Sustainable and fun hotspots in Budapest

A while ago I mentioned in one of my weekly diaries that I wanted to start a new category on this blog. Today I am actually doing that! This is the new category: hotspots. I want to share the sustainable hotspots with you from everywhere I’ve been. I’m sharing only the positive/sustainable hotspots. The things I don’t like won’t be included. This way you can read these posts and know where to go. So I present to you today: sustainable and fun hotspots in: Budapest!

Budapest

The past summer I went to Budapest for 11 days in total together with 3 friends (really 10, but those other friends stayed in different apartments). From these 11 days I went to the Sziget festival for 7 days, so these don’t really count. But still, the end result is: Budapest is amazing! The 3 days we had left in Budapest itself we went to see the city and I must say: it’s the most beautiful city I’ve seen so far! Beautiful buildings and streets in general, even the subways and subway stations were beautiful. I hadn’t expected much (because I was focussed on Sziget so much), maybe that’s the reason why I loved it even more.

Restaurants

Byblos

This is Lebanese restaurant, and my, do I love Lebanese food! The menu is amazing. There are many vegan options and the allergens are very clearly indicated on the menu. We ordered only mezzeh, the small dishes, and I always love that. This way you can share the food. We had amazing tabouleh, hummus, falafel, stuffed vine leaves and more! They serve homemade lemonades, which is great, because I rather only support them than Coca Cola or such. The staff was very friendly and I thought the prices were okay too. You get a lot for what you pay. This is a must-visit if you’d ask me!
Address: 1052 Budapest Semmelweis utca 1-3
Accessibility: this restaurant is not accessible to people using a wheelchair, they have high steps right at the entrance. The menu is not standard in braille, maybe when you ask up front.

Sustainable and fun hotspots in Budapest

Las Vegans

This is not a place I’d recommend for dinner, but more for lunch or a snack. They have amazing food. However, the place is not so cosy. It’s a bit like a canteen. Okay for a snack when you’re hungry, but not to visit for dinner. I had some vegan nachos, my partner had a vegan Mexican salad box and a friend had a vegan jackfruit burger. We all enjoyed the food very much. This place, as you can probably tell by the name, is 100% plant-based. They have all sorts of things on the menu, from burgers to bowls to sides. Always nice to be able to support a vegan restaurant!
Address: They have multiple addresses, including food trucks. I visited 1073 Budapest, 11 Kazinczy Street.
Accessibility: I don’t recall, the menu is not offered in braille.

Szabad Bistro

This bistro is very small and cute, it has the vibes of a ruin bar and I loved that. It’s 100% plant-based and I thought the menu was great. They have a lot of small bites so it’s amazing to share with others. They serve homemade drinks so that’s always a plus for me. I had some loaded fries, onion rings and a coleslaw salad for dinner. All very tasty and the prices were very good too, in total I paid 12,50 euros for a meal and drinks. They also offer traditional Hungarian food, entirely plant-based. That’s amazing if you want to taste a little bit of the local culture.
Address: Király utca 101, Budapest, Hungary
Accessibility: there’s a huge step at the front door, so this place is not accessible to people using a wheelchair. The menu is not standard in braille.

ruin bars

Simpla Kert

This is the most famous ruin bar in Budapest. You would think it is very touristic, but I think it’s not. I didn’t notice this when I was there. This ruin bar used to be an empty building. It was occupied by squatters a long time, in order to protest against a lot of buildings being empty. It was turned into a bar and it has been ever since. This place is amazing! There is so much to see and the vibe is just very chill. It’s all put together very randomly and that makes it so special. In summer it’s even better because they have water sprayers to cool you down while you have a drink. It can’t get better.
Address: Kazinczy Utca 14, Budapest
Accessibility: I don’t think this place is accessible to people who use a wheelchair.

Markets

Nagyvásárcsarnok, Central Market Hall

This is successtory and a fail at the same time. At first, I felt like this place was heaven. You can buy so many zero waste things here! I was prepared and brought my own reusable bags. The upper floor of this massive market was reserved for souvenirs. But since I try to live minimalistic, this wasn’t relevant for me. On the ground floor is the part for food and drinks. Since I was on a holiday with friends, I only bought a snack here (big meals were things we bought at the supermarket). I bought some pistachio nuts at a friendly lady. While was eating them at one point I found a tiny worm in one of them. I was scared and got rid of all the other nuts too. I didn’t got sick in the end but the whole experience did scare me.
Grade: A 8/10 and a 2/10, I don’t know.

Bathhouses

Széchenyibaden (Budapest, Állatkerti krt. 9-11, 1146 Hungary)
If you visit Budapest then you have to visit a famous bathhouse, it’s key. We eventually chose to go to the biggest one of Budapest (or Europe, who knows?). It was soooo pretty! This is a must see. There is a ‘normal’ pool on the outside of the bathhouse, which is lovely for the nice weather. But inside you have all sorts of pools and sauna’s! From 12 degrees Celcius to 39 degrees Celius, hmmm! There are all kinds of treatments too and so I went for a massage with a friend. It was an amazing experience!
Grade: 9 (I can’t rate this a 10 since it’s not sustainable, but I did love it).

Palatinus Strandfürdő (Budapest, Margitsziget, 1138 Hungary)
Since we liked the first bathhouse so much, we even went to another one on the last of our holiday. This was a big succes again. They had about the same facilities as the bathhouse I mentioned above, but it was a little less pretty. But they did have some slides here! This day was great as well!
Grade: 8

The City Itself

We didn’t really see any cultural places for which we had to pay, you know, the touristic places everyone always goes to. We just walked through the city to see it all. It is such a hotspot, beautiful! I hope anything of this list above can help you, but I’m definitely planning on visiting again. Maybe then I’ll see some more culture and actually sustainable hotspots. For now, this is it. Budapest, I’ll be back!