Budapest in December – Christmas markets, lights and delicious food

Budapest was the second city of our pre-Christmas car trip of central Europe. After the nice emotions and the wonderful sightseeing we had in Vienna, топлината, с която унгарската столица бе готова да ни посрещне се усещаше, от километри. Не само, че градусите бяха по-високи и го нямаше виенския хладен полъх, а самата емоция, която предизвика градът още при влизането, беше страхотна! Може би близостта до балканските нрави си оказваше влиянието и хората сякаш бяха по-топли и гостоприемни, готови да превърнат почивката на всеки турист в незабравимо изживяване. Много бързо се почувствахме уютно и готови за нов маратон.

It was my third time visiting the city and it really felt like home. We we were about to spend two nights in Budapest, and I had lined up a lot of sights and places to visit. We booked a hostel in downtown, at a strategic location, convenient for parking and the perfect starting point for the following days. We arrived in the evening, quickly settled in and immediately ran outside to the Budapest Christmas Markets, to have some dinner and walk around. We chose to go to Basilica of "St. Stephen" (Szent István-bazilika). Every year at the square in front of the Basilica they place one of the largest and most well-arranged Christmas markets. A multitude of culinary aromas intertwined with each subsequent step. Hungarian cuisine is quite close to Balkan cuisine. However, they also have their culinary masterpieces, for which they are famous all over the world. One of the most famous is "Goulash", which is a soup with vegetables and beef. Its name comes from the Hungarian gulyás, from gulya - "cowboy". The dish is a real tourist attraction as it is often served in a hollowed-out bread bowl.

After a hearty meal accompanied with Christmas carols and bells, we had a glass of fruity mulled wine to warm ourselves and walked around the central streets of the city. Christmas carols and jingles were everywhere, the shops were crowded with cleverly arranged goods that beckoned from the shelves to go in and spend a lot of money. 😀 In that time of the year the city center is always beautifully decorated with many glowing garlands and different shapes that take you to another world. It was time to turn the direction to the hostel for a quick sleep, because a long and full of new emotions day was yet to come.

Early next morning we were ready for another adventure. Traditionally, at breakfast, with a cup of coffee and a map of the city, we make the schedule for the day. Luckily, there was an extremely cozy restaurant very close the hostel. We had local Hungarian delicacies, enjoying soft Christmas tunes and super warm and nice atmosphere. We felt super empowered and ready for the next tour.

The city of Budapest is a result of the merger of two separate settlements in the past - Buda and Pest, separated by the Danube River. A few years after the construction of the first bridge, connecting the two settlements, the largest city appeared, which also became the capital of Hungary - Budapest. Our tour began by passing through that same bridge - the "Chain bridge" (Széchenyi Lánchíd), in the direction of the "Castle district". It is located on the Buda side, on a hill from which there are fascinating views of the river and the bridges, as well as of the Pest region. The most remarkable building on the hill and one of the symbols of the city is Buda Castle (Budavári Palota). Built in the 13th century, the castle was the residence of the Hungarian kings. The complex underwent several destructions and restorations in order to be able to look in this majestic way today and to gather several museums - the Historical Museum of Budapest, the National Gallery and the National Library. 

The Royal Palace is within walking distance from Buda Castle. At first glance, the building looks pretty ordinary compared to Buda Castle, but it has an active guard and it is the now residence of the Hungarian president and his family. 

Two other remarkable buildings are located very close by - the church of "St. Matthias (Mátyás templom)) and the Fishermen's Bastion. The church was named after a famous Hungarian king who got married twice in that same church. Nowadays, it is one of the most desired places for weddings by the locals. 

The bastion, despite its name, never had a fortification function, considering its construction only at the beginning of the 20th century. It is a huge terrace with fabulous views. After the short photo session against the background of the parliament building, Danube river and the bridges, we headed down the hill. Suddenly, we found ourselves in front of the majestic Parliament, standing proudly and imposingly on the other side of the river.

The Parliament of Hungary is one of the most beautiful buildings in the country. It is the second largest in Europe, after the Romanian Parliament in the city of Bucharest, and third in the world - the largest is in Brazil. The construction of the building began in 1885 and took 17 years. This happened during a period of dynamic economic growth in the country. It is interesting to note that almost all of the materials used for the construction were from local hungarian manufacturers and craftsmen. About 40 kilograms of 22- and 23-carat gold were used for its decoration. If you are planning to visit the Parliament inside, it's a good idea to buy your tickets online in advance, because the lines get pretty long and it may take a lot of time waiting to get in.

Our tour continued to Elizabeth square (Erzsébet tér), where they had recently installed the Budapest Eye, a great panoramic Ferris wheel, which was actually our destination. After walking around the Buda area, we needed a little rest and the wheel was a wonderful chance to take a breath and enjoy the city from the above. Before going up, we stopped at the Christmas market on the square to eat some delicious kurtos (Kürtőskalács), typical hungarian Christmas sweets. For those who haven't tried it, it is a sweet sugar dough rolled into a thin strip, rolled around a cylinder and sprinkled with sugar. The interesting thing is that it is baked on a bed of coals with the cylinders rotating to evenly bake all sides and caramelize the sugar. If you would like,they may serve it with various toppings - chocolate, caramel, crushed nuts, sugar sticks and any other upon your taste.

After the short but very pleasant rest, we got on the M1 metro line and got off at Heroes' Square (Hősök tere). It can also be reached on foot along the boulevard Andrássy, which has often been compared to the French Champs-Elysées. The square is considered as a symbol of the city. It is the largest and it is famous for the impressive memorial monument with sculptures of the leaders of the seven Magyar tribes that founded the country. In 2002 it becomes part of the UNESCO cultural heritage. The Museum of Fine Arts and the Kunsthalle are also located at the square, on each side of the monument. It's a major tourist destination and usually there are always crowds of people there, but somehow we managed to hit the moment and when it was almost empty. This beauty is on the territory of the large city park Városliget, which also houses: The zoo and the Botanical garden of Budapest, the mineral baths dating from 1913 (Széchenyi), an ice rink, an amusement park and a bunch of other places to have fun.

As it became darker, the temperature outside got significantly cooler and it was time for my favorite low-budget and warm panoramic tram tour along the Danube. Tram #2, festively decorated outside and inside, created a great Christmas feeling and took us through the most beautiful part of the city. To get there, from Heroes' Square we took the M1 metro line back to Oktogon station and from there we took tram #6 (or #4) to the Jászai Mari tér stop. I've been on this line before, it's always very scenic, but that time was truly exceptional. Budapest at night is amazing through the eyes of freezing cold tourists with red noses, staring out from the windows of a bright and warm tram, trying to soak up every view. That doesn't sound very exciting, at first glance, but that trip felt extremely romantic at that moment. We made almost a complete circuit and got off at the stop near the Parliament. The building is one of the most impressive architectural creations I have ever seen. During the day it is very beautiful as well, but at night it literally could make me breathless.

It had already become dinner time and we walked to the square in front of the basilica again. We heard it was supposed to be presented a 3D sound and light projection on the basilica building and we were very impatient to attend. It was the perfect ending of our tour through the main attractions in the central part of the city.

The next day was the last of our pre-Christmas trip to Vienna and Budapest. We only had about 5-6 hours more and then we had to go back home. On that day we mainly used the metro so we could save some time and see as much as possible. After a super quick breakfast, we first headed to the city park and the ice skate again. It was a bit chilly but yet there were enthusiastic people ice-skating that early.

The very last stop of the 2-day Budapest marathon was the most panoramic and very beautiful view - up on Gallert hill (Gellért-hegy) at 230m height above the Danube River. The hill is named after the Italian bishop Gallert, who helped the country's first Christian king with the baptism of Hungarians. The legend says that the bishop was killed by pagans by being locked in a barrel and rolled down the slopes of the hill. A full-length monument of him is laid at the foot of the hill, facing the white bridge and the cathedral.
In 1851 on the highest point the Austrians built the citadel (Citadella) - a fortress used for military control. Along with the Statue of Liberty, it is one of the city's main sights. The monument (Szabadság szobor) is a 26m high statue of a woman, holding a palm leaf in both hands, rising it triumphantly. It was built in 1947 in gratitude to the Soviet Republic for its help in liberating Hungary from Nazi Germany.
When the weather is clear, the view is absolutely outstanding. Although it was cloudy then, we were still able to enjoy it and take some nice photos.

That was the end of our 5-day pre-Christmas road trip. We had to nearly ride 800 km on the way home, discussing what we had seen and enjoying the emotions experienced during the past few days. Budapest and Vienna at Christmas - beauty, festive decorations, Christmas spirit, cosiness, warm punch or mulled wine, traditional cuisine and sights - so many reasons to visit these two cities in December!

If you wanted to check out how we planned the whole trip and what we had in mind before we booked everything, you could start from hereAnd if you would like to receive emails with travel ideas, planning trips and tips, subscribe to the newsletter.