What to see and do in Budapest. Budapest is the capital of Hungary, divided by the Danube River and is one of the most beautiful capitals in Europe, with a special atmosphere that envelops you and makes you fall in love. It is not in vain that it is called the Pearl of the Danube.
We dedicated four days to it, although we would have liked to have spent more. We will divide what we visited into these four days so that you can put together your own itinerary.
Before we begin to explore what to see in Budapest, we must clarify that the currency in Hungary is not the Euro but the Hungarian Forint, the conversion today is 1€, approximately 383 HUF are needed, so the prices must be converted. Credit or debit cards are accepted in most places, the latter is what we use, although we always have some cash.
Indice:
Day 1 in Pest. What to see in Budapest
As we said at the beginning the Danube River crosses this city, today we will start on the Pest side.
As always our beginning was with a free tour of Budapest, it started at Kossuth Square (in the parliament) and from there we made a tour of about 2 and a half hours ending at the Budapest Synagogue.
The free tour system is widespread throughout the world. It is a fun way to get a little insight into the history of a city and obtain information and tips about it. We always do them when we visit a place for the first time. Remember to make your reservation and leave a payment at the end that is appropriate for the tour.
Since we have named the parliament, we will start by showing you this emblem of the city and telling you how to organize the visit.
Budapest Parliament
It is the largest building in the country and was built between 1884 and 1902, it is the second largest parliament in the world behind that of Romania.
The truth is that everything I can tell you is not enough and is overshadowed by the image, it is wonderful. It is a must on any list of what to see in Budapest.
You can visit the interior of the parliament and I promise you that it is worth it. I will now tell you the options to make the visit.
The visit can be made with an audio guide in Spanish at certain times. It can be purchased on the website enabled by the official website of the parliament. The price for visitors from outside Europe is 10,000 HUF (about €26) and the duration of the interior tour is about 45 minutes. ►Budapest Parliament
Then there is the option we took, the guided tour of the exterior and interior of the Budapest Parliament. The tour includes a guide who will walk around the exterior of the parliament for about 45 minutes and then enter the visitor center. The guide gives you the ticket to the parliament, leaves and you begin the audio guide with the group in Spanish for the 45-minute visit inside.
As I told you, words are superfluous in front of these imposing rooms, if you will only visit Budapest this could be the one.
Many combine the visit of Budapest with the visit to Prague, have you seen our itinerary?►4 days itinerary in Prague
Monument of the Shoes
We set off on foot and we are about 900 metres away, where we will walk along the river with the view of Buddha in front of us.
Here we come to a shocking memorial. Piles of shoes by the river remind us of the murder of Jews in Hungary. Jews in the Budapest ghetto were tied up in pairs, and after one of them was shot, they were thrown into the river.
St. Stephen’s Basilica
Together with the Parliament of Budapest, they are the two tallest buildings in the city (with 96 m), as well as the second largest religious building in the country. And while the interior is very nice we were attracted by the climb to its dome.
The climb is by elevator, although there is a small flight of steps at the top. The views are simply spectacular. Judge for yourself from the pictures.
The entrance fee is 2000 HUF (€5) for the interior of the church, 3200 HUF (€8) for the visit to the dome and 4500 HUF (€12) all in one. ►St. Stephen’s Basilica website
Elizabeth Square
We walk 450 meters further and arrive at the Elizabeth Square, named after Empress Sisi, which is a hub of lively activity. The Budapest Ferris wheel can be found here, as well as the Danube fountain.
Just a few steps away, just over 200m (Vorosmarty Square), we find one of Budapest’s famous confectioneries, Gerbeaud Patisserie.
We continue the tour to decide what to see in Budapest.
Dohany Street Synagogue
We continue walking, 700 meters separate us from the second largest synagogue in the world.
On the outside, it attracts our attention for its neo-Moorish architecture and large size, only surpassed in the world by the synagogue of New York.
The interior is very worthwhile, the entrance can be taken on the spot or on their website, the cost of it is 9000 HUF ( 23€ )► Website of the Budapest Synagogue
We are here in the Jewish quarter, you can take a walking tour on your own or take a free tour. In our case we did not have time to do it but it is good to know that this possibility is there.
If you want a place to find places to eat and have fun on this or any other day, the Gozsdu Court area is a good option, even if it’s just to go and see. It’s located very close to the Synagogue in the heart of the Jewish quarter.
Also Street food Karavan, a place with food stalls is a good option and also very close to this area.
And we end the day is a good choice for both day and night
Ruin Pub
We ended this day in a ruin bar. What is a ruin pub? These peculiar bars are found in old buildings in the Jewish quarter. The decoration is with everything old you can imagine, graffiti and more, which makes them very colorful and attractive places when deciding to go for a beer or just walk around. You can visit them both during the day and at night and if I were you, I wouldn’t miss them.
The most famous is Szimpla Kert, although there are several
Throughout the tour we use the map to be able to guide us in the itinerary, for this and many more things we need internet. We travel with Holafly eSims, which have unlimited internet throughout Europe. Want more information? we have a special post explaining how to use them► Our experience with Holafly eSims.
Discount code for Holafly: EUROPAACOMPAÑADA5
Day 2. Things to see in Budapest
On the first day we had the views from Pest towards Buda, today we will cross the Chain Bridge towards Buda to visit many things on that side of the Danube and get the best views towards Pest with the imposing parliament.
You can go up by the funicular but the price is high. It was inaugurated in the year 1870 and is a tourist attraction.
The schedule is from 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
You cannot use the ordinary tickets or passes of the Budapest Public Transport, you have your own ticket that you buy at the ticket offices at the stops. The price is 4000 HUF (more than 10€) round trip, at the moment there are no one-way trips, personally I don’t think it’s worth paying that price. ►Info on the funicular website
If you walk a little further you will find elevators plus stairs for free.
Free tour castle district
In our case we start with a free tour of the Buda tour. It began at the Plaza de Széll Kálmán to begin the tour passing through the Vienna Gate.
Continuing the walk to the Fisherman’s Bastion, from here we will get very good views of the parliament.
Fisherman’s Bastion
This construction dates from 1902, was completed after almost two decades of works. Its seven towers commemorate the seven founding tribes Hungary. In the fortress stands a statue of Stephen I< on horseback.
The typical photos with the Danube and Parliament in the background are taken from here. The amount of people is impressive, finding a spot to take photos is difficult. We went back to see the evening from there, it is highly recommended to do so.
A few steps away we find the
Matthias Church
The Church of Matías was built between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries and underwent an important reform at the end of the nineteenth century.
The entrance fee is 2500 HUF (€ 6.50 ) and for the climb to the tower 2900 HUF (€ 8 ). ►Matthias Church website
Buda Castle
Other things to see in Budapest are Buda Castle.
The Buda Castle is the historic residence of the Hungarian kings in Budapest. The view and postcard of it we get, as you saw in the previous day, from Pest, but here we can choose to make different visits, the castle houses the Széchenyi Library, the Hungarian National Gallery and the Budapest History Museum, or just walk freely throughout the property and also get views towards Pest.
Viewpoint of the citadel of Mount Gellért
The citadel viewpoint on Mount Gellert is a popular place. If you still have strength and time left, you can add it from here.
They say that it is one of the best viewpoints in Budapest, but we have not been able to verify it.
This citadel was built in 1854 and in 1960 it was declared a place of tourist interest.
As I told you, we have not come that far, but keep it in mind.
We are asked many times about the travel insurance we use, we travel with Iati insurance, if you are about to choose it I tell you that from our link they have a 5% discount. ►5% discount on Iati travel insurance
GELLERT SPA
To end the day and rest after having walked a lot, a lot, we chose the Gellert Spa, which is on this side of Buda, right in front of the Liberty Bridge, which by the way is a very beautiful bridge.
Budapest is famous for its hot springs and several thermal complexes with the elegance of yesteryear.
We are going to show you two options for you to choose from, the first will be on this side, on the Buda side and it is the Gellert Spa, the other we will see tomorrow and it will be in Pest, the Széchenyi Spa
Although it seems that it has lost the splendor of another era, entering this thermal tourist complex seems to immerse yourself in an old movie due to the building we find.
We go with the reservation already made to the Gellert Spa, the cost of the entrance is approximately €37 with locker and €39 with cabin to change and you can stay all day in the pools if you want. You can get the ticket with a cabin to change or with a locker to only leave your belongings. On the official website you can get it for something less but it does not have free cancellation.
You must bring your bathing suit, flip-flops and towel since at least at that time they were no longer renting all that but only selling.
Inside you can buy drinks and something to eat if you want, payments are by card.
DAY 3 What to see in Budapest
Today we will stay in Pest and we will now go to visit the other thermal spa so that you can compare and choose.
Széchenyi Spa
They are not the only two there are, there are several more, perhaps these are among the most named.
Szechenyi located in Varosliget Park is always very busy.
The cost of the entrance is approximately €37 including the locker to store belongings, you can buy a cabin right there to change if you want, we went here with the ticket purchased for Balneario Szechenyi and we added the cabin. When we buy on sales websites, generally what they give us is a voucher to redeem on the spot, go with it, read it well and present it, they will look for the supplier and give you the tickets. As in the other spa, on the official website you can get it for something less, but it does not have free cancellation.
To get here we took the opportunity to take the oldest metro in Budapest and the second oldest in Europe only behind London, line 1.
The price of a metro ticket in Budapest costs about 1 euro and is valid for a single trip. You can buy packages of 10 tickets for 3000 forints (€8), or you can buy a day pass. Just remember to validate your tickets when you get on the transport!
Vajdahunyad Castle and City Park
Before continuing your tour along Andrassy Avenue, you can take a stroll through Varosliget Park and see Vajdahunyad Castle. The castle was originally built out of wood and cardboard for the 1896 exhibition, but was so successful that it was rebuilt using stone and brick.
You can also go to Heroes’ Square. But after a look we were going to continue our tour along Andrassy Avenue.
We will start by walking along the avenue, we can take the subway since we are about a kilometer away, and going to the House of Terror
The House of Terror is a museum with exhibits on Hungary’s dictatorial regimes in the 20th century and a commemoration of its victims, those tortured and executed in the building.
The entrance fee is 2000 HUF (5€). In front of the house of terror we see a piece of the Berlin Wall, did you see our tour of Berlin?
Budapest Opera House
Let’s go now to a glamorous place, the 700-meter hike will drop us off at the Budapest Opera House.
The truth is that as a music lover I always try to visit these types of places. Although I have looked for tickets to see an opera performance but they did not coincide with the times we had available, we took the guided tour in Spanish. It was a great success because it did not disappoint us at all but rather exceeded our expectations.
Located on the aforementioned Andrassy Avenue, it was inaugurated in 1884 with the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph.
The entrance fee is €19. You have three schedules available since as I said it is guided in Spanish. ►Budapest Opera House Guided Tour Ticket
At the indicated time you will appear in the hall of the Opera House and at that time a guide in Spanish will come to start the tour with the group.
At the end of the guided tour it has a nice surprise for which we had to sit on the steps, a finale with small fragments of opera.
New York Café
And to end the glamorous afternoon we go to what they say is the most beautiful café in the world, Café New York.
Let’s be honest in the opinion, without a doubt it is beautiful, and it is worth seeing, but it is costly. When they arrive they will see the queue already made of people waiting to enter.
And next to it a fast pass if you pay €5. The line moves very fast so I wouldn’t add that cost to those who are already waiting for you inside. On some dates, online reservations are enabled for quick access►Web Café New York
The selection of desserts you find here also all look excellent, but I’ll leave you with a sample of some of the prices. If you’re going for the experience of seeing it, go ahead! As we always say, in these cases, the visit pays off, and I wanted to show you so you can decide.
If you decide not to go to consume anyway, I advise you to go to the door to see the beauty that this coffee has inside, it is impressive.
Day 4 what to see in Budapest
Vaci Utca
Our tour today will take us for a walk along the most important street in Budapest along with the Andrassy Avenue visited yesterday. We are going to Vaci Utca.
Walking among brand stores, souvenir sales and many tourists, we headed towards the Central Market.
Central Market
Walk around Vaci Ucta but wait to buy the souvenirs at the market, look at the prices and then compare.
The Budapest Market is the oldest and largest closed market in Budapest It is a visit that is worth doing, if only to see its structure.
We always like to do this type of market tour, so it was something we really enjoyed. You will find a multitude of items spread out on the floors, from souvenirs, as I was saying, to food products, clothing, in short, a nice, colorful walk to take.
This day was left with fewer activities than the previous ones, but we will take advantage of it to continue walking along the Danube and to take that walk that the city deserves and that we will enjoy, a Cruise on the Danube.
We chose the boat trip with dinner. The boat trip in the afternoon to see the parliament is a must, the views of it illuminated are well worth it. As always, they have different ways to do it. Prices start at €15.
DINNER
Although we sometimes had dinner near the hotel, one of the nights we had dinner at Varkvarjú, the truth is that the dinner was very good and the place was nice too.►Web VarkVarjú
ACCOMMODATION
The hotel was an excellent choice, very close to St. Stephen’s Basilica, the Three Corners Downton Edition. The service was magnificent, the breakfast was very good and with parking in the same facility, which made it a perfect choice for us.
Booking.comTravel companions, this was our tour of what to see in Budapest. There are always more things to add to this city, but we hope it will be the starting point to get to know it, which is, as we said, the pearl of the Danube.
Video and map of things to see in Budapest
NOTE: The information in this article is based on our own experience, being totally objective. This article contains affiliate links
