Budapest is a two-city city. There’s Buda on one side of the Danube, quiet and hilly and residential. There’s Pest on the other, loud and flat and where everything happens. We picked Pest for the same reason most people who stay long pick it. It’s where the city lives.
Three months in and we still hadn’t seen half of it.
Finding a long-stay apartment in Budapest’s Jewish Quarter
We stayed in Pest. A classic 19th-century building with high ceilings and windows that faced away from the party streets (a critical piece of information if you want to sleep).
Budapest apartments have a specific charm. Old buildings with real character. The elevators sometimes remember to work. The plumbing has opinions. But the light through those tall windows on a summer afternoon is something you don’t get in a new-build anywhere.
Living in Budapest’s District VII
Ruin bars everywhere. Costumed stag and hen parties we’d never seen so many of. Corner cafés on every block. And the trade-off: on Thursday through Sunday nights the inner streets turn into an open-air party.
We saw the Foo Fighters live one weekend. Then we snuck backstage and met the band. Some cities give you a great meal. Budapest gives you Dave Grohl.
A typical day in Budapest
Coffee at a small third-wave place. A walk along the Danube. The Chain Bridge lit up at night is still one of the best free experiences in Europe.
Weekends often meant festivals. Budapest introduced us to langos (a fried dough thing you’ll dream about), cherry beer (a specific magic), and a wine festival that was a particularly nice touch. There are so many amazing sights in this city that it would take all day to name them all. We lived there for 3 months and still didn’t see half of it.
Budapest: our verdict after 3 months of living there
Budapest is a city that gives you a lot for very little. The transit works, the coffee is real, the food is honest, and the architecture is the kind of grand European backdrop that makes even a Tuesday feel a little cinematic.
If you’re picking one Eastern European capital for a long stay, this is the one. Quiet if you want quiet, loud if you want loud, cheap regardless.
Budapest long-stay stats
- Duration: Three months, spring into summer
- Neighborhood: District VII / Jewish Quarter, Pest side
- Cost tier: Affordable
- Walkability: Excellent
- Wifi: Fast, cheap
- Cat-friendly: Yes
- Best for: Long stays, culture-heavy travelers, backstage schemers
- Would return: Yes
Book the stay: Our Budapest apartment on Airbnb →
