We first visited Budapest back in 2009 and found it an exciting city full of energy, restoration, and development. Buildings were being refurbished, squares and roads repaved, and there was a strong sense of a city on the rise. We were very keen to see what it was like 15 years later.

We were not disappointed.

We arrived mid-afternoon on the bus from Banská Bystrica, Slovakia. The central bus station is conveniently located right next to a metro station, so two quick trains later we were at our lovely apartment in central Budapest.

The Budapest metro is clean, efficient, inexpensive, and felt completely safe. Our apartment for the week was one of the best short-term rentals we’ve ever had. Although small, it was in an excellent location, very comfortable, and the owner had thoughtfully equipped it with everything we needed.

Like the other cities on this trip, Budapest has a wonderful café culture. We quickly found a lovely local café for our morning coffee and settled into a pleasant daily routine.

We revisited the main sights, but the queues were enormous, so we mostly admired the buildings from the outside (we had seen them properly on our previous visit). We spent time relaxing in the beautiful park on Margaret Island in the middle of the Danube, enjoyed some excellent meals at local restaurants, and stocked up on Asian groceries at a very good Asian market.

Budapest feels prosperous and positive. It’s a big, vibrant city, so a week was the perfect amount of time. By the end of our stay we were ready to move on to a smaller town.