BUDAPEST: HOW TO MAKE THE CITY YOURS ALONE

I recently set off to Budapest, Hungary, with a guy I had literally only known for two days (more on that soon). Little did I know that I would step into a gorgeous little fairytale that would leave me tossing and turning in bed at home for nights after. Budapest was a beautiful place with a perfect mix of history and pace – and we managed to scout out all the little crowd-free crevices. Looking out over the city, balancing on a little rock wall 20 feet from anyone else with a curious stranger, you really find yourself falling in love with a place quickly.

WHERE TO EAT

Eat around the backstreet rather than the main strip – goes as saying, but be wary of the shadow-bound men begging you to buy cannabis (will only happen about three times a minute). 

Central market is not just a place for small family run restaurants to source new ingredients, or for local farmers to barter their produce, but is also a large part of the food culture. Natives flood to the stalls for snacks and treats, and it is one of the few places in the heart of the city to feed you genuine Hungarian food. Almost completely devoid of tourists, be prepared to be the only person in the queue to have a camera around your neck.

Városliget City Park, whilst slightly out of the way, is the most gorgeous slice of greenery in the capital. Sit down outdoors and test out your Hungarian as you order lunch surrounded by forestry, sunshine, and a sudden and absolute adoration for the city.

WHERE TO WANDER, CROWD-FREE

It’s all good and dandy to tell y’all to arrive at places at sunrise, or avoid bank holidays and summer vacation – but for the centre of Pest, it’s more about the “where” than the “when.”

Pre-book a sunset cruise for a personal river tour sailing between Buda and Pest (sometimes stopping at Margaret Island). Snatch up one of the seats at the little balcony of the boat and sit back as live music plays, waiters bring champagne and pineapple juice, and the sun glances your skin as waves hit the side of the boat.

St Stephen’s Basilica during the end of service hours will secure a chance to view the ancient cathedral without much camera clicking from tourists, with the possibility of witnessing divinely dressed priests preaching softly in Hungarian tongue.

Linger around Kossuth Square and catch a glimpse of capital guards patrolling the grounds in traditional military uniform, and see if you can find the chilly underground massacre museum near parliament.

Ride on the Felnott Jegy eye and witness the best view of the city from the comfort of a private chamber on the big wheel.

Visit the Vajdahunyad Castle and grounds – side-stepping the crowds of the fairytale village to the Hungarian Agricultural Museum. Nearing closing time, entry is free, and the museum itself is so silent and empty that your whispers will echo around the stag skulls decorating the walls.

Clamber to the top of Gellert Hill and spot the endless queues of tourists, then look towards the seating on the right and notice the difference. From there, you can clamber up the side of the wall – just out of reach of the other unknowing tourists – and look across the fey city beneath you. My favourite spot in the whole of Budapest, you get a private piece of the capital all to yourself. For just a few minutes, it was all ours, alone.

WATCH OUT FOR

• Train men pocketing the change from the machine without you noticing
• Taxis – hailing is a real monopoly, with a journey one day costing 1200ft, and 5000ft the next
• Restaurants away from the main strip. It goes without saying that it will be more expensive, but when you can only afford one sandwich between two people to suffice as an evening meal, you’ll definitely regret not stopping at the backstreet összejövetel with live music and local cuisine for half the price
• Avoid the fövá Rosi Nagycirkusz! Whilst it’s hilarious and mega entertaining, after visiting we discovered just how thorough their recent exploitation of endangered animals was – and paying to support abuse is never okay
• Beggars are a lot more subtle and friendly than in places like Rome and Antalya – receive an inordinately enlightening book, or a chance to play a violin (badly) to an audience of onlookers, for a small price that is classed as a donation, but also feels like a low-key mugging

Budapest quickly became one of my favourite countries in the world. Maybe it was because the whole place felt like a fairytale, or because I’d visited with someone who was as new to me as the capital, or maybe simply because we’d found a way to see everything without any tourists in the way. Regardless of the reason, I’ve found myself utterly infatuated with the capital – and crave another spontaneous, otherworldly adventure again.

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