Travel | Budapest Cityguide

Last summer holiday, I went to Budapest with my girlfriend and her mother. Even though Paris is my most favorite city ever, Budapest is coming closer everytime I'm there. I love strolling around the streets of Budapest, discovering new cute stores and places to eat. Budapest has got a lot to offer, and today I'm showing you my favorite places in the city. Budapest is actually a unification of two different cities: Buda (on the western side of the Danube) and Pest (the eastern side). In this cityguide, I'm focussing on Pest, as we've only been there ;).We arrived at Budapest Déli train station and took the subway (which is super cheap, by the way) to Astoria, from where you can easily get to the best places the city has to offer. Take note: here are some things you definitely want to see when you're in Budapest!

VÁCI UTCA
Váci Utca is the main shopping street of the city. Apart from well known stores as H&M, Stradivarius and Hugo Boss, you can also find some cute souvenir stores. When it comes to souvenirs, I'd like to recommend the Hungarian Shopping Market, which is located next to Casablanca Restaurant & Steak House (Váci Utca 30). It's definitely not cheap, but then again: you're in Budapest, on the main shopping street. You probably won't find any cheap souvenirs here ;).

THE REGIONS SURROUNDING KÁROLY AND KIRÁLY UTCA
I could plan a new trip just to stroll around Király Utca and search the streets for the best vintage stores. Make sure to stop at Retrock (Anker Köz 2) and Szputnyik Shop (at either Dohány Utca 20 or Király Utca 22), but I'll tell you more about these stores later.
Ludovika (Rumbach Sebestyén utca 15) is another great vintage store. They don't just sell great clothes for good prices, but you can also gaze for hours at the amazing wall art. Or take a seat in the window upstairs, while checking out some of the best vintage cut off shorts in all kinds of colors.
You can also find some great bars and restaurants in the Jewish quarter. You can have lunch at Hummus Bar (Wesselenyi Utca 14, but also on many other streets as it is a franchise), a good spot if you're a vegetarian / vegan. And, good to know: you can get a 10% discount with your student card. Ka-ching!
Looking for some place else to eat? Check out Goszdu Udvar (entrance at Király Utca 13), a street with so many cute bars, you probably won't know where to take a seat. Everything is very, very appealing. My personal favorites were Blue Bird Café for drinks (their lemonade is to die for) and Spiler for dinner. I'll tell and show you more later.

CAT CUDDLING AT RÉVAY UTCA 3
Crazy cat lady's can cuddle to their heart's content at Révay Utca 3, where you can find CatCafé Budapest. They have a total of 10 cats and every single one of them is cute. My favorite was a huge red maine coone. He was super soft and probably liked cake very much, because he couldn't keep his eyes off of all the deliciousness they sold at the cafe. Tip: order a catpuccino, it's super cute!

OTHERS
My personal favorite Hungarian store is Mono Fashion, which is directly near the subway station Astoria, at Kossuth Lajos Utca 20. You can buy affordable designs from contemporary Hungarian designers. It's a great place to find some unique pieces of clothing! My favorite brand the store's got to offer is Nubu. Nubu also has a pop-up store at Szervita tér 3 and a flagship store at Andrassy Utca 13 (near the CatCafe!).
If you walk from Mono Fashion to Vaci Utca, you'll walk past Mono Art & Design at Kossuth Lajos Utca 12. This is a gallery and design store at once, with art, fashion, interior and lots of stuff you'll want to have (like the temporary tattoos from Tattly).
Budapest is known for it's beautiful spa's and thermal baths. If you're ready for some serious relaxation, you can check out one of the 118 (!) thermal springs in the city. Personally, we were too busy shopping to relax, but you can find some of the best baths over at this website. Enjoy!
If you have more tips for this beautiful city, please don't hesitate to let me know in the comments!
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