Another day another night train. After a full day in Prague, it’s time for another night train….
Journey to Budapest
Tonight it’s a six berth sleeper run by Czech trains. This time we have a companion as far as Bratislava – a cheerful man returning home from a fish conference.
Unlike the previous night, we cannot open the windows but the heating controls work better and the carriage is cooler.
The ticket Inspector advises us to lock our door as there have been a spate of thefts on the trains. Indeed, someone with a torch does try our (very) securely locked door at 3am!
We wake up to find our train following the Danube and arrive in Budapest at 8.30am today.
Our evening train departs from a different station so our first task is to drop the luggage there and have breakfast before we head into town.
Sight seeing in Budapest
First stop is the parliament building and a first view of the Danube. It looks impressive in pictures and even more so in real life. Budapest is really 2 cities in one with Buda on one side of the river, and Pest the other side.
You can cross over the chain bridge and walk up the hill to the National gallery and Castle. There are stunning views of the city from here. We spend the morning exploring and also visit The Fisherman’s Bastion. We find a cosy bagel shop in the old town for lunch.
After lunch, it is time to cross back over the Chain bridge back into Pest and stroll through the Christmas markets to St. Stephen’s Basilica. This is a beautiful Catholic church – light a candle to remember someone special.
You are probably feeling it would be nice to refeshen up after all this activity, and the Széchenyi Thermal Baths is just the place! This is a whole complex of indoor and outdoor pools ranging from 19-38 Celcius and several dry and wet saunas. We spent a very relaxed few hours trying them all.
Then there is time for dinner and back to the station for our 7pm train to Bucharest.
Pro tip from Man in Seat 61 is that your sleeper ticket gives you free access to the warm Premium lounge with free drink and food.
I hope you enjoyed our all too brief stay in this amazing city and we will meet you next in Bucharest…
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