Walking Tour of Budapest 1

Exploring Budapest

Points of Interest by Foot

Hungarian Parliament Building

Hungarian Parliament Building

The third largest parliament building in the world - the Hungarian Parliament Building is the seat of national assembly of Hungary. This impressive Neo-Gothic structure is also the symbol of Hungary and its capital city. Apart from being the building of Hungary's law-making body, it also houses the Hungarian Holy Crown, and the offices of the Prime Minister.

Facade

Adult admission fee is HUF 2400 (EU citizens).

Kossuth Square

Part of Kossuth Square

Considered as the main square of the nation - Kossuth Square was just recently reconstructed into a rational and sustainable park structure. The park is a no-traffic zone and there are still on-going plans on further developing the park.

Lion Fountain

Sitting in Vörösmaty Square, the Lion Fountain is considered among the most beautiful fountains in the city. It's a popular meeting point of several walking tours as it is conveniently located in one of the busiest hubs in downtown Budapest. The Vörösmaty Square is the start of the city's famous shopping street, Váci Utca.

The Lion FountainSt.

Stephen's Cathedral

St. Stephen's Cathedral is a Roman Catholic basilica named in honour of the first king of Hungary whose mummified right hand, the Szent Jobb ("the holy right hand") is housed in the reliquary.

St. Stephen's Cathedral

Going up to the cupola is a good way to see beautiful panoramic views of the city, while the St. Stephen's square offers plenty of terraced cafes and bistros that are perfect for people watching.

Admission into the basilica is free but it is customary to give HUF 200 or €1 donation. A separate ticket is needed to go up to the cupola.

Apart from Catholic services, the cathedral also organises organ concerts.

Little Princess statue

Little Princess Statue

Kiskirálylány - a small statue of a princess sitting on the railings of the Danube promenade. The original statute was created by an artist, László Marton, inspired by his eldest daughter born from his first marriage. It is one of Budapest's secret gems.

Chain Bridge

Chain Bridge

The Széchenyi Chain Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Danube River and linking Buda and Pest. Stretching between the Széchenyi Square on the Pest side to the Clark Ádám Square on the Buda side, this picturesque bridge symbolises the unification of what used to be divided sides of the Danube River into one city. It is the first bridge built to connect Buda and Pest.

Enjoy stunning views of the city from both ends of the bridge and while crossing it. It is also worth crossing at night when the bridge is lit up.

Castle Hill

Sitting on top of a hill on the Buda side, the Castle Hill is a walled complex bounded on the north by the Castle District which comprises the entire walled area of the hill. What used to be a bustling capital of Buda, the complex is the location for key attractions such as the Buda Castle (which now houses the Hungarian National Gallery and Budapest History Museum), the Fisherman's Bastion, and St. Matthias Church.

Buda Castle Hill Funicular

Get there either by riding the Buda Castle Hill Funicular (HUF 1,100 one way or 1,700 return) or taking the short hike up by the side of the hill.

Entrance to Buda Castle

Buda Castle is the historical castle and palace complex of the Hungarian kings.

Buda Castle Ruins

Buda Castle

The 700-year old Matthias Church is now a Roman Catholic church atop Buda Hill. It used to be the venue for coronations and royal weddings and was founded by the first king of Hungary, Szent Stephen. Marvel at its exterior with its delicate turrets and coloured tiled roof with welcoming combinations of warm lights, shadows and colours of orange, brown, and gold.

St. Matthias Church

Back of St. Matthias Church

Statue of St. Stephen and Matthias Church

The Fisherman's Bastion is the fairytale-like neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque style viewing terrace sitting on the edge of Buda Hill, overlooking the Danube and offering panoramic views of Budapest.

Panoramic views of Danube River and Pest from Fisherman's Bastion

Walk around the Old Town and explore its quaint streets.

Holy Trinity Statue

Grab some lunch at Piknik Pavilon, and try out the famous 7-layer Hungarian cake, Dobos torte at Ruszwurm Confectionery - the oldest family-run cafe in Budapest with a 200-year legacy.

Piknik Pavilon

Lunch: pork knuckles with potatoes and coleslaw, and spicy Hungarian sausage in a bun

Dobos torte

After exploring the old town, head back to the lookout in Buda Castle at golden hour to witness the beauty of Budapest as dusk approaches and darkness envelopes the city. And have another fine and relaxed stroll down the hill back to Pest.

View of Chain Bridge from Buda Castle lookout

Chain Bridge at night

View of Castle Hill from Pest side at night

Have dinner in Street Food Karaván - a collection of kiosks serving great-tasting food in Kazinczy Street.

Karaván

Experience a unique night out with good booze and eccentric decors at one of the city's largest and most famous ruin pubs, Szimpla Kert. Make sure to have at least one shot of Unicum - a herbal digestive liquor made up of about 40 different herbs, and the Palinka - a fruit brandy.

Szimpla Kert

And finally, end the night with a crazy Pub Crawl and have fun exploring different ruin pubs across the city with great company.

Pub Crawl

Expenses:

Lunch = 2950

Cake = 320

Dinner = 850

Szimpla Kert = 1450

Pubcrawl = 3000

TOTAL: HUF 8,570

Boracay: Paradise Island

Day 1: A Stretch of Sand

More than just a stretch of powdery white sand, Boracay island is an escape destination which has it all. It doesn't matter who you're traveling with, whether it be your family, friends, special someone, or just alone, whatever your plan is, this island's got it all for you.

Boracay Sand Castle

On our first day, we arrived at Kalibo Airport. Our airfare was availed as seat sale, and was only worth 1000 pesos per person. We booked a round-trip transport package from Manila Travel Tours, which was worth 950 pesos per person and was inclusive of a tour bus transfer to Caticlan port, an air-conditioned boat transfer to and from Boracay, and a tricycle transfer to drop us off at our hotel. The bus ride was around 3-4 hours, with one stop-over, while the boat ride was around 15 minutes. For our departure, they had a van fetch us from our hotel the morning of our departure, and then we boarded the air-conditioned boat back to Caticlan port. From the port, they gave us a private Toyota Vios (since there are only 4 of us in our group) back to Kalibo airport. The ride was shorter this time, around 2 hours tops because it's a private car and we didn't ask for a stop-over. I suggest that you avail of a transport package such as this so to avoid the hassle of the transfers if you're coming from Kalibo.

We booked a room for 4 pax for 3 nights at La Carmela de Boracay, which was located in the beachfront, so it's a big plus because you're just literally steps from the beach, but a bit far from establishments since it is located at the edge of Station 3. The facilities are good enough, and the service can be rated as average. The room was large enough for four pax, with 2 comfortable queen sized beds. The staff are accommodating, but we had to call multiple times just so they can respond to our needs such as when asking for fresh towels, or when we were asking them to sweep our room clean. The free breakfast buffet was simply cooked and was delicious, but they should add more variety to the food choices. We weren't able to try any of the pools they had but those are a plus too if you prefer swimming pools than the beach (which doesn't make sense at all, because the beach in Boracay is absolutely magnificent especially during -Ber months when it's not mossy).

After unloading our stuff at the room, we decided to explore the establishments along the beachfront. We grabbed a quick dinner at Bite Club located in D'Mall. For a meal of about 230 pesos per person, we had our tummies satisfied with their delicious burger meals.

Dinner at Bite Club

We then walked around D'Mall just to look around, and then headed to PubCrawl at Station 1 to acquire our t-shirts for an epic night out scheduled on our next day in Boracay.

Walking along the beachfront while we were heading back to our hotel is an activity in itself; you can do people watching or just enjoy the evening stroll with your friends. It's really nice to visit Boracay when it's not peak season because you can truly enjoy the island without the hassle of being too crowded by so many other visitors.

Costs for the day:
- Round trip Transport: 950 pesos
- Hotel: 1800 pesos
- PubCrawl: 735 pesos
- Bite Club Dinner: 225 pesos
Total = 3735 pesos