The Budapest Guide

Welcome back to my blog! I'd firstly like to apologise for the delay in posting this. I am trying my best to stick to one blog post per month which doesn't seem much but Law School really creeps up on you (that's a story for another day). Before I start rambling on about how beautiful Budapest is, if you haven't already, read my blog posts on the stunning Santa Margherita and Portofino.

Now for the main attraction... Budapest! When my dear friends Carmen and Morayo first suggested Budapest for our girls trip I admittedly wasn't too keen. Me? Eastern Europe? It's a no from me. Oh how wrong I was. In this guide to Budapest I'm going to take you through the best spots for: Architecture, Nightlife and of course.. Food. I'll also touch on something I like to call #theblacklens. This will be my take on Budapest (or wherever in the world I have travelled to) through my perspective as a black woman.

Architecture
If you're an architecture lover like me, or simply an admirer of pretty buildings, Budapest is the city for you. Budapest boasts an eclectic mix of new and old architectural styles ranging from gothic to neoclassical to romanesque. Starting with my personal favourite: Matthias Church. In 1541, Turkey captured Buda and ruled over Budapest for 150 years. In 1686 during the liberation of Budapest, Matthias Church collapsed. It wasn't until 1896 when architect Frigyes Schulek, restored the church to its original beauty. I was taken aback by the fusion of colours on the tiled roof of the church. The church's romantic neo-gothic features differentiate it from any church I have seen. Look at the turquoise, orange and slight green hues. Beyond incredible.

I don't know about you but Fisherman's Bastion looks like something out of a fairytale to me. Can anyone else imagine Rapunzel letting down her hair from the top of the tower? No? Just me? Ok. Anywho, Fisherman's Bastion combines neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque styles overlooking Buda, providing the perfect viewing terrace for tourists and locals alike. It was built between 1895 and 1902 in celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the Hungarian state. This was designed again by Frigyes Schulek (clearly a busy man). Both Fisherman's Bastion and Matthias Church should be high on your itinerary if you are visiting Budapest.

The Hungarian Parliament is so large that Morayo, Carmen and I spent a bit too much time debating and comparing it to the British Parliament. Let's compare. The Hungarian Parliament was inspired by the design of the British Parliament; one point to the Brits. The British Parliament sits on the brown toned, murky River Thames, whilst the Hungarian Parliament sits on the gorgeous Danube River, running through Buda and Pest. Easily one point to Hungary there. These are arguably the most beautiful parliamentary buildings in the world but I think the Hungarian Parliament tops it for me.

This photo of the Hungarian Parliament beautifully lit up at night was taken whilst we were on board of a Danube River Evening Sightseeing Cruise. The cruise lasted one hour, came with a complimentary cocktail and blankets and was only £7.98. We bought our tickets on Viator, click here for the link. (This is not an #ad, but maybe one day it will be lol)

Did you know that the second largest synagogue in the world resides in Budapest? I sure didn't! During our strolls across Pest, we stumbled across the Dohany Street Synagogue in the infamous Jewish Quarter. A major renovation of the synagogue took place in the 1990s, funded by the likes of Estee Lauder and Tony Curtis. The Dohany Street Synagogue is the perfect example of moorish revival architecture. The designer, Ludwig Forster, also designed the Synagogue Tempelgasse in Vienna.

Nightlife

Once you've explored through Budapest's unique architecture and got all the cultural stuff out the way, it's time to shake a leg. I've always heard of people going to Budapest for stag and hen do's so I wasn't expecting the crowd or music to be to my liking. Again, I was wrong. On our first night, we started off at Gozsdu Udvar, a busy and popular courtyard filled with bars and restaurants. We went to Sunset Bar and had a few stupidly cheap cocktails to get us going for the night. We moved onto Okert, supposedly the best club in Budapest for hip-hop and r&b music. It was not. The club is huge with lots of different rooms, but the hip-hop room was empty and lacking in energy, a shame.

Don't worry, it gets better. The next day we tried our luck and went to the ruin bar, Szimpla Kert. Ruin bars were built in the ruins of abandoned, old buildings, stores or lots. The majority of ruin bars are housed in the District VII (Jewish Quarter) neighbourhood. Luckily, our apartment was situated right in the centre of District VII. Szimpla Kert is the OG ruin bar, the first of many - and I have to say, the best. Szimpla is a huge outdoor area with lots of different bars within it. There's even a shisha bar (if you know me, you'll know that's a big deal). This was a great place to grab cheap drinks, find a seat or stand and mingle with all the other tourists visiting Budapest. My friends and I had great (and not so great) conversations with people from all around the world. Would definitely recommend this place.

After Szimpla, we wanted to dance off the alcohol so we made our way to Instant. This was another ruin bar but had more of a club vibe. The music was louder and people were dancing rather than chatting/making conversation. The hip-hop/r&b room towards the back of the bar was lots of fun and again, we met lots of interesting people inside there. As a side note, we briefly went into a regular bar called Funky Room that to our surprise (and delight!) were playing afrobeats. We searched up and down for a club called Intoto that supposedly played afrobeats all night, but once we reached the location, there was nothing there? Another shame.

Overall, the nightlife in Budapest is very enjoyable. If you have the right company with you like I did, you'll have an amazing time!

Food

I've been battling with myself as to whether architecture, nightlife or food is most important to me when travelling. I think food reigns supreme and Budapest most definitely delivered.  Unfortunately I didn't get many snaps of our food because it was THAT good but I will let you know where we ate and what we enjoyed (basically everything). Garzon - this lovely restaurant near the Jewish Quarter had cheap and cheerful burgers that we all loved. I had a cheeseburger, chips and coleslaw for only 2470 Forints which works out at around £6.50. I also added on a strawberry mojito for 1490 Forints (£3.92). A bloody bargain right?!

After a heavy night out, we were all craving something juicy, fatty and full of calories. We found a restaurant called EPIC which seemed to be inspired by American diner food. The burgers were juicy, wholesome and everything you'd want to cure a hangover. I paid 1900 Forints for a burger, chips and a drink (£5). The food in Budapest is shockingly cheap yet worth every single penny.

The last restaurant I'd recommend is one we found on a whim during our last day in Budapest - Il Terzo Cerchio. I never would have predicted finding amazing Italian food in Hungary, but somehow, we did. I opted for the Petto D'Anatra Con Pere E Noci Caramellate Con Pure Di Patate (Duck breast with caramelised walnut and pear served with mashed potatoes). This meal was gourmet and honestly looked like it should have come from a Michelin starred restaurant. Delicious.

#TheBlackLens

This is the part of my blog where I'll discuss my experience of travelling specifically from the lens of a black woman. As stated before, when I first realised we were visiting Eastern Europe, I was quite anxious. I had read accounts from bloggers like Black Girl in Budapest, seen racist comments from Hungarians and was left quite disheartened and on edge for our trip. However, Hungary truly surprised me. The locals were warm, welcoming and very hospitable. Perhaps this is because they are used to tourists from all over the world but besides a few stares, I wasn't made to feel hyper-aware of my blackness or othered. Despite this, simply because I nor my friends didn't experience any racism or xenophobia, does not mean it isn't happening in Hungary at all. On our way to Szimpla Kert one night, we heard a man disgustingly yell "Big N****r Girl" to a woman entering the club. This was our first time hearing or seeing such overt racism in Budapest and it undoubtedly shocked us. On the whole, Budapest is a beautiful city and I would implore other black travellers to consider Hungary as their next destination.

That was definitely my longest blog post yet! Budapest is such an amazing city, there is so so much to do: explore, eat, drink and enjoy. Despite the length of this post, I still have many other activities in Budapest to recommend so please do contact me or leave a comment if you will be going to Budapest soon! I hope you enjoyed this blog post, I certainly enjoyed reliving the memories of Budapest and the great time I had with my friends.

Until next time.. Happy roaming!

*All photos were taken by myself on my Canon EOS 4000D or iPhone XS*