Working Remotely in Budapest, Hungary
The Parliament Building
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Budapest was described to us as “a larger Prague” which I’m not sure is entirely true. Budapest certainly has similar features to Prague: lots of cool old buildings, a castle, cute cafes on cobblestone streets, and an active club scene, but there’s a lot I liked about Prague that I missed in the part of Budapest we were staying in.
Prague had a lot more vegan food (surprisingly!) and parks on every block. Budapest was lacking parks but felt like a younger, more hip city. Prague won out on all levels with food, but we did find a coffeeshop we loved called Doubleshot that had amazing food as well that we went to pretty much every day. Being regulars at a cafe has its perks: the sweet people who worked there shared their new beetroot latte concoctions and gave my partner Kyle a custom drink based on what he kept ordering every day (the Blue Smurf — highly recommend!) So pick your favorite neighborhood cafe and be friendly!
I came down with a cold so I ended up missing a few of the tours we had scheduled, but here’s some of the things I loved in Budapest after I felt better!
Our Favorite Spots in Budapest
Budapest is made up of two halves: the Buda side and the Pest side. We stayed on the Pest side, which has the highest density of neat restaurants, bars, gelato places, and things to do. We only ventured to the Buda side twice: we went for dinner once, and my partner Kyle went on a tour of the Buda castle that has a cool view of the city.
If you’re going to Budapest, stay in the Pest side. We loved the Menninger Hostel, and had an incredible view from the top floor. Highly recommend!
The Széchenyi Thermal Baths are a must-see if you’re in Budapest. I’m all about geothermal hot-spring vibes anywhere in the world, and these baths were constructed back in 1909, and the water contains a bunch of good-for-you compounds. We soaked all day and our skin felt much softer and happier the next day.
The Budapest Eye is a ferris wheel in the middle of the Pest side of the city. It’s an overpriced tourist trap for sure, but the view is awesome.
One of the largest tourist attractions in Budapest is the Parliament Building. If you’re up for some breathtaking architecture and art, this is the place to go. Be sure to arrive on-time for your tour! We missed our first tour because we were late, and the English tours only run a few times per day.
Gelarto Rosa was our favorite gelato shop, and they make their gelato in the shape of roses. They’re open late and are a great after-dinner spot, as it’s located right across the street from St. Stephen’s Basilica which is lit up like a dream at night.
We went to The Stand — one of Budapest’s Michelin-star restaurants — for dinner at the end of our stay, and had some amazing Hungarian-inspired dishes. We did an eight-course vegetarian tasting menu, and my favorite dish was a tiny bagel. (I have a complex palate, okay?)
The best part about our trip to Budapest was easily State Foundation Day, which is Budapest’s Fourth of July. It’s on August 20th and is also known as St. Stephen’s Day, and it’s a party. The streets were flooded with young people all day, as various concerts and parades were happening everywhere in the streets. The fireworks went on for what felt like an hour, and the colors reflected off of the old buildings as they blossomed and exploded in the sky. If you’re planning on traveling to Budapest, around this holiday, be sure to book your hotel way in advance!
Remote Work Tips for Budapest
We were planning on going to a local co-working space here as there are no WeWorks in Budapest, but our hotel had awesome working spaces and fast WiFi, so we ended up just posting up there for our work sessions.
Most cafes and coffeeshops in Budapest have table service, so they’re not as laptop friendly, so either pick a hostel with a workspace or get day passes for a local co-working space.
Budapest is a walkable city, so we found no shortage of interesting Boba shops and coffeeshops to take mid-afternoon breaks exploring. The Great Market Hall has rows of vendors selling produce, locally-grown spices, and fresh-squeezed orange juice. We began every morning with some fresh-squeezed juice after breakfast before we began our work for the day.
Just like Prague, Budapest is incredibly cheap for US tourists. Especially for those of us living in Los Angeles. For $20 in Budapest, you can get a breakfast for two that consists of: an oatmilk latte with two shots of espresso, a blue smurf spirulina hot drink, a huge avocado toast dish, and a smoothie bowl with fresh fruit and seeds. In LA, you’re spending $40 for all that, easy.
How to Plan Your Budapest Trip
To be completely honest, I liked our stay in Prague ten times more than Budapest. (Don’t worry, I’d never lie to you on this blog. Cross my heart!)
To see the highlights of Budapest, I’d recommend planning a three-day trip where you do a walking tour of the major sites, take a tour of the Parliament Building, hit up the ruin bars, go to the baths, and drink coffee outside of Doubleshot every morning.
And then if you haven’t already — go to Prague :)
We’re in Naples now and are headed to the Amalfi Coast next. Traveling during this time is definitely interesting as the EU just recommended travel bans for US tourists (America you did this to yourself) and we’re hoping it won’t impact our travel. We’re planning on spending the next two months in Italy, so we’ll see how it all goes.
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