Central Pest – Local tips (relaxing)

The Honved ter is one of the most well organized, safe, clean parks of the city. I think it is one of the spots I can recommend for anybody staying in the city for kids. It is a small, really family friendly park with a lot of opportunities to play. Several playgrounds, basketball and football grounds and always freshly planted flowers during summertime.

It is also a bit strictly regulated place. You can not bring any pets inside, nor sit on the grass but except these you can do whatever you want. Kids from the area are just as welcome as anybody from elsewhere. Mothers are often chatting about how to feed the baby, or which elementary school you should pick if you want to settle down in the V. district.

The area, a former place of diplomats and people of the bank business, is much more lively nowadays. But if you are lucky and going there during spring time, you can even catch some politicians in suit and tie.

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Honved ter | Relaxing
Honvéd tér | Central Pest
Daily

Gotta get away, even if you just ‘got away’ for a few days? Isis Day Spa is the place you’re looking for.

I love the feeling of entering from the heavily trafficked Ulloi ut and finding an oasis in the city center. The atmosphere is about chilling out here, it is peaceful- and quiet. There are services for men and women (and couples!). Be sure to book ahead of time, weekends are especially busy.

Between treatments I like to hang out in the bathrobe they provide in a lounge area, drinking tea and eating fruit until it’s time for the next treatment. Or they have a great sauna and steam bath, all included in the price of the treatments.

Isis provides all kinds of massages and treatments- anything from Swedish massage to aromatherapy massage, from peelings to mud wraps, using natural materials from Hungary’s thermal springs. I like Isis’ ‘Miracles’. There is the ‘Escape’, which includes a 45 minute massage, a special relaxing or invigorating bath and a manicure.

Since you’re in Hungary, perhaps the ‘Hungarian Temperament’ treatment is the way to go- it’s 120 minutes and includes a bath in Tokay wine, a wine wrap and a Tokay grape seed oil massage…

All beauty services such as waxing and facials are also available. Prices at Isis are reason

able- a 60 minute massage of many types runs 9,000 HUF, and a basic manicure is 3,500 HUF.

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Isis Day Spa | Relaxing | Massage (60 min) HUF 9000
Ülloi út 14 | Central Pest | +3612667788
10:00 – 22:00 daily

There is a secret garden in the heart of Budapest that even most of the natives don’t know about. A real pearl of green and calm, ingeniously hidden from all the rush and heat of a city centre. Once you pass the wrought iron gate you will find yourself in another world and another time.

It is perfect for some relaxation while you’re exploring the neighbourhood. For me finding the little garden was like love on first sight. Now every time I visit I happily imagine living in one of those flats with balconies overlooking the green. Even when it’s full with people it seems calm and relaxing.

The garden is one of the oldest gardens in Pest and for long a private palace garden, it was open to the public in 1919. You’ll find it behind the Károlyi Palace (V. district, Károlyi Mihály utca 16.), a beauty by itself, bordered by Ferenczy, Magyar and Henszlmann streets. Ferenciek tere and Váci utca are nearby as well as the Múzeum körút with National Museum and Astoria Hotel. Károlyi Palace hosts the Petöfi Literature Museum, exhibitions and events. Every summer they also tend to organise an open air festival.

See more photos by András here.

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Károlyi Gardens | Relaxing | Free
Károlyi Kert | Central Pest
Open daily

To arrive at the spots featured on this blog, it’s worth knowing the best way to go. Budapest boasts one of the best public transport systems in the world (really!) that will get you anywhere much more efficiently than by car.

I never drive in this city, there is really no need. Metro Line 1, the Millenium Metro is my favorite line. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site and riding it is taking a step back in time.

BKV Zrt., the public transport company has a helpful website in English. You can plan your routes and figure out how to use the system. Even as a local I use this site when I need to go somewhere new.

Be aware that, as in most other major cities, there is a sophisticated network of pickpockets and thieves who operate across the public transport system, and many are so ‘professional’ that you will not know what happened until later when you realize your stuff has been stolen- so keep your valuables in a safe spot and enjoy traveling around Budapest!

A note on taxis: There are many companies, but my favorite is City Taxi- always reliable and honest (+361 2111111), I have used them for 10 years. It is de

finitely worth calling a cab company rather than hailing a cab on the street- there are many rip off artists who look like legitimate taxi drivers, but the fares they charge are outrageous.

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Public Transport | Relaxing
All over Budapest | Central Pest
Daily

The street called „Szerb utca” is just next to the famous Vaci utca. But instead of fancy shops and hundreds of tourist here you can find the area which the inhabitants call „Little Belgrade”.

The Serbian community played a big role int he city’s history. Their ancestors left Serbia because of its occupation by the Ottoman Empire. They built their first church in 1698 and then changed it to the present shape in 1733. The most valuable for the city’s inhabitants in the matter of everyday life of course is the garden, surrounding the church. It can give you a the feeling of total isolation from the outside world, in the heart of the city.

Be aware: it belongs to a church so lying under the sun half naked is not the best idea here. But if you are lucky and you find it opened (mostly on Sundays or on the festivals of the Orthodox community) you can sit down relax or even use the playground in the yard (designed for kids, or really thin adults).

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Szerb utca | Relaxing
Szerb utca | Central Pest
Mostly Sundays & festivals of the Orthodox calendar