Why Budapest in Hungary is a great May bank holiday city break for families.
Budapest weather in May
Cheap flights from numerous airports, short flying times and solid weather make Budapest our May bank holiday banker. The Hungarian capital is usually sunny – the average daily high is a T-shirt-worthy 21° Celsius.
Thermal baths in Budapest
But even if the sun isn’t out, there’s the fallback of splashing in the warm thermal bath complexes. The Gellért Bath is the elegant indoor option, the Széchenyi the enormous outdoor favourite.
Buda Castle and Gellert Hill playground
When the sun shines, however, we’re best off letting the kids charge through the sprawling riverside Buda Castle complex, then up to the playground on Gellért Hill.
Margaret Island in Budapest
Better still, we’ll decamp to Margaret Island in the middle of the Danube. It’s 2.5km long, with alternating forest tracks and gardens. One day we might hire bikes by the bridge and explore on two wheels, the next we’ll climb the water tower and whizz down the slides at the open air Palatinus Strand Baths.
City Park in Budapest for families
Another option is the huge City Park, where you can hire a boat for a splash around on the lake. City Park is also home to Budapest’s zoo and the Disney-esque Vajdahunyad Castle.
Cake at Gerbeaud
The Gerbeaud café terrace sprawls over a good part of Vorosmarty Square, which usually has street entertainers or musicians livening up proceedings. Parents will probably be more interested in the grand old building with its giant draped curtains and vaulted ceilings, but all members of the party are likely to agree on the merits of the cake. Gerbeaud does sticky, gooey and diet-destroying better than anywhere in town.
Great Market Hall with kids
There’s so much going on in the Great Market Hall that the little ones won’t be bored. Part of the fun is in strolling through this majestic building, looking at all the dried meats and cheeses, whilst the souvenir and craft stalls can be found on the third floor. The bonus is that such trinkets are often quite a bit cheaper here than they are in the city’s shops.
Family accommodation in Budapest
For family-friendly accommodation in Budapest, apartments or apart-hotels like the Adina are the way forward.
- For more things to do in Budapest, take a look at the wide range of tours, activities and experiences here.
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