Twin centre Europe

Having a family wedding to attend gave good reason to travel back to Budapest; a city I’ve been visiting regularly since I was a small child in the 70’s. With the removal of the Iron Curtain in 1989 certain things have obviously changed (thankfully you don’t need to go and register with the local police on arrival any longer). What I can say, is that it’s become more cosmopolitan, but the elegance and beauty still remain.

Taking a toddler was perfect, as Budapest is very family friendly; plenty of open spaces and parks with fountains to run with wild abandon through, fully clothed, as only a toddler can do.

Budapest is split into 2 cities; one each side of the Danube; Buda on the west banks and Pest on the east. On the hilly Buda side, you can find the Grand Castle and Fisherman’s Bastion; a picturesque terrace from which to take in the sweeping views. Pest is the flatter more modern side with wide boulevards and modern shopping.

A trip to Budapest isn’t complete without a trip to the thermal baths. Whether it’s at the famous Gellert hotel, Szechenyi baths at City park or Palatinus baths on peaceful Margaret Island; a car free 2.5km long island located in the middle of the Danube river. You can watch the locals play chess whilst enjoying the thermal waters as they have chess boards built into the pool.

Another must do is a visit to the Great Market Hall located near Liberty Bridge for local delicacies; my advice is to head to the back of the market for cheaper goods. My favourite is the Akacmez honey (Acacia) simply delicious! Clothing is upstairs, locally embroidered textiles are popular and very pretty. A word of warning: try the Unicum at your peril!

Up in the Buda hills there is a Children’s railway where children pretty much run the show - bar drive the train of course. You can get off the train at various points and take any path by foot or bike back down to the city, there is even a small cable car giving you brilliant views of the surrounding area.

There are plenty of other things to do in the city; a visit to the House of Terror (Terrorhaza); a museum about the Communist regime, not for the faint hearted. The Jewish museum, Memento Park; an open-air museum full of statues from the Communist era, a tour around the Parliament building and you can just spend hours in Art Nouveau style cafes eating cakes so beautiful you have to photograph them first. Or if bars are your thing check out the Ruin pubs, the coolest pubs in the city. If you are looking for a day out of the city, I can recommend taking the boat along the Danube to Szentendre, an artist’s community just north of Budapest.

We wanted to stretch our city break and take in another country, with our 3-year-old in mind we though it easier to take a flight so we chose Italy. It was a short hour and a half flight to Bergamo over the alps and an hour’s drive from there to southern Lake Garda. We stayed at the Poiana Resort near the town of Garda. Perfect for families with its play area and huge pool it was a great base from which to discover the delights of the lake. We went on a bed and breakfast basis so that we could sample the local restaurants.

There are boats departing regularly to any point on the lake, of which Sirmione was a real highlight. We swam in the lake, ate endless ice cream and drank the stunning local Bardolino wine.

You can easily take day trips to the Dolomites, Venice, Verona and Milan from Garda. Having a little one we thought Verona would be the best as it wasn’t too far. Driving was easy but beware there are lots of toll roads. We visited Juliet’s house and the famous balcony and walked along Ponte Pietra; the oldest bridge in the city. We missed out on Opera at Arena di Verona (impressive Roman Amphitheatre) so will just have to return!

If you want to stretch your city break to give you more then get in touch and I'd be happy to tailor-make your next trip!