are used. They also have a lot of reading on more niche topics — Eastern European books translated into English, progressive political books, Jewish history books, etc. Stop in for a coffee, a carrot cake, and a browsing session!

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Öltöző (Dressing Room 2.0) – Located in a basement store in the Jewish Quarter, this place is packed full of vintage pieces. 

General Things to Know About Budapest

Public transit is less convenient than most other major cities we’ve visited in Europe. More than once we encountered metro lines down and ended up on random buses. Also, always always make sure you have the right metro tickets and they are validated. You must validate at every ride and transfer, unless you get a day pass (get a day or multi-day pass! It’s cheap!) and ticket inspections and fines are very common. 

The currency in Hungary is the Forint, and even though the exchange rate is difficult to master math-wise in your head, it is definitely better to pay in Forint than in Euro.

There are two bus lines that will get you out to the Budapest airport. You need to purchase your ticket before you board the bus. Go to one of the more central train stations and they will be able to help you. 

That’s all for now! 

Until next time — let’s chat on Instagram or Twitter, where I’m @brumeanddaisy.

Want more of this backpacking tour? We also visited Berlin, Germany; Wrocław, Poland; Warsaw, Poland; Ostrava, Czech Republic; and Kosice, Slovakia. Plus I have loads more guides and travel content here!