Food

There’s no better street food in Budapest than langos: deep-fried flatbreads topped with sour cream and cheese, made fresh in the Great Market Hall (perfect for munching on as you take in the sights). It’s also mandatory that you eat at a traditional Hungarian bistro. These cosy venues serve classic dishes like goulash and chicken paprikash with nokedli (fluffy egg noodle dumplings), best paired with a cold glass of Dreher beer. If visiting in summer, bright pink sour cherry soup (sour cream, sugar and sour cherries, served cold) makes for a surprisingly good sweet treat.

Booze

You (and your wallet) will rejoice in knowing that Budapest has Europe’s cheapest alcohol prices: pints are as low as £1.30, while a round of ten drinks will cost you little over £20. Craft beer is making a big name for itself in the Hungarian capital, but you can’t go wrong with a cheap and cheerful Soproni. The most famous of local spirits is Unicum (ring in the jokes), a blend of 40 different herbs known to make many tourists scrunch up their faces.

There’s no stag worth having that doesn’t spend at least one night in the city’s ruin bars. These incredibly cool venues are housed inside derelict pre-war buildings, once scheduled for demolition but now given a new lease of life. The most iconic is Szimpla: a vast, graffiti-scrawled assault on the senses, filled with random junk, plants and fairy lights. Red Ruin is a glorious communist-themed bar, where you roll dice and are given whatever shot the number matches on the menu. If you’re in Budapest in summer, book a ‘Sparty’: wild Saturday nights that turn the Szchenyi Thermal Baths into massive pool parties.

Read more in ourBudapest Stag Guide.

Summer:By far the busiest period - and conversely the hottest and wettest months of the year - in Budapest. With the mercury hitting30cat times, visitors embrace the sticky heat in the summer months to rock out at Sziget music festival in August. Expect high prices but perhaps it’s a small price to pay for the buzzing atmosphere in the streets and bars.

Legal:Some city districts have prohibited the sale of alcohol after 10pm because of alcohol-related disturbances. If caught drinking or in possession of open containers of alcohol in public spaces (particularly near schools, churches or parks) or on public transport, you may have to pay a £130 (50,000 HUF) fine but the law isn’t actively enforced unless you are being a nuisance.

Illegal:All drug use is illegal in Hungary with zero tolerance laws strictly enforced. Cannabis use and possession carries the same weighty punishments as heroin. If it's your first offence, possession of less than 12 grams will likely lead to a one-off reprimand (consumption carries a 2-year sentence). Possession of larger amounts leads to a five to ten-year prison sentence.

• Zip back in time and beat the clock

Travel back in time behind the wheel of aTrabant: an iconic automobile that was the only car available in the Eastern Bloc before the Berlin Wall came down. Cruise through Budapest and take in the sights, as tourists gawk over these remnants of history. If you have a more fervent need for speed, ourKarting Grand PrixandQuad Trekkingexperiences will hit the mark.

• Soak in thermal baths by day, pool party by night

It wouldn’t be a trip to Budapest without soaking in the famous Szechenyi Baths: 18 thermal pools over 100 years old, built over a natural hot spring. Even in the dead of winter they’re warm, making them the ultimate hangover cure. Once refreshed, you can restart the action at the Sparty Party, where flowing drinks and pumping music turns the baths into a buzzing pool party. After, opt for our a massage at our [Luxury Spa Day(https://chillisauce.com/stag/in-budapest/day/do-spas-and-pampering/go-44641c38575823fb139e) to work out the damage from the night before.

• Handle classic firearms and blast your mates with paint

Blow off some steam at ourPistol Shooting Range, where you’ll get the chance to blast targets with classic models like the Glock 17 handgun and Remington 870 shotgun. Alternatively, theUltimate Firearms experienceprovides ample thrills andPaintballwill have you putting all that practice to good use.

• Drink by bike, boat and strip cruise

Clink pints aboard your very own bar-on-wheels, cruising around Budapest atop a14-seat beer bike. Take the action to the Danube on a privateRiver Cruise(buffet and open bar optional), or invite some gorgeous guests on ourStrip Cruiseto heat things up.

• Party with class or get down and dirty

Place your bets inKincsem Park, Hungary’s oldest race track, where cheap drinks turn the event into a bouncing day out. Swap horses for the luxury of ourParty Limo, or get down and dirty with our scantily-cladMud Wrestlingchampions.