48 Hours in Budapest – top things to see on a spring break – video

Last time I was in Budapest it was summertime, with thunderstorms threatening to crack the warm humidity and we took the children to watch the Hungarian folk dancing for the St Stephen’s day festival. This time I was back in February with a breath of snow in the air, but the promise of spring just around the corner. This was a family trip of a different sort; I had 48 hours with my parents and sisters, to see the sights, eat some great food and have as much fun as possible together.

I hope you enjoy the video below about our 48 hours in Budapest

If you can’t see the video above, view it on my blog here or on Youtube here
Subscribe to all my videos in I-tunes
If you enjoyed this video, check out the others in my Video archive

For such a short trip, I think the choice of a hotel can really make or break the experience, so after reviewing the many hotel options on the Avios website, we decided to go for 5 star Intercontinental Hotel. This classy hotel combines location and luxury and is perfectly positioned on the banks of the Danube, close to most of the main sites of Budapest.

The bedroom window framed a postcard view of the Royal Palace on the Castle Hill, so it seemed obvious to make this the first area to explore. A brisk walk across the Chain Bridge and we found ourselves at the foot of the hill, in front of the funicular which is more of a tourist attraction than something that the locals use. I guess it’s one of those try-it-once kind of things, but a little expensive at 1000 HUF (£2.90) or 1700 HUF (£4.90) return for the 5 minute journey. I’d already tried-it-once on my previous visit, so instead we decided to climb the easy paths that run up the hill. Once at the top, we followed the stone steps to the wrought iron gates that guard the Royal Palace and found ourselves in a wide paved square, beside the upper funicular station.

The Castle Hill

At the top of the hill the views from the balustrade towards the Pest side of the city and down the Danube were spectacular. In front of the Sandor Palace we watched the soldiers marching back and forth and stamping to attention, as they guarded the residence of the Hungarian President. It was pretty chilly, so we kept moving along the cobble street that runs along the top of the hill towards the St Matthias Church.

On our last visit in the summer a couple of years before, the family had decided to let me look around the St Matthias church alone, and sat in a shady cafe just opposite while I went inside. The church interior was surprisingly colourful with painted frescoes and pillars in rich shades of red and ochre. I recalled hearing somewhere, that many Medieval churches had paintwork that was far more colourful than the bare grey stonework that we see today. I loved the multicoloured tiled roof of the church which is not the original, but was replaced when the church was restored after shelling in the Second World War.

In front of the church is the Fisherman’s Bastion, a fantasy colonnade of turrets and arches, built at the end of the 19th century as a monument to the Guild of Fishermen. Here we found more spectacular views towards the Hungarian Parliament Building on the opposite side of the river, built on a similar design to the Houses of Parliament in London. In summer when we were here, there were open air cafes set up on the battlements and in the arcades, and I listened to the gypsy violinists playing Hungarian folk music for the customers, giving everyone outside a free concert. In February it was far from balmy, so we warmed up in the nearby Ruszwurm Cukrászda cafe over a coffee and slice of strudel.

St Stephen’s Basilica

Back on the other side of the river we walked from the Intercontinental to St Stephen’s Basilica, another major landmark of Budapest, with a dome that dominates the skyline. We had a browse around the souvenir shops in the square and the side streets near the Cathedral which are full of little restaurants and bars, making this a good area to eat out (we tried the Strudel House later that evening). We decided to return to the cathedral for Mass the following Sunday morning and afterwards had a look around the Basilica, which is named after King Stephen I, the first king of Hungary who brought Christianity to his country. Canonised after his death, the saint’s mummified hand is displayed in one of the chapels  of the Basilica and is paraded every year on St Stephen’s Day (20 August) which is a national holiday.

Later that afternoon we walked along Andrassy Avenue, an elegant boulevard with shops selling all the top international brands. We passed by the State Opera House, which I would also have loved to visit, on our way to 60 Andrassy Avenue, now known as The House of Terror.

The House of Terror

This museum was once the headquarters of the Hungarian Nazis and until the 1950s housed the communist state terror organisations, where suspects were brought to be interrogated, tortured and executed in the bleak basement prison cells. The museum gives a fascinating insight to how the Hungarian population suffered under Nazi and later communist rule, and is a monument to the victims of terror.

Inside the foyer, we were greeted by a black and white wall of the faces of the victims who suffered here, together with a tank trapped within the inner courtyard, reflecting in a shallow pool of dark water. On the upper floors we passed through a series of exhibition rooms with films and videos showing marching armies and care worn faces of old men and women telling their stories of evacuation, deportation and oppression under the communist regime. The tour ended with a slow descent in the lift down to the basement to a video commentary about the process of execution and then we walked past the cold prison cells. Our visit to the House of Terror was a stark but fascinating and compelling experience that I would highly recommend if you want to understand Hungary’s recent history.

The No 2 Tram

If you want a low cost sightseeing tour, jump on the No 2 tram that runs along the river and stops outside the Intercontinental Hotel. In one direction the tram will take you past the Hungarian Parliament Building to Margaret Bridge and Margaret Island, where we enjoyed an afternoon dip in the open air Palatine Baths on our summer visit. In the other direction, the tram will take you towards the Central Market and Liberty Bridge which you cross to reach the Gellért Baths. You just need to stop at a convenience store to buy a book of tram tickets, which you validate on the tram each time you use one.

The Gellért  Baths

On Sunday afternoon after Mass at St Stephen’s Cathedral and an elegant brunch at The New York Cafe, we took the tram to the Gellért Baths for that quintessential Budapest spa experience. This is one thing that’s equally fun in summer or winter; in summer the outdoor pools and terraces are open, while in the winter you can linger in the steamy Turkish baths with sauna and heated pools. The baths are part of the Gellért Hotel, but if you enter at the side, you’ll come straight into the glass domed foyer to buy your ticket at the kiosk. You’ll be given a rubber wrist band with a magnetic disc which gets you through the turnstiles and opens your changing cubicle where you can leave your clothes and belongings securely locked up.

In the central bath you need to wear a swimming cap, but in the other heated pools this is not required. There’s a small heated pool next to the larger one but at the far and of the baths from the entrance you’ll find heated Turkish baths and saunas as well as treatment cubicles on both side of the building. It’s worth checking which day to go as it seems that on some days, the two identical Turkish baths are segregated into male and female, while on other days all areas are mixed. Last time my parents came to Budapest and tried the Gellért Baths, they were directed to different changing rooms and spent some time wandering around, trying to find each other again. We had a good couple of hours trying out all the pools – our favourite was the beautifully tiled Turkish bath and we braved a run up the cold stone steps to the outdoor pool, which was thankfully heated once we got in. Bring your own swimsuit, towel and cap, as these seemed relatively expensive to hire, and flip flops are also useful to keep your feet off the cold and sometimes grubby floor.

The Central Market

On our final morning, we took the No 2 tram again to the Central Market which I’d also visited on my previous trip. The large, glass roofed indoor market is great to walk around and admire all the fresh fruit and veg, as well as the many stalls specialising in meat products of sausages and goose live pate. There were also as a large number of stalls just devoted to selling all kinds of Paprika products, the favourite spice of Hungary.

Upstairs there are stall selling handicrafts and souvenirs and this is a good place to come to buy small gifts to take home, such as the painted eggs that I’ve been collecting to bring out at Easter or hang from my Christmas tree. Along one side there are also a number of food stalls selling snacks and beer. You might like to try the Lángos which is a typical Hungarian street food; a kind of flat doughnut that’s served with many different sweet and savoury toppings, but traditionally spread with cream cheese with a sprinkling of grated cheese.

After lunch at the Central Market it was time to head back to the hotel to pick up our bags and take our taxi to the airport. We’d packed a lot in to our 48 hours in Budapest, revisited some old haunts and made new discoveries, had fun in the process, but still left plenty to uncover for next time.

More things to enjoy in Budapest

Folk art and Paprika – my souvenirs of Budapest
Memento Park – Icon’s of Budapest’s communist past
Luxury and Location – our spring break at the Intercontinental Budapest

Avios is an easy way to collect points at the places you shop online everyday, when you buy fuel or spend on your credit card. Then you can exchange the points for a flight, hotel, holiday or fun day out with your family. There’s plenty of inspiration on the Avios website to start planning your next citybreak. You can follow Avios on Twitter @AviosUK or on their AviosUK Facebook page and see some flying lawnmowers on the Avios YouTube channel

Through Avios we booked the luxurious 5 star Intercontinental Hotel Budapest which was perfectly positioned beside the Danube for sightseeing. The hotel has a lovely spa with a pool for those early morning swims as well as relaxing treatments. The hotel can be booked using your Avios Points and a room similar to ours at the time that we were there in February was around 15,000 Avios points or £150-180 per room/night including breakfast but may be higher in peak season. It’s worth looking out for packages that include breakfast and use of the exclusive Club Lounge. You can follow the Intercontinental Budapest on Twitter @ICBudapest and on their Intercontinental Budapest Facebook Page.

Thanks to Avios and Intercontinental Budapest for hosting our 48 hours in Budapest.

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Budapest – Spring 2013 photoset

This article by Heather Cowper is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com - Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey

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Folk art and Paprika – my souvenirs of Budapest

When I travel it’s my pleasure to shop for small souvenirs that create memories of my travels. They have to be light and fun, because who wants to be burdened with too much stuff, spend a lot of money that could have bought another holiday, or pay for extra baggage? As I’m a hand-luggage only girl, my souvenirs have to squeeze in between the clothes and the laptop.

On our recent spring break in Budapest with Avios, we had our fair share of strolling the famous boulevards of Váci utca and Andrássy út, lined with designer names and top international brands. But my heart was in those folk-art gift shops, sifting through the striped woven table cloths and cut felt cushions, thinking about the work of some lady in the Hungarian steppes, who might be using skills that she learned from her grandmother.

Budapest is full of tempting and original souvenirs to buy, so here are some of the things to look out for when you visit;

Traditional Hungarian Folkart

As we were there just before Easter, I was drawn to these baskets of pretty painted eggs with colourful Hungarian motifs. The gift shop in the square of St Stephen’s Basilica had a great selection of these and other traditional Hungarian crafts. I bought a few in pinks and creams to hang up at Easter and one in red and gold to come out again at Christmas to hang on my tree. These painted eggs are perfect to hang from silver twigs or spring branches in a vase to decorate the house at Easter. I also saw some beautiful dyed and patterned real eggs in intricate patterns in the Central Market where the food stalls were downstairs and the handicrafts and souvenirs upstairs.

In the main shopping area we enjoyed looking round the Folkart Kézművészház shop that was full of textiles, red and white woven cloths and cut felt designs from the Hungarian steppes as well as hand embroidered blouses and table cloths.

Folkart Kézművészház, 1052 Budapest Régiposta utca 12

A modern twist on Hungarian crafts

The distinctive Hungarian embroidery designs cropped up again at Fian Koncept, a shop that we discovered along the road from Ruszwrum Cukrasda where we’d been having coffee after looking around the Fisherman’s Bastion. This store was packed with souvenirs and gifts that are modern interpretations of the traditional designs. Here I bought a gold leather purse with colourful Hungarian motifs by Gabriella Lukács and admired the embroidered zip bags that would make a great sponge bag or even a clutch. The owner offered us some dried apple from Fruitfull.hu which seems to be a local speciality and I also bought a red embossed notebook from Szia! for my travel notes. I loved the way that Hungarian motifs had been used on all sorts of desirable objects from Cinq Filles scented candles, to Hungarian gift cards from Moha Design; you can see some beautiful examples on the Fian Concept Facebook Page.

Fian Concept H-101 Budapest, Uri u. 26-28

Hand-painted Herend Porcelain

Herend is the world famous porcelain of Hungary and you can’t go too far in Budapest without seeing the classic, handpainted plates and ornaments. My parents used to collect Herend and gave me some years ago a beautiful plant holder that I kept on my mantelpiece, without realising the Budapest connection. If you are a serious collector, you need to watch out for fakes and be sure to buy from the Herend stores or from a registered stockist, and you should be given a little card of authenticity with your purchase. We passed the Herend Store on Andrássy út with this enormous painted lion which was far to big to bring home in the suitcase so instead my sister bought my mother a pretty little heart shaped dish to put on her dressing table.

Herend, 1061 Budapest, Andrássy út 16

Honey and candles

Walking under a covered arcade near the Intercontinental Hotel where we were staying, we spotted a small shop selling honey and beeswax products. There were all kinds of ornamental beeswax candles on sale as well as jars of local honey and some pretty decorative biscuits. They seemed to be keepsakes to give to that special person in your life, and as Valentine’s day had just been and gone, I wondered if they were just for Valentine’s day or sold all year round. The pretty heart biscuits were a more refined version of the decorated gingerbread that is sold in Christmas markets, more for display than eating.

Mehzi, Budapest 5th District, Erzsebet Square 1 (under the arcades)

Paprika, Sausages and Palinka

For edible souvenirs, we went to the Central Market where the downstairs is full of stalls selling more variations of paprika than you could possibly imagine. On other stalls, cured sausages hang in rows, flavoured with paprika and other spices, ready for you to add to a rich, hearty Hungarian stew. Another speciality is the goose live pate sold in small tins at all the meat stalls. If you want to drink the flavour of Hungary try a glass of Palinka in one of the restaurants you visit – it’s a strong spirit that’s flavoured with fruits such as cherry, strawberry and apricot. When I tried a sip at the Strudel House after dinner, it made my eyes water – I can see why it’s traditionally drunk in the morning to wake you up!

Great Market Hall, 1093 Budapest, Vámház körút 1-3

If you love to look and shop at beautiful handicrafts and textiles you’ll find plenty to buy in Budapest – enjoy looking and bring a little piece of Budapest home with you.

If you’ve been to Budapest, what were you tempted to buy as a souvenir?

More things to enjoy in Budapest

From Cold War Canteen to Literary Salon – Five great places to eat out in Budapest
Just back from Budapest – my photo diary
Memento Park – Icon’s of Budapest’s communist park

We booked our Budapest spring break through Avios, who offer ways to earn points at the places you shop everyday, that you can convert into a flight, hotel or holiday. There’s plenty of inspiration on the Avios website to start planning your next weekend escape and you can follow Avios on Twitter @AviosUK or on their AviosUK Facebook page and see some flying lawnmowers on the Avios YouTube channel

Through Avios we booked the luxurious 5 star Intercontinental Hotel Budapest which was perfectly positioned beside the Danube for sightseeing. The hotel can be booked using your Avios Points or directly on the Intercontinental website if you are not an Avios member and it’s worth looking out for packages that include breakfast and use of the exclusive Club Lounge. You can follow the Intercontinental Budapest on Twitter @ICBudapest and on their Intercontinental Budapest Facebook Page.

This article by Heather Cowper is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com - Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey

 Don’t miss out – subscribe to Heather on her travels

Luxury and location – our spring break at the Intercontinental Budapest – video

For me, a wonderful hotel is an essential ingredient of a city-break like the one I’ve just returned from in Budapest. I sometimes hear people say “Just give me somewhere clean and comfortable to come back to sleep” and think “Are they mad?” Call me greedy, but I just want more from my hotels! Give me clean and comfortable of course, but give me a little luxury, stylish furnishings that inspire me to go home and redecorate, perfumed bowls of hyacinths, artistic touches that catch my eye and service that makes me feel special. All of these are what makes a short stay in a city full of happy memories.

Which brings me to the Hotel Intercontinental Budapest, that I selected from the many hotel options available through the Avios website, as we were using Avios points. You may remember the old British Airways Air Miles that have now been reinvented as Avios points – you can earn them while shopping and then use them to treat yourself to a short break like ours. With only three days to pack in as much fun as possible, we wanted somewhere central and the Intercontinental is perfectly positioned, right by the Danube and within an easy walk of many of the key landmarks such as the Chain Bridge, Castle District and St Stephen’s Basilica. For a trip with my sisters and parents who are in their 70s, this kind of classy, 5 star hotel was ideal for a stay that wraps you in a cocoon of luxury without stress of any kind.

I hope you enjoy the video below about our stay at the Intercontinental Budapest

If you can’t see the video above about the Intercontinental Budapest, see it on my site here or on Youtube here
Subscribe to all my videos in I-tunes
If you enjoyed this video, check out the others in my Video archive

And then there was the view! Although the hotel is not especially exciting to look at from the outside, being a block of a building covered with grey glass, when you are on the inside looking out it’s quite another matter. This is one hotel where you must book a room with a river view. My bedroom window framed a perfect postcard shot of the Danube with the dome of the Royal Palace rising from Castle Hill on the other side. I could have happily sat there all day watching the boats, like the huge barge filled with cars, go up and down the river, each on their way to somewhere interesting. As night fell, the lights twinkled on Castle hill and the Chain bridge, reflecting on the river, creating a magical view.

Our room with a view

We quickly settled into our rooms at the Intercontinental, mine with twin queen beds on the 6th floor which I was sharing with my sister, my parents on the 9th floor with a king bed and room for a sofa by the window. The bedroom was classic and elegant, with cherry-wood headboards and furniture, a black tortoiseshell bedside lamp and soft green bed throws and easy chairs. There were all the conveniences you’d expect, like a desk with Internet connection, a flat screen TV, a fridge with mini-bar , safe and ironing board. On the wall were some modern prints of the Budapest Castle district which picked up the deep red colour scheme and echoed the view outside from the window.  The room was lit entirely by the side and floor lights, with no ceiling lights and I found the lighting levels a little too low in the evening, which was my only fault with the room.

A choice of standard and high speed Internet is available in the room at a charge which wasn’t cheap, something I’ve noticed is common in luxury hotels. It seems to be upside down thinking that if you stay in an inexpensive hostel you get free and fast wifi, but if you stay in a 5 star hotel, you pay through the nose for Internet access, so I hope that this is one charge that the hotel will change, as travellers come to expect wifi as part of the service rather than an optional extra.

The bathroom was compact but elegant with a wooden vanity unit and black marble sink surround, cream marble wall tiles and a range of luxurious toiletries. It was a little on the small side, but then my parent’s room on the 9th floor had a lovely bathroom which was much bigger with a frosted glass wall and room for both a bath and walk-in shower, so I guess it depends which room you book.

I’m not a great watcher of TV when I travel, preferring to get out and explore the place I’m visiting, but I did like the short video playing on the flat screen TV in which Chief Concierge, János Valcz, gave us his recommendations for things to see in Budapest, from fine dining and souvenir shopping, to a memorable dip in the Szechenyi Thermal Baths. It’s great to see a hotel using video in this way to bring their guests an insider’s view of the city and introduce them to the concierges who are there to help you get the most out of your visit. You can watch the video on Youtube here.

The Club Lounge

On our arrival from the airport, we were sent up in the lift to the 1st floor for a personal check-in service in the Club Lounge which was an extra benefit that the hotel had kindly extended us. This luxurious private lounge is a really beautiful place to relax with figured velvet armchairs, glossy coffee table books about Hungary and more exceptional views out towards the Danube and the Chain bridge from the full length windows.

The lounge also has computer terminals, free wifi and international papers, with complimentary drinks and snacks being served throughout the day. There is also the option to eat breakfast in the lounge as a quieter alternative to the main dining room. I really enjoyed gathering in the Club Lounge with my parents and sisters to have a chat over a coffee and make our plans for exploring Budapest or to have a lunchtime snack before heading out again.

The Club lounge is open for members of the Intercontinental Priority Club and Ambassador Loyalty Programmes and can also be purchased as an extra during your stay. I noticed that some of the room rates advertised also included use of the Club Lounge and I think that this would be be best value way of accessing the lounge which was really a lovely place to relax, meet with friends or business colleagues.

The Pool and Spa at Intercontinental Budapest

Budapest is a city built on thermal springs that feed the public spas like the Gellert and the Szechenyi Baths, but I’ll let you into a little secret. The Intercontinental has a fabulous pool and spa that’s tucked away on the first floor and perfect for a refreshing early morning swim or a few languid lengths and a warm up in the sauna after a day’s sightseeing. My parents, sisters and I all enjoyed a gentle swim at different times during our stay and pretty much had the place to ourself. With such a lovely spa and pool, I think the Intercontinental would be a fabulous place to base yourself for a girl’s getaway incorporating treatments at the hotel with visits to some of the other famous thermal baths of Budapest.

The pool has a pretty coloured effect with tiles that graduate from sea green at one end to turquoise at the other, while the dark stained wood, green recliners and eastern harp music give the spa a vaguely oriental air. There are two private treatment rooms and the spa uses Hungarian Kaviczky products which incorporate natural, organic agents, such as the waters and mud of the thermal lake at Heviz where our family spent a surreal afternoon a couple of years ago, drifting among the water lilies with rubber rings to keep us afloat. The spa often runs seasonal promotions such as a couple’s massage with champagne for Valentine’s day or a Mother’s day package, so be sure to check when you go for your swim. There is also a gym, which is useful to keep fit if you’re on business, although when I’m on holiday I prefer to keep fit by walking everywhere or in the case of Budapest, racing the funicular up to the top of castle hill.

Dining and more at the Intercontinental Budapest

The whole of the ground floor of the Intercontinental benefits from that view, through full length windows towards the Danube, Castle Hill and riverside walk. The lobby area is elegant and classical, with velvet button backed sofas, biedermeier style cherrywood furniture and some pretty bowls of hyacinths with wild catkins strewn over them that seemed to herald spring. Through the lobby seating area is the bar, where we stopped on our return from dinner one evening and sipped a coffee, listening to the musicians at the white Elton John piano. Hanging above the bar I noticed an large bulbous container of Palinka, the traditional spirit of Hungary that is often flavoured with fruits like cherry or apricot, although be warned that it’s eye-wateringly strong.

We enjoyed looking at the artworks around the lobby, including some abstract paintings in gold, terracotta and black and the sculpture we came to know as Kiss Kiss in which lips gently touch on disembodied faces. I expect that these artworks change regularly but there was a lovely carved wooden frieze of turn of the century street scenes, right opposite the lift which we enjoyed too, especially that girl on the swing.

At the opposite end of the hotel to the lobby is the spacious restaurant where we really enjoyed the buffet breakfast every morning with a huge selection of pastries, cereals and fruit if you were trying to stay healthy, or numerous hot dishes if you were indulging yourself. Although we ate out every night and didn’t get a chance to try the restaurant, we thought the menu looked very appetising with a mixture of international and local dishes such as Hungarian goat’s cheese on pumpkin puree or goose liver with roasted apples in a Tokaj wine and honey sauce. The hotel often runs themed food events to coincide with the many festivals and events going on in the city, such as the Formula 1 in July or the St Stephen’s day festival in August, and the Sunday brunch is also very popular, with a children’s corner so parents can relax.

So what did we see in Budapest?

If you’re visiting Budapest on a short break, you couldn’t get a better location than the Intercontinental which is at the heart of all the key things you’ll want to see. Cross the Chain bridge by the hotel and you’ll be standing in front of the funicular that takes you up to the top of castle hill, although it’s only a 10 minute walk if you’re feeling energetic. Stroll along the top to see many of the old palace buildings which now house galleries and museums, and end up by the colourful St Mathius Church and Fisherman’s Bastion where the views across to the Hungarian Parliament Building are fantastic, and you might just be serenaded by some gypsy violinists.

Close to the hotel is St Stephen’s Basilica where we went to mass on Sunday and in the surrounding streets are many excellent small restaurants and bars to try, such as The Strudel House where we ate on our first night. If you run out of energy for walking, the yellow No 2 and 2A tram is perfect for sightseeing as it runs along the river and stops right outside the Intercontinental Hotel. A couple of tram stops in one direction and you can look around the Central Market where we we stopped for lunch one day or from the same tram stop walk across Liberty Bridge to the Gellert baths for the old fashioned Budapest spa experience.

A couple of tram stops in the opposite direction will take you to the Hungarian Parliament Building and then on to Margaret Bridge where there’s a lovely park on the island in the Danube with an outdoor lido baths that we visited on a previous summer holiday. Not far from the hotel is the start of Andrassy Ut, a long boulevard lined with designer brands, where you’ll also find the House of Terror, a fascinating museum that gave us a taste of what the Hungarian people went through in the last century under the Nazi and Communist regimes.

We were extremely happy with our choice of the Intercontinental Hotel for our Budapest city break booked through Avios. The central location enabled us to easily see everything we wanted while the fabulous views and luxurous surroundings made our family gathering really memorable.

Need to know for the Intercontinental Budapest

Intercontinental Budapest, Apaczai Csere J. u. 12-14, Budapest H-1052, Hungary

We booked the Intercontinental Budapest as part of our city break through Avios, the easy way to collect points when you shop online, which you can then convert into a flight, hotel, holiday or day out with the family. Start planning how to spend your points on the Avios website and you can follow Avios on Twitter @AviosUK or on their AviosUK Facebook page and see some flying lawnmowers on the Avios YouTube channel

The Intercontinental Budapest can be booked using your Avios Points and a room similar to ours at the time that we were there in February was around 15,000 Avios points or £150-180 per room/night including breakfast but may be higher in peak season. For best rates book well ahead or enjoy a low season break as we did. It’s also worth looking out for packages that include breakfast and use of the exclusive Club Lounge. You can follow the Intercontinental Budapest on Twitter @ICBudapest and on their Intercontinental Budapest Facebook Page.

Other costs: WiFi charges (standard and fast service) were £11-19 per 24 hrs or £23-42 for 3 days. Breakfast if not booked with your room package 8000 HUF (£22)

My thanks to Avios and Intercontinental Budapest who hosted my spring break in Budapest

Other stories from our Budapest trip

If it’s Friday, it must be a weekend in Budapest with Avios
Just back from Budapest – my photo diary
From Cold War Canteen to Literary Salon – Five great places to eat out in Budapest

This article by Heather Cowper is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com - Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey

 Don’t miss out – subscribe to Heather on her travels

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