Besotted With Budapest!

With ultra warm, hospitable people all around, one can never get lost in this country, only except for being lost in the thought of the lovely locales. Leaving the popular European tourist trail, I got the opportunity to discover perfect panoramas, historic architecture, music, art and wonderful vodka in Central Europe’s delight- the popular destination Budapest in Hungary. By Kavita Shyam

This city of Budapest offers an exciting range of gourmet, sightseeing and shopping options are aplenty. This bustling city with efficient trams and subways makes for an extremely pretty sight. The beautiful city of Budapest just begs to be discovered, on foot so hang up your stilettos and pull out your sneakers instead.

The Hungarian capital fascinates visitors for its cosmopolitan charm and diverse architectural splendour. There are several bridges across the Danube river connecting Buda and Pest and the famous one being the Liberty Bridge. Me and my tour-mates cruised down the Danube river on a lavish speedboat, even though it was pouring, it sure didn’t dampen out spirits and we managed to take some exotic pictures from the fun ride. We took a walk down to check out the monuments in the Szobor Park, which can easily remind visitors of the socialism era.
The city is also home to some wonderful natural spas, medicinal baths, saunas, thermal springs, dipping pools all steeped in tradition, and the renowned one being Széchenyi Bath and Spa. I saw a huge pool of people waiting to get into this famous bath area to beat the summer heat!
A must visit for visitors would be the Hungarian State Opera House which can surely blow your mind as a visual delight, because of its sheer grandiose. It is home to the Budapest opera ball, it is a richly decorated building and is considered one of the architect’s masterpieces. Each year the opera season lasts from September to the end of June and besides opera performances the Opera House is home to the Hungarian National Ballet.

My second day in Budapest saw me chalking out quite a few places on my tour guided list. I visited the castle district, which is picturesque area; it can be called as the epitome of romance what with its dreamy pedestrian districts and arm in arm couples all around. A quick visit to Halászbástya restaurant was lined up on my agenda too, for a drink, and voila, it was the prettiest sight ever, with lovers sitting around over candle lit tables and sharing sweet nothings.
I followed up this visit by a hopping into a fancy Hungarian dinner place called the Pierrot restaurant, which instantly completed my day.I got to visit the numerous hidden treasures at the downtown complete with interesting structures, and lush green parks, I nearly travelled back in time, when discovering the streets of the present-day Jewish quarter, with synagogues, old buildings, memorials, flamboyant boulevards, structures, Jewish sights of the Jewish districts and felt the heartbeat of the once flourishing Jewish neighbour-hood of Budapest.
Last on my agenda was the Lazar Equestrian Park, which was a not-to-be-missed eminent horse stable complete with Hungarian hospitality. Since its opening thousands of tourists, corporates and newlyweds have held their receptions here. I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to watch the spectacular horse shows, which bring to life the traditions of the Hungarian horsemanship.

Needless to say, I fell in love even more with the remarkable city and its culture. In my opinion, cruising on the Danube besides a sumptuous meal at the Indian dinner at Indigo restaurant completes ones visit to Budapest, No wonder, this city is extremely popular with film-makers across the world. An evening in Budapest can be spent unwinding over coffee and cakes in the old, cozy cafes of the city, besides the night life in the city is bustling with energy.
For shopping one can hop across to Hilton’s mall or the great market for curios and bargain buys. I managed to shop for clothes, leather bags, Hungarian dolls, folk-art souvenirs, Zsolnay Porcelains completed my shopping list. Market Hall is a paradise for gourmands, from Hungarian foods, red-hot chilli peppers to wines, this place has it all. Budapest is home to fashionable and fit people; therefore shopping centres hosting big brands, is also a common sight.
For the party crawlers, hop across to Ruin Pubs, to have a cocktail which is a meeting place of local people of all ages which mix the culture, creativity and fun in the same place. I was completely smitten with Budapest, calling this lovely city picture perfect, might be an under-statement! Pretty as a picture and beckoning to be explored and trampled upon, on foot, this marvelous city calls you back for more!