10 reasons why you should visit Budapest in 2016

It's packed with cool cafes, hipster hotels, grand architecture and exciting design 
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Katie Law @jkatielaw4 March 2016

It's affordable

Budapest is finding a new lease of life as an exciting and affordable design destination, as fin de siècle buildings are being turned into hipster hotels, old courtyards are becoming new cafes and the grungy ruin pubs on which its fame once rested, are now the chicest spots in town. You can fly from London to Budapest from £30 return.

The design

Combine food and design at Kiosk, Március 15, Tér 4. (kiosk-budapest.com) a former gymnasium, which comes with a view over the Danube. Exposed brickwork, oil drums made into side tables, olive leather banquette seating lined with copper plates, clusters of light bulbs and a realistic faux tree growing from the central bar plus delicious simple grills are all reasons to come here. Located in the Jewish quarter, Mazel Tov (mazeltov.hu) is a great example of the new style of ruin pub. An old courtyard has been covered over with a glass rooflight and sympathetically restored with a bar, seating and industrial lighting, with a garden at the back, serving inexpensive plates of Middle Eastern food. For a blast of kitsch, Menza (menzaetterem.hu) is a must. Loud, abstract floral wallpaper and lurid ceilings and oversized white plastic and copper pendant lighting make this a true tribute to the 1970s. Simple food, such as roast chicken and salad or chips is inexpensive and decent.

Beef tartare at Kiosk

It has a film vibe

Budapest remains a popular European film location thanks to its authentic MittelEuropean Empire vibe. Call in for a drink at Brody House (brodystudios.com) and you might well find yourself sitting at table a next to Matt Damon or Billy Zane having a beer after a hard day's shooting.

A view over the city's Parliament buildings
iStock

The café culture

You will be stalked by fin-de-siecle cafes wherever you go. The Lotz Hall Café began life as a magnificent ballroom decorated with gilded mirrors and Lotz Karoly's exuberant painted ceiling. Now it’s the place for coffee and cake. You'll find it at the back of the equally impressive Art Deco Paris Department Store and bookshop. For a slice of world famous caramel topped, chocolate sponge Dobos Torta, go to Gerbeaud, (gerbeaud.hu). It looks like a gigantic pistachio macaroon, with pink velvet swag curtains. And for a mini splurge head to the Art Deco masterpiece, The Gresham Palace Four Seasons and treat yourself at its Kollazs restaurant to a plate of rich, sweet foie gras pate with toasted brioche. Don’t forget to check out the gorgeous leaded glass vaulted reception in your way out.

The thermal baths

Going to the mineral-rich thermal spas is what Hungarians do, although few actually swim. These are the joints to hang out with friends, chat, chill and while away an afternoon. With its painted mint green changing rooms, black and white tiled floors, 15 indoor pools, 3 outdoor pools and 10 saunas and steam chambers, Szechenyi Thermal Baths, (szechenyispabaths.com) built in 1913, is a favourite. For faded grandeur, try the Gellert Bath, situated at the back of the Gellert Hotel, with its wave machines and an inhalatorium, or for a more Butlins-type, water park experience, the Palatinus (palatinusstrand.hu) is a mind-boggling maze of pools and people.

Bathing in the thermal waters
iStock

The shopping

A network of new workshops and small boutiques has opened all over town, including Paloma (facebook.com/PalomaBudapest) a series of tiny shops on the first floor of a courtyard of this beautiful late 19th century building. Other good shops include Rhododendron (rododendronart.com) for vintage postcard and prints and Printa (printa.hu) for everything printed, from pigeon pattern bags to pillowcases; it has a cool coffee bar and gallery too.

Hipster hotels

Brody House A former doctor's residence in the palace quarter, that has been turned into an 11 bed boutique hotel by Peter Grundberg and William Clothier, Brit-entrepreneurs who used to party here when they were younger (brodyhouse.com). The rooms are grand with high ceilings, the walls a mix of newly painted and original exposed plasterwork decorated with modern art, photography, furniture and sculpture made by local artists and designers. It's all for sale.

Height of cool: Brody House
Brody House

The House of Terror Museum

Housed in a neo-Renaissance mansion, the museum commemorates the victims of the Communist and the Nazi regimes in Hungary. In 1940 the building became the Nazis' HQ after which it was taken over by the communists. The cellars, in which prisoners were tortured and executed, are particularly gruelling. A terrifying but obligatory experience that will help you understand Budapest's chequered 20th century history.

Trams are a popular way to get around
iStock

The Liszt Academy of Music

If you're in this part of town - which you will be if you want to see the fascinating Robert Kapa Museum more or less opposite - just poke your nose into the entrance of this Art Nouveau gem, which has been beautifully refurbished. Budapest's a concert hall and music conservatory is all gleaming marble, iridescent tiles, gilt mosaics and bejewelled, shimmering surfaces .

The oldest metro in Europe

It's the simplest city to navigate, whether on foot, tram or metro - and fares are cheap. If you do go on the underground, be sure you take a trip on the Yellow Line. It's the oldest in Europe - and completely other-worldy. With its narrow carriages, small doors and worn leather strap handles, you feel you might just bump into Hercule Poirot at any moment.

Original Travel (020 3582 4990; originaltravel.co.uk) will organise a brilliantly-tailored personal itinerary including three nights’ B&B at Brody House from £360 per person including flights and transfers.

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