Budapest was the second stop on our trip, and I think it may have been the biggest surprise.

I knew it would be beautiful. I knew about the Danube and the Parliament building. I knew we wanted to visit the thermal baths and one of the famous ruin bars.

But I didn't expect Budapest to be quite so much fun.

We ate some of the best food of our entire trip, took one of my favorite food tours we've ever done, soaked in thermal baths, drank something that tasted absolutely terrible in the name of experiencing Hungarian culture 😂, stayed out late at a ruin bar and saw Budapest lit up from the Danube at night.

If Vienna felt elegant and polished, Budapest felt a little edgier, quirkier and more unexpected.

And I loved that about it.

Arriving in Budapest

We arrived from Vienna aboard the Majestic Imperator Train de Luxe, which I talked more about in my Vienna post.

After four hours of eating lunch, drinking Champagne and playing cards on the train, we arrived in Budapest and jumped almost immediately into a city tour with our group.

Budapest is actually divided by the Danube into two historic sides: Buda and Pest.

Buda is the hillier side, where you'll find Castle Hill, Fisherman's Bastion and Matthias Church. Pest is flatter and busier and is home to Parliament, restaurants, bars and much of the nightlife.

We stayed at Al Habtoor Palace Budapest, which gave us a great home base for exploring the city.

And then, on our very first night, we somehow managed to eat two dinners.

The Best Restaurant of Our Entire Trip

Our original dinner reservation that night was at Retek Mini, a small restaurant serving traditional Hungarian food at 9pm.

But one of our son's friends had told us we absolutely needed to try Goli.

So naturally I made us a reservation there for 7pm.

We figured we'd have a drink and maybe order an appetizer before our later reservation.

That turned into dinner number one. 😂

And thank goodness it did because Goli was our favorite restaurant of the entire trip. By a long shot.

The food was creative and different from anything else we ate on this trip. It wasn't the traditional meat-and-potatoes Hungarian experience we were expecting, which was part of what made it so memorable.

Then, because apparently one dinner wasn't enough, we continued on to our reservation at Retek Mini.

Retek gave us a much more traditional Hungarian experience, so somehow our accidental two-dinner evening worked perfectly.

Not necessarily something I'd recommend doing every night on vacation.

But no regrets.

Castle Hill and Fisherman's Bastion

The next morning we headed across the Danube (walked across the famous Chain Bridge) to the Buda side of the city.

Our original plan was to ride the historic Buda Castle Funicular up Castle Hill, but we discovered something even better:

There are free elevators and escalators.

So we skipped the funicular and made our way up for free.

Once you're at the top, this is one of those areas where you really just want to walk around.

We explored the Castle District and went to Fisherman's Bastion, which has some of the best views in Budapest. From there, you can look across the Danube toward the Hungarian Parliament building.

We also saw Matthias Church, although we didn't have time to go inside.

If you're visiting Budapest for the first time, I would absolutely put this area on your list.

One of the Best Ways to Experience a City: Take a Food Tour

That afternoon we did something I have become a huge fan of when we travel: a food tour.

We booked a private Hungarian food tour through Withlocals, and our guide was Nicholas.

This was one of the best things we did in Budapest.

Before the trip, I had sent Nicholas our itinerary and told him some of the restaurants and experiences we already had planned. He used that information to personalize the tour so we weren't simply repeating foods we'd already eaten.

That's one of the reasons I love doing a food tour early in a visit.

Yes, you eat.

But you're also walking through neighborhoods, learning history, hearing about everyday life and getting explanations for things you would otherwise walk right past.

It's basically a city tour with snacks.

What could be better?

What We Ate on Our Hungarian Food Tour

We tried quite a few things, but there were a couple of Hungarian foods you definitely need to know about.

Lángos is a Hungarian fried flatbread. Think warm fried dough topped with savory ingredients. One of the traditional versions is topped with sour cream and cheese.

Then there's chimney cake, or kürtőskalács.

The dough is wrapped around a cylinder and baked while rotating, creating a crispy caramelized outside and soft interior. You'll see them being made all over Budapest. We enjoyed it with cinnamon or crushed walnuts.

And then Nicholas introduced us to Unicum.

Oh, Unicum.

Unicum is a traditional Hungarian herbal liqueur made from a secret blend of herbs and spices. It dates back to the late 1700s and was originally associated with digestion.

This sounds intriguing.

It tastes...less intriguing.

It is very bitter, very herbal and VERY distinctive.

I can't say I enjoyed drinking it.

But I am glad I tried it.

And that's exactly why I love food tours. Someone hands you a mysterious Hungarian herbal liqueur you would never order on your own and says, "You have to try this."

So you do. Once.

Budapest From the Danube at Night

That evening our group took a dessert cruise on the Danube.

If you're going to Budapest, see the city from the river at night.

The views were breathtaking.

Budapest is gorgeous during the day, but once the sun goes down and the buildings along the Danube are illuminated, it becomes something completely different.

The Hungarian Parliament building is spectacular at night, and seeing it from the water was one of those moments when everyone just starts taking pictures even though you know the pictures aren't going to do it justice.

This was easily one of the most beautiful experiences of our time in Budapest.

And Then We Went to a Ruin Bar

After our very civilized dessert cruise, we changed gears completely.

We headed to Szimpla Kert, Budapest's most famous ruin bar.

Ruin bars started popping up in Budapest in abandoned and deteriorating buildings in the old Jewish Quarter. Instead of completely renovating the spaces, they leaned into the crumbling architecture and filled them with mismatched furniture, art, lights, random objects and multiple bars.

Szimpla Kert feels like a maze.

Every time you turn a corner, there's another room, staircase, bar or strange little space.

We had heard we should arrive before 10 PM because it gets packed.

Well...

It was packed.

And we had an absolute blast.

This was easily one of the highlights of Budapest for us.

Even if you're not someone who normally seeks out nightlife when you travel, I think Szimpla Kert is worth seeing simply because it is such a uniquely Budapest experience.

The Széchenyi Thermal Baths

The next morning we did another Budapest must: Széchenyi Thermal Bath.

Budapest is famous for its thermal baths, and this isn't simply something created for tourists. Hungary has a long tradition of bathing in mineral-rich thermal water, including therapeutic use.

Széchenyi's thermal water contains minerals including calcium, magnesium and bicarbonate, and the bath itself lists therapeutic uses related to certain joint and orthopedic conditions. There is even a medical area where some treatments are provided by prescription.

So this is part spa experience, part social tradition and part actual therapeutic bathing culture.

Széchenyi is enormous, with indoor and outdoor thermal pools at different temperatures, saunas, steam rooms and cold plunge pools. The official bath information actually recommends limiting time in its indoor medical pools to about 20 minutes at a time.

We spent about three and a half hours there.

And my verdict?

I'm really glad we did it. I'm not sure I need to do it again.

It was fascinating and unlike anything I'd experienced before. I especially liked the outdoor pools, saunas, steam rooms and cold plunge.

Some of the indoor areas, though, felt a little dirty to me. And after a while, there are only so many different pools of hot water you can sit in.

Still, I think Széchenyi is absolutely worth experiencing once because thermal bathing is such an interesting part of Budapest culture.

One tip: we booked a package with a private changing cabin, towel and flip-flops, which made the experience much easier.

Lunch at Gundel

After the baths, we walked over to Gundel for lunch.

Gundel is one of Budapest's historic restaurant institutions, and part of the reason we wanted to go was simply to experience a restaurant that has been part of the city for so long.

This was another opportunity to try traditional Hungarian food.

And, of course, the famous Gundel pancake had to happen.

By this point in the trip, I think it's safe to say we had fully committed to experiencing Budapest through food.

What I'd Recommend for a First Trip to Budapest

If you're visiting Budapest for the first time, I would give yourself at least three days.

Spend time on both the Buda and Pest sides of the river. Go up Castle Hill and see Fisherman's Bastion. Take a food tour. Try the Hungarian foods even when you aren't entirely sure what you're ordering.

Experience one of the thermal baths at least once.

See Budapest from the Danube at night.

And go to a ruin bar.

Even if you're thinking, I don't know if a ruin bar is really my thing. Go. (and go earlier than we did!)

Budapest is one of those cities where some of the experiences that sound a little strange beforehand end up being the things you talk about the most afterward.

And definitely make a reservation at Goli.

Just maybe don't schedule another dinner two hours later. 😉

Budapest Surprised Me: Food, Thermal Baths, Ruin Bars & More