Los Angeles to Budapest, Hungary from $453

🌍 About budapest

Budapest sits on thermal springs, so the real move is a soak at Széchenyi — a vast neo-baroque bathhouse in City Park with outdoor pools warm enough to use in snow; locals play chess in the water. The other distinctive quarter is District VII, the old Jewish Quarter, home to the ruin bars: Szimpla Kert started it in 2004, taking over a derelict building and filling it with mismatched junk and a Trabant you can sit in. Order gulyás expecting stew and you'll get soup — that's what it actually is here; the heartier thing to eat is lángos, deep-fried dough slathered with sour cream and cheese. Come April–June or September–October for mild days and thinner crowds; July–August is hot and packed. Winter is cold but the baths are best in steam.