There are cities you visit once and then feel done with. Budapest is not one of them. I have visited the city several times, but every time I return I discover something new. Maybe it is the beautiful buildings along the Danube or the lively streets that attract. Or maybe it is simply all the beautiful cafes and pastries that attract. For coffee and pastries, the people of Budapest are good at that!
This summer I visited Budapest once again – this time during a river cruise along the Danube with a 1,5 day stop in the city. A short time for a visit if it's your first time in the city, but a perfect touch-up to enjoy some of the best the city has to offer. Not sure what you want to see and do in the city? Here are my best tips!
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Good to know about Budapest
Despite its size, the capital of Hungary, Budapest, is surprisingly easy to navigate. The Danube River runs through the middle of Budapest, dividing the city into two parts: Buddha (the hills west of the river with the castle) and Pest (The Parliament and the grand boulevards). The city was formed in 1873, when the two districts were merged to form the common city of Budapest.
Most of the famous buildings you visit as a tourist were built around the time the city was unified at the turn of the last century, but there are fully functioning Turkish baths from the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century and even ruins of a Roman amphitheater from when Hungary was part of the Roman Empire. After the fall of communism in 1989, Budapest began to develop into the city you see today – a modern capital, but one that still has a lot of peeling paint and worn facades.
One tip is to take the metro to reduce the risk of shoe chafing. Budapest has the world's second oldest metro (after London), with nice old ornate stations. Very affordable, cheap and clean. Although I personally love the bright yellow trams a little more than the metro, as you get sightseeing in the bargain.
1. Visit the Great Market Hall (Nagycsarnok)
The large market hall is an obvious stop for anyone wanting to get a taste of Budapest. The stalls here are packed with Hungarian delicacies such as salami, peppers, spices, pastries, fruit and meat – and it’s hard to leave without buying something. Upstairs, you’ll find clothes, crafts and plenty of souvenirs. Prices are often affordable, so take the opportunity to look for something to take home as a memory from Budapest.
2. Visit the Fishing Bastion (early morning)
Up on the castle hill awaits Fisherman's Bastion with its white pinnacles, towers and small arcades. Here, your camera is almost a must – because if you want to get that truly classic picture of Budapest, it's hard to find a better vantage point.
The somewhat unexpected name is said to have its roots in the Middle Ages. According to tradition, it was the fishermen who lived below the bastion who were responsible for defending this particular part of the city. During World War II, the Fisherman's Bastion was largely destroyed, but has since been carefully restored and regained its white, almost fairy-tale splendor.
The Fisherman's Bastion is one of the most popular sights in Budapest and the steps quickly fill up with tourists looking to take the perfect photo. If you have the opportunity, an early morning visit is recommended.
3. Matthias Church (Mátyás-templom)
Dating back to the 13th century, Matthias Church sits majestically and colorfully on the castle hill. It is the beautiful ceramic roof, which was added in the late 19th century, that catches the eye. It has become something of the church's signature and gives the building its own unique expression.
The inside is also an experience. Almost every small surface here is decorated with color, pattern and paintings. It's as if someone has mixed Hungarian splendor with kurbits and geometric shapes and then turned up the color scale a couple of notches. The result is impressive, to say the least.
Matthias Church is still an active Roman Catholic church, so you can't just stroll in at any time. So keep an eye on the visiting hours if you want to see the inside.
4. Admire the Parliament
The Parliament is Hungary's largest building and one of Budapest's most beautiful. The grand building is located right on the Danube and is hard to miss, no matter where you stand in the city center.
If you want to see inside, you can join a guided tour through some of the most impressive parts of the Parliament. Tours need to be booked in advance and can be fully booked several weeks in advance, so plan your visit well in advance. As an EU citizen, you can also get a free tour, but this also needs to be booked in advance. Don’t forget your passport – you need to have it with you to prove that you are an EU citizen.
If, like me, you are content to admire the parliament from the outside, there is still plenty to see. Nearby, a statue of Imre Nagy, former Prime Minister of Hungary, stands on a small bridge, looking out over the Danube towards the magnificent parliament.
5. Walk across the Chain Bridge
One of Budapest's most famous symbols is the Chain Bridge, which has connected Buda and Pest across the Danube since the 19th century. On both sides of the bridge stand the mighty lions, who have become an equally obvious part of the cityscape.
In autumn, the Danube can sometimes be shrouded in a thick haze, so dense that the other side almost disappears. It gives the city a very special atmosphere – a little mysterious, a little wistful and with a sense of old Eastern European romance. It is difficult to describe how beautiful it can be. Put on a warm jacket and walk across the bridge. The view, the fog and the city skyline will be a travel memory that is hard to beat.
6. Visit a classic café
For over 150 years Café Gerbeaud served with steaming fresh coffee and pastries among crystalkronor, marble and heavy curtains. It's the kind of place where you'd like to sit down for a while and just let Budapest pass by. The price tag is high by Hungarian standards, but still quite modest compared to what a similar place would cost in Stockholm. Both tourists and Budapest residents pass through here.
While you're here, there are some Hungarian pastries you shouldn't miss. One of the classics is Dobos cake, a cake with thin layers of sponge cake and chocolate cream, topped with a thin and crunchy layer of caramel. A real classic!
The most Instagrammed café in Budapest is without a doubt New York CafeAnd of course – the interior is something quite special, with gold ornaments, crystalkronor and fancy details everywhere. But don't be fooled by the beautiful pictures. It's not a particularly cozy café experience.
There are extremely many people here and you can expect both a queue and a wait. The service is busy and it can easily feel more like a tourist destination than a café where you can sit down for a quiet coffee. The prices are also accordingly. A coffee and a pastry costs around 300 kronor per person, of which the coffee alone is €15. It may actually be one of the most expensive cups of coffee I've ever had!
If you only want to choose one café during your visit to Budapest, I would therefore rather spend the money on Café Gerbeaud. There you also get the classic environment, but with a slightly more genuine feel, better service and a better opportunity to actually sit down and enjoy.
7. St. Stephen's Basilica
St. Stephen's Basilica is one of Hungary's most important churches and one of Budapest's most impressive landmarks. Large, grand, and filled with historical treasures, it's well worth a visit if you want to experience a different side of the city.
It is sometimes claimed that the basilica is one of the ten most photographed buildings in the world. Whether that is true remains to be seen – such claims should perhaps be taken with a pinch of salt. But the fact that it is one of Budapest's most photographed buildings is all the easier to understand when you stand in front of it.
8. Eat a chimney bread (Kürtőskalács)
Kurtőskalács, or “chimney bread” as we might prefer to call it, has its historical roots in Transylvania but is today primarily associated with Hungary. It is a sweet, spiral-shaped dough that is wrapped around a cylinder and baked over hot coals until golden and crispy on the outside. It is then rolled in, for example, sugar, cinnamon, walnuts or coconut.
At the cafe Kurtissimo you can sit down with a coffee and get a steaming fresh chimney bread with different flavors and fillings. If you want to make it a real dessert, you can also have it served with ice cream. I personally prefer it simple with just cinnamon and sugar. Sometimes you don't need more than that.
9. See street art in the Jewish Quarter
If you want to see a lot of street art in a short time, the Jewish quarter of Erzsébetváros (Elisabeth Town) is the place to go. Here, old and often quite worn-out firewalls have been given new life with large, colorful murals – and there are always new works of art and details to discover. Rubrik's cube, Empress Sisi and football wins – the motifs are varied to say the least!
The best way to see street art is to walk around the neighborhood street by street without any major plan. Look up, turn around, peek into side streets, and keep your eyes peeled. Suddenly, a colorful mural appears where you least expect it—like the Alice in Wonderland painting in a parking lot.
10. Visit Jewish memorials
Budapest has a strong Jewish history and the Jewish Quarter contains several places that remind us of both the life that once thrived here and the dark years during World War II. Before World War II, around 200000 Jews lived in Budapest. During the Holocaust, tens of thousands were murdered, both through deportations, forced labor and executions in the city itself. These are not places you visit to quickly check off another attraction. Together, they tell an important part of Budapest's dark history.
On Szabadsag Square is one of Budapest's more unusual monuments – Living MemorialHere you will encounter old suitcases, shoes, photographs, clothes, letters and other personal items that people have left to remember the victims of the Holocaust.
On the Danube stands The shoes on the Danube, a poignant memorial with empty shoes to the Jews who were murdered here during the Holocaust.
At the Great Synagogue on Dohánygatan there is Tree of Life, a silver-colored tree whose leaves are named in memory of Holocaust victims. Also nearby is Raoul Wallenberg Memorial Park, which honors people who risked their own lives to save Jews.
11. Eat a classic Hungarian dish – Paprika Chicken
When I was in Budapest for the first time, I went on a guided tour. The first thing the guide told us was that in Hungary people like “fat and paprika”. Here you eat fantastically tasty, but relatively heavy, home cooking with lots of butter and paprika. When I think about it, almost everything we ate probably contained paprika. Sweet, spicy or bitter – paprika in Hungary comes in many varieties.
The most famous dish associated with Hungary is of course Goulash, but there is another dish that you will find everywhere. Paprika Chicken (paprikás csirke). Paprika Chicken is a stew of chicken cooked in a sauce of paprika, onion and sour cream. The paprika gives the dish its typical Hungarian flavour and red colour. It is traditionally served with nokedli, small Hungarian flour dumplings that are a bit like spätzle.
When we had paprika chicken for lunch, it was served with bread and a really hot paprika/chili mixture. Incredibly delicious!
12. Photograph the moon
In the middle of central Budapest, a huge moon hangs in Piarista köz. MOON Budapest is a sculpture seven meters in diameter and was created using NASA images to reproduce the surface of the moon with all its craters and details.
The moon is free to view and when darkness falls it lights up and becomes even more impressive. What was originally intended as a temporary installation has become permanent.
13. Go to the Gozsdu Udvar weekend market
In the middle of the Jewish Quarter lies Gozsdu Udvar, with a maze of courtyards and narrow alleys where restaurants, bars, small shops and market stalls are mixed into one big mess. During World War II, Gozsdu Udvar was part of the Jewish ghetto in Pest. Today, the area is part of the historic Jewish Quarter, which is part of Budapest's World Heritage Site.
On weekends, the aisles are filled with market stalls selling jewelry, crafts, vintage items, and antiques. We visited the market on a Sunday and were greeted by lots of people and lots of cool restaurants.
14. Visit a ruin bar
In the most run-down buildings, something unique can be hidden. Ruin bars are one of the unique places that truly characterize Budapest. They are found mainly in the Jewish Quarter, where old abandoned houses and courtyards have been transformed into bars with quirky furniture, colorful lamps and details that look like they came straight from a flea market.
The most famous is Szimpla Kert, which is usually considered the mother of ruin bars. Here you go from room to room and find something new and weird around every corner. The bar opens quite early in the afternoon and then it is usually quite quiet and a touristy clientele. At night it is crowded and you should hold on to your wallet and not leave your beer glass unattended for safety reasons.
15. Eat street food
Do you feel like a lighter lunch in the sun? Right next to Szimpla Kert is Karavan Street Food, a small courtyard where food trucks and food stands are crowded around long tables. Here you can choose from Hungarian classics like langos to international street food like BBQ. A place where the whole family is guaranteed to find something to eat!
16. Watch the Changing of the Guard at the Presidential Palace
On the castle hill in front of Sándor-palota, where the Hungarian President has his official residence, you can watch the changing of the guard of the Hungarian High Guard every day. The usual changing of the guard takes place every hour, but at 12 noon it becomes a little more spectacular, with marching and weapons exercises. The parade is free to watch and a pretty fun little bonus when you're up in the castle district anyway.
17. Take the funicular to the castle hill
It's perfectly possible to take a bus almost all the way up to the Fishing Bastion, but there's a more fun way to get up and down the mountain – with the old funicular. The funicular Buda Castle Siklo has been going from the foot of the Chain Bridge since 1870 and is actually a small attraction in itself. The short ride takes you up to Buda Castle and offers great views of the Danube and Pest.
The funicular runs every day between 8 am and 10 pm every 5-22 minutes.
18. Try Hungarian wine at a rooftop bar
Budapest may not be known for its rooftop bars, but there are a few. On St Andrea Wine & Skybar You can sit on the roof and have a glass of Hungarian wine from the winery of the same name. Here you can see all the way to the Parliament and a visit here is a perfect stop when you want to rest your feet and do something a little more stylish between all the sights.
The vineyard is located in the Eger region in northeastern Hungary, approximately 13 kilometers east of BudapestThe area is one of Hungary's most famous and is home to the exciting grapes Hárslevelű, Furmint and Kékfrankos. The wine bar has a solid list of wines by the bottle, but also some wines that can be purchased by the glass.
19. Bathe in a hot tub
Last but not least! Budapest is built on a network of mineral-rich hot springs and thermal baths have been an important part of city life for hundreds of years. There are several large bathhouses with both indoor and outdoor pools, and a visit to one of them is almost a must when in Budapest.
But don't have too high expectations for luxury and a spa feel. The large public baths are above all a part of everyday Hungarian life. Here you will find a more traditional bathhouse feel rather than an exclusive spa facility. If you want fluffy towels, fragrant products and that really cozy hotel feel, a spa hotel is probably a better choice.
The most famous bathhouse is Széchenyi Bath, which is housed in a grand yellow palace and houses a whole host of pools. Sitting outside in the warm water as the steam rises into the cool air is an experience you will remember. The classic Gellért Baths is currently closed for renovation and is not expected to reopen until 2028.
Have you been to Budapest? What attractions did you visit? Please share your tips in the comments!
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