Where to stay in Budapest. And other Budapest Travel Tips.

Budapest is one of the most beautiful capitals in Europe. One of my favourites, that’s for sure. Vibrant in summer and cosy in winter. It’s funny, as I didn’t like this city the first time I visited it. 3 years ago, I changed my mind. Since then, I’ve visited Budapest at least 5 times.

I know the city well enough to give you useful Budapest Travel Tips. In this article, I will advise you on where to stay in Budapest, but not only this. Let’s also look at the river, Budapest’s sides, and the airport.

Budapest which side is Buda

Budapest is cut by the Danube River and consists of 2 parts. The west side is Buda, and the east side is Pest. Before, they were two different cities that unified in 1873. Yes, this is from where the name Budapest comes.

Which side is Buda? Buda is where the castle is. The Pest side is where Parliament is. I think this is the easiest way to remember it.

Budapest which area to stay

Buda is calmer, Pest is livelier. On both sides, you can find lot of hotels to stay at. Buda is an absolutely place to visit; it has a few important and beautiful monuments, like the Castle and Fishermen’s Bastion. But I would recommend staying on the Pest side.

Firstly, because overall, it has more things to visit. Secondly, it’s better connected when it comes to public transport: metro, trams, and train stations, also, airport buses arrive on the Pest side.

Budapest where to stay, which hotel

Every time I visit Budapest, I stay around Kalvin Ter metro station. My favourite hotel in this area is Three Corners Art Hotel. It’s convenient because metro transport and buses from the airport stop very close. It’s also a 5 minutes’ walk to the river and to Central Market Hall.

The hotel is on a pretty street in one of the tenements. In summer, you can eat breakfast outside, which is really nice. Breakfast is very good, with different options. There is also an additional entertainment room in the hotel with tables where you can drink tea or coffee all day. Useful place, if you, for example, need to work for a moment.

The interior of the hotel is nice and clean – nothing extremely fancy, rather a nice standard. All in all, I really recommend this hotel.

If you search for something around this area but look for another hotel, check out Hotel Rum or Mercure.

How to get from Budapest airport to city

There is 1 airport in Budapest, Ferenc Liszt Airport. It takes around 40-45 minutes to get to the city centre from the airport. Don’t get ‘scared’ when travelling; the road to the centre is not via the nicest- looking parts. It will get better when you are in the city.

You can go to the centre with the bus 100 E. It goes really often during the day; see the timetable here. A ticket costs 2200 HUF, which is around 6,5 USD. You can buy tickets at the machine at the stop at the airport.

There are 3 stops in the city: Kalvin Ter, Astoria, and Deak Ferenc Ter, all in the strict centre close to tourist attractions and hotels.

If you have very early or late flight, you can also stay in the hotel at (2-3 minutes walk from terminal) the airport.

Budapest public transport

I think public transport in Budapest is quite well organised. You will use both the metro and trams. A single ticket (for one ride) costs 350 HUF; you can also buy blocks of 10 tickets for 3000 HUF or 24 and 72 hour tickets.

There are 4 metro lines. Line number 1 (yellow) is not only a metro, it’s also a tourist attraction. It’s the second oldest (after London) metro line in Europe. Worth a ride!

Remember also about trains. Budapest is not far from two other interesting cities: Vienna and Bratislava. It takes only around two and half hours to get to both cities. So you can easily visit more capitals during one trip!

Just check from which station your train goes; the most known train stations are Keleti and Nyugati.

Can you see Budapest in 1 or 2 days?

Well, it’s a big city with a lot of things to see. If you want to see those most important ones, enjoy them and not run, I would recommend spending at least 3 days.

When is best time to visit Budapest

Budapest is nice any time of the year. Of course, spring and summer are the best. The city is very vibrant, with many parties, drinks by the river, etc. However, I would rather skip the visit in July and August, as it can be super-hot. I was in Budapest in the second half of July last year, and it was just impossible to walk or do anything else but sit in air-conditioned places.

In autumn, the city also looks nice. And worth remembering about Christmas markets time. Budapest is a great destination in November and December, as the Christmas market in Budapest has won the Best Christmas Market competition 3 times already.

It’s also a city with many nice cafes. In an old, traditional or modern style. The coffee culture is great here. So you can be sure you will have a place to hide if it gets too cold.

Hungary currency, language, time

Hungary is a member of the EU, but they don’t use the Euro. The Hungarian currency is the forint. You can use your card in most places in Budapest. 1 Euro is around 380 forints.

The language in Hungary is Hungarian. I think it’s one of the toughest languages in Europe, if not the toughest. It’s from a separate group of languages, so it doesn’t really resemble other languages.

It’s no problem to communicate in English in Budapest.

The time zone in Budapest is the same as in Berlin or Paris: Central European Time, GMT+1 (or CEST in summer, GMT+2).

Soon, in a separate article, I will describe what you should eat when visiting Budapest. And things to see and visit in Budapest. There are many, I don’t think that one article will be enough.

I hope all of this information will convince you that Budapest is absolutely worth a visit and that you can organise your trip there as easily as to other European capitals. Budapest is a great destination; enjoy your city break!