Budapest

We visited Budapest for two nights in October 2023. The weather was dry and it’s a really attractive city. We managed to pack a lot in in a short time and the hotel we stayed at was great for family travel. 

The journey

We travelled with Easyjet to Budapest airport, and from there took a taxi to the centre of the city. There are taxis at the airport so you don’t need to book in advance - when you arrive there is a kiosk and you pay for the taxi before your journey. There are also buses into the city from the airport. 

Where we stayed

We stayed at Callas House a lovely hotel in the centre. The hotel doesn’t have lounges or communal spaces, and the breakfast is served in the restaurant next door. However our rooms were perfect, we had two bedrooms connected by a small sitting area and two large bathrooms. All very nicely decorated and there was a rooftop terrace we could access too with great views of the opera house next door.

How we spent our time

When we arrived there were a lot of leaflets for places to visit in the hotel lobby. My son was instantly attracted by the leaflet for the Tropicarium and decided that is where we should go. So I booked tickets online for the next day. That afternoon we walked through the city and visit the Central Market Hall, a really attractive building with lots to look at, before having dinner at the restaurant connected to the hotel. 

The following morning we took two trains out of the city into the suburbs to the Tropicarium. The train network was really easy to use and added to the adventure. The Tropicarium is within an out of town shopping centre – it’s a weird location and the area is not one that you would generally visit during a holiday to Budapest. However the kids absolutely loved it. There were loads of sea animals to see and we spent the whole morning there. We then had a fast food lunch in the shopping centre before going back into the city centre. 

Once back in the city centre we went to Buda Castle. The journey involved quite a lot of walking and the children were tired and unimpressed with the traditional castle after the wonders of the Tropicarium, however in the end they enjoyed the visit and for me it was more interesting learning about the history of Budapest.

The next day was our last but we had booked a late evening flight home, giving us the whole day in Budapest. So we visited Margaret Island and the Palatinus Baths. Budapest is famous for its thermal springs and baths, however children are not allowed to use some of them. Palatinus is open to children, and its location on Margaret Island means there is plenty to keep them entertained. Margaret Island is a large park with lots of activities including playgrounds, musical fountains and a small zoo so you can easily spend a whole day there especially if you visit Palatinus for a couple of hours. Palatinus was clean and not too busy – I expect it is very busy in the summer – but it is an old building from the 1920s so don’t expect very modern facilities. There are indoor and outdoor thermal baths, some of which are for over 14s only. The indoor kids pool has a small slide designed for younger children, and not all the outdoor pools were open due to the time of year. However we really enjoyed ourselves and it was nice being in the warm water outside in the crisp autumn weather.