Monday was our last full day in Budapest and in Europe. There really were only two major plans on our agenda that day, one was to go to the Central Market Hall and the other was just to tour around the city.
The first thing we did on Monday morning was purchase a ticket for the Hop on, Hop off bus. Normally this isn’t my favorite thing to do, but it actually worked well for Budapest since I hadn’t done a ton of research on transportation in Budapest before the trip. Plus, I thought it made it much easier to get around the city to some of the major destinations.
One thing I didn’t realize is there are 4 separate companies that have hop on and hop off bus tours in Budapest.
- Official Hop On, Hop Off (Giraffe)
- City Sightseeing Budapest
- Budapest Sightseeing
- Big Bus
Most likely all 4 companies are similar, but we went with the one that had the Giraffe on the side since the InterContinental sold tickets through the concierge, and this was the one I found before going to Budapest. They have 3 separate bus lines and this day we only did the yellow line because of time. The drop off points take you to all major sites and some other unique destinations, like a distillery I never knew about.
The distillery we didn’t know about in Budapest
There definitely were a variety of people using the hop on, hop off buses of all ages and nationalities. I probably would use the hop on, hop off bus again if I were in Budapest.
Construction and roadwork all over Budapest
Half way through the ride we got off at the Central Market Hall, which the yellow line stops directly in front of. Here we just explored the market and bought some paprika. The main floor sells vegetables, meats, and spices. I did buy a small piece of handmade Hungarian lace upstairs. The upstairs is primarily all souvenirs and there are some small restaurants. In the basement there was the grocery store Aldi, which is all over Europe and has some locations in the United States.
After spending time at the Central Market Hall, we headed back for the Hop on, Hop off bus and finished the rest of the yellow line. We then went back to the hotel for the evening, finished up packing, and drank a bottle of Hungarian wine we were given.
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