I'm just going to dive straight in and say that the Budapest Marathon is probably my favourite marathon to date. I had always wanted to visit Budapest and thought 26.2 miles would be a great way to sight see, I was not disappointed. 

Budapest is a proper city marathon in that you actually see all the sights this wonderful place has to offer, as opposed to quickly exiting the city and running the surrounding roads. The course takes you from Heroes square through the city centre and then meanders along the banks of the Danube, and over all the major bridges, it is quite simply stunning. The course is also pretty flat so a PB would be a possibility here although with the temperature in the mid 20's by 10am when I ran it (unseasonably warm apparently) this was out of the question.

In regards the logistics I picked up my race number at the expo (which is also the start finish) the day before with no queuing and Budapest is easy to navigate either on foot, or if you prefer, there is a metro station 2 minutes from the race village. There was plenty of space before the start and the bag drop was well manned and nice and easy.

On the course itself there was plenty of support and loud music throughout the city with only a couple of quieter sections. The aid stations were well stocked with water, isotonic drinks and bananas, you can even use drop bags which is a nice touch, although not one I bothered with. Perhaps the piece de resistance, however, are the amazing Turkish Bath Houses scattered across Budapest with one of the biggest and most spectatcular five minutes from the finish. Imagine Buckingham Palace hollowed out and filled with indoor and outdoor pools where the water temperature ranges from 27-32 degrees. Now imagine recovering there, you get the idea :)

Overall I can't recommend this marathon enough, five days in Budapest, including flights, hotel, spending money and race entry cost me £600 an absolute bargain in my opinion.

If you are thinking about a city marathon abroad you would be doing yourself a diservice to not consider Budapest