Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, is very much on the tourist map nowadays, and rightly so. I was expecting thousands of tourists and commercialised attractions, but what I found was somewhere that still feels totally authentic; a special place that has left its mark on me. I learned a lot, drank a lot, ate a lot and laughed a lot.

If you’re thinking of a trip to Budapest – my advice would be to do it. It’s one of the few cities I’d love to go back to over going somewhere new. I spent 5 days in the city, but my itinerary was laid back and chilled out and you could do everything I did in 3 days. That said, it’s really worth doing it at a chilled pace to enjoy the atmosphere and not rush through the city.

Here’s an itinerary for 3 days – but make the most of it, and spend more time there if you can. Just the Palinka and Goulash is worth an extra day!

Contents

1. Contents
2. Day 1: A Day exploring Buda
   1. Walk the Chain Bridge
   2. Take the Funicular up to Buda Castle
   3. Explore the Buda Castle & Museum
   4. Learn about Budapest’s war history at Hospital in the Rock
   5. Discover the beautiful Mathias Church
   6. Admire the views from Fisherman’s Bastion
   7. Spend the evening in an Escape Room
3. Day 2: A Day in Pest
   1. Take a moment to reflect at the Shoes on the Danube Bank
   2. Marvel at the Hungarian Parliament Building
   3. Grab Breakfast or a coffee at Gerbeaud
   4. Enjoy Miniversum (update – this is now permanently closed as of 2021)
   5. Visit St Stephen’s Basilica
   6. Educate yourself at Dohany Street Synagogue
   7. Visit a traditional Ruin Bar
   8. Take in some history at the Hungarian National Museum
   9. Cross Elizabeth Bridge for sunset up Gellert Hill
4. Day 3: North Budapest
   1. Learn about Hungary as a Soviet state at the House of Terror
   2. Visit Heroes’ Square
   3. Explore Vajdahunyad Castle
   4. Go for a dip at Szechenyi Thermal Baths
   5. End your trip with a final cruise along the Danube at sunset

Day 1: A Day exploring Buda

Budapest is actually historically 2 cities – Buda and Pest – separated by the river Danube in between. Buda is the castle district, high up on the hill looking down to Pest across the river. Pest is the more ‘happening’ part of the Hungarian capital, home to bars, restaurants and clubs.

Buda is the historic area of the city, and probably the most touristy, but it’s still absolutely beautiful to explore and well worth a day of your time.

Walk the Chain Bridge

This bridge connects Buda and Pest across the Danube. It’s a symbol of advancement, innovation and east meeting west. It’s an absolutely beautiful bridge and a famous landmark in Budapest which should be on every visitor’s list.

Take the Funicular up to Buda Castle

Walking straight ahead from the Buda side of the Chain Bridge, you arrive at a Funicular to take you up the hill to the castle. You could opt to walk, but save your legs and time as the journey itself is quite fun. The line was open in 1870, and the cars are great for the quick couple of minute’s ride up with views out across the river.

Explore the Buda Castle & Museum

Once at the Castle, take in the glorious views from the top out across the Danube and down to Pest. The Castle Museum is also worth some time – learn about the history of Budapest, its settlers, invasions (from Mongol, to Ottoman, to Nazi – this city has seen it all), ancient castle and royal palace. We spent about 3 hours in the museum, but if you’re sticking to this as a 3 day itinerary you won’t have time – so take in what you can in a couple of hours.

Learn about Budapest’s war history at Hospital in the Rock

This was one of my favourite things in Budapest. Hospital in the Rock is just down the road from Buda Castle, and is a museum which enables you to take a trip in to the war tunnels used in the city as hospitals during WW2. You have to visit as a guided tour and it’s fascinating to see.

Discover the beautiful Mathias Church

Originally a church was founded on this site in 1015, but this was destroyed by the invasion of the Mongols in the 1200s and the current church was constructed in the second half of the 13th century. This church is where 2 Hungarian kings were crowned and it’s absolutely beautiful inside so well worth going in.

Admire the views from Fisherman’s Bastion

Fisherman’s Bastion is the ultimate Instagram spot in Budapest. It’s here where beautiful women in beautiful dresses sit looking at beautiful views out over the Danube and across to the Parliament building (more on that later).

But did you know there has been some form of defence fortification here since the Middle Ages, and though repeatedly destroyed today’s structure’s 7 towers represent the seven Magyar tribes that settled here in 895, and a bronze statue of Stephen I sits mounted on a horse just in front of the Bastion?

Spend the evening in an Escape Room

Budapest is one of the homes of Escape Rooms (you get locked in a room and have to solve puzzles to work your way out of the room)- and you can’t visit the city without doing at least one of them. In our time in the city, we did 8 Escape Rooms – ranging from a Game of Thrones theme, to an Egyptian Pyramid, to Sherlock Holmes (!) – but our personal favourite was Locked Room Budapest. You could genuinely have a whole holiday in the city just playing it’s many Escape Rooms, and I wouldn’t blame you if you did!

Day 2: A Day in Pest

This is the busiest day of the itinerary so it’s an early morning start! Today is focused on the opposite bank of the river Danube to yesterday, exploring the Pest area of the Hungarian capital.

Take a moment to reflect at the Shoes on the Danube Bank

During the second world war, the Red Arrow Cross party ruled Hungary. It was a fascist party, supportive of the Nazis. During this time, hundreds of Jews were lined up along the river, and shot. One thing that is striking on visiting Budapest is it’s very little acknowledgement of it’s war atrocities (unlike in Germany). It actually took until 2005 for this memorial of the victims to be created – shoes representing the footwear left behind on the bank as murdered Jews fell in to the river.

Marvel at the Hungarian Parliament Building

One of the most beautiful buildings I’ve ever seen, the Hungarian Parliament building is not to be missed. Whilst some of the best views are from across the water, it’s also worth walking around the building to see it from the park behind the Pest bank, which also provides lovely views of the building.

Grab Breakfast or a coffee at Gerbeaud

Built in 1858, relive Hungary’s hey-day in this gorgeous cafe, with high vaulted ceilings and chandeliers. It feels like stepping back in time…oh, and the food is delicious.

Enjoy Miniversum (update – this is now permanently closed as of 2021)

A fun stop on the itinerary, perfect for actual kids and big kids (in my case) alike. Miniversum is an exhibit full of miniature models of Hungary and the world – there was even a UK section, which made me realise how little of my home country I’d seen. In writing up this post, I discovered this museum is currently closed – hopefully it will reopen soon, but if not at least it means longer at some of the other places on this itinerary.

Visit St Stephen’s Basilica

This magnificent catholic cathedral is named after Stephen I – first king of Hungary, whose right hand is still somewhere in the cathedral today. Outside and in this building is stunning and well worth a visit.

At the Basilica

Educate yourself at Dohany Street Synagogue

This synagogue is special as it is the largest in Europe, seating up to 3,000 people. Also at the site is a Jewish Museum and a Memorial to the 400,000 Jewish victims of the Holocaust of WW2.

Visit a traditional Ruin Bar

Moving on from cathedrals and synagogues to the opposite extreme, another thing that Budapest is famous for is its ruin bars. These are ‘run down’ bars, often with a theme, lots of different rooms and quirky decor which make the perfect spot for a drink. And if you’re going to drink in Hungary, you have to try Unicum. It’s a national drink, made from a secret formula – and it’s absolutely disgusting in my opinion. But these things have to be tried, and on the plus side I was very merry for the rest of the day!

Take in some history at the Hungarian National Museum

Staggering slightly, it’s time to sober up and explore more of Hungary’s history. We make a point that for every country we visit, we learn about it’s history. We don’t retain it all but I think it’s important to try. I found Hungarian history fascinating – from Turkish takeover, to its glorious Empire days to the fall to Fascist control, to the present day. It has a rich and complex history, and I did feel like the museum was a bit biased. When talking about the WW2 atrocities, no accountability was taken on the Arrow Cross Party, and all was passed on to the Nazis. A lot of protests have happened across Hungary over the years in relation to war denial, and I definitely felt an element of this.

Cross Elizabeth Bridge for sunset up Gellert Hill

Gellert Hill gives one of the best views down across the Danube river and the whole of the city, so is perfect as the last stop of the day to watch the sunset. Also at the top is the Citadel, towered over by the Liberty Statue which was erected by the Soviets to celebrate their victory in WW2.

Then end your day with a traditional Hungarian dinner – we chose to eat at an amazing little place called Kacsa Restaurant in the Buda district which serves traditional Hungarian food and even came complete with a violinist as we ate…oh, and lots of Palinka and wine…

Day 3: North Budapest

For your final day in Budapest, it’s all about exploring just slightly outside of the main city centre to discover some more amazing places.

Learn about Hungary as a Soviet state at the House of Terror

So far, you’ll have learnt about ancient Hungarian history, it’s hey-dey in the early 1900s, and it’s role during WW2. But what happened after WW2 when the Soviets ‘liberated’ the city? The House of Terror is located in the same building where the Arrow Cross party, and then later the Hungarian secret police (an extension of Soviet Russia), were based. Learn more about the fascist rule during WW2, and then the subsequent communist rule. Both led to thousands of innocent victims, whose lives are memorialised here. Do spend a few hours here, it really is worth it.

Visit Heroes’ Square

Just up the road from the House of Terror is Heroes’ Square, one of the major squares in the city. It’s famed for it’s statues of the seven chieftans of the Magyars and other important Hungarian national leaders, as well as the Memorial Stone of Heroes (the Hungarian equivalent to the tomb of the Unknown Soldier).

Explore Vajdahunyad Castle

Built in 1896, this castle celebrates 1,000 years of Hungary. Today it houses the biggest agricultural museum in Europe which if you’re interested is worth a visit. If not, just stroll round the grounds and enjoy the pretty views, or hire a row boat to go on the lake (when it’s not frozen of course).

Go for a dip at Szechenyi Thermal Baths

Just across the way from the castle are the world famous Szechenyi baths. Most people have the baths high on their list of things to do in Budapest. I don’t. Because I can’t swim and I don’t like the idea of bathing in other people’s dirt. I didn’t visit, and instead opted to sit in a lovely restaurant next door eating Goulash soup and drinking Palinka for hour. Much better.

End your trip with a final cruise along the Danube at sunset

What better way to end your trip than to head back to the lifeblood of this amazing city – the mighty Danube. We cruised along it to see the sites one last time from the water at sunset. We were also served some rather disgusting orange tea so washed it down with some final shots of Palinka. The perfect way to end a stay in this perfect in its way city.

And that brings to a close a magical 3 days in Budapest. I loved everything we did on this itinerary and hope you’ve enjoyed reading.

Thank you for stopping by; stay safe and happy travelling!

My plane landed at 7pm and I went straight to dinner once in the city, which involved a restaurant where a man with a violin serenaded us as we ate huge plates of meat with about 7 glasses of wine and palinka. On the way back to the hotel I threw myself in the snow to make snow angels, then totally missed my alarm the next morning and was seriously battling a bad head on my first day exploring.

Luckily, I managed to get out of bed and had the best day. Unfortunately, Budapest is a city where alcohol presents itself around every corner – so by the end you just accept the slightly fuzzy morning heads. But there is so much more to Budapest than bars, stag dos and palinka fuelled snow angels. It’s an incredible, historic city.

From architectural masterpieces, to communist history, to epic escape rooms and breathtaking views – Budapest has it all. Having not known what to expect when I arrived, I left with Budapest firmly atop my favourite city breaks of all time, and here are 20 must visit attractions in the city – all of which I managed in a 5 day visit (and you could probably do in 3 days without the alcohol).

1. The Parliament Building

One of the finest buildings in the world, in my humble opinion. The epic Hungarian Parliament building is the third largest assembly building in the world (shout out Romania and Argentina who beat it) and has survived two world wars, revolutions and uprisings. You can tour the building every hour or so, and it’s well worth your time. There is a sign saying you’re not allowed to enter with a megaphone though, so be sure to leave that handbag essential at home…

2. Fisherman’s Bastion

Looking for the best view in town? The Fisherman’s Bastion is home to it. Stunning views out over the Danube are all yours from this beautiful spot. I also like it because it looks like the Disney logo – but older and lovelier. We visited in the snow which meant it was even more lovely.

3. Buda Castle

This massive baroque palace, built in the 1700s, has been home to everyone from Hungarian kings, to Ottoman sultans, nuns and Nazis. You can explore its fascinating history in the Buda Castle museum, which we happily spent a couple of hours in. It is also a great view spot over the river to the Parliament building.

4. Heroes Square

An imposing square encircled by statues of Hungarian kings and heroes from Kind Bela IV to Lajos Kossuth, who led the Hungarian war of independence. The large column is a war memorial, which also pays tribute to those who lost their lives in the fight for independence. Imre Nagy, leader of the anti-Soviet revolution in 1956, is also buried here.

5. Gellert Hill and The Citadel

Panoramic views out over Budapest is your reward for hiking up this hill, a little way out of the main centre of town but well worth a visit. At the top of the Citadel you will also find a WW2 museum and Hungary’s very own statue of liberty. Initially erected by the Soviets to celebrate Hungary’s liberation from the Nazis, the Hungarians decided to keep the monument after the fall of Communism in the country. Unlike most statues, which were moved to the Communist Statue park.

6. Chain Bridge

The Chain Bridge connects Buda and Pest across the Danube. Opened in 1849, it was the first permanent bridge across the Daunbe in Hungary. A bit like the Brooklyn Bridge to New York, the Chain Bridge is a big cultural, social and economic symbol to Budapest.

7. Ruin bars

So Hungary is famous for ‘Ruin Bars’ – basically bars which are just quirky and different. When in Hungary you have to try Unicum; it’s utterly disgusting but as a truly Hungarian delicacy you have to try it. I much preferred Palinka, which is an Hungarian fruit brandy and much, much tastier than Unicum! Sitting in a ruin bar for a few hours, sampling the local Palinka, was definitely a highlight for me.

8. St Stephen’s Basilica

Named after the first king of Hungary (and still home to his right hand), this church is the third largest in Hungary and is beautiful inside. It’s definitely worth a visit, especially to see the stunning cupola.

9. Hospital in the Rock

Have you ever been in a nuclear bunker? This underground system of caves and tunnels became an underground hospital during WW2 as the Nazis attacked and occupied Budapest. You can only tour the hospital on a guided tour, and our guide was so informative and really funny. Tours last about an hour, so well worth it if you can spare the time.

10. Matthias Church

Sitting right in front of Fisherman’s Bastion, this unique and ornate church was originally built in 1015. You have to pay to enter, but it’s really nice to wander around and it’s also home to a little ecclesiastical art gallery as well.

11. Danube River Cruise

I love a good boat trip on holiday, especially one that offers free wine as you go. There are lots of tour operators offering cruises up and down the Danube from Budapest varying from 30 minutes to a whole day. From the river you can get great views of the Parliament building, the Castle and all from the comfort of your seat.

12. Shoes on the Danube bank

A sobering memorial which pays tribute to Jews who were killed by fascist Arrow Cross militiamen in Budapest during World War 2. I’ve been to a lot of countries, and a lot of war memorials, and every time I visit one I’m shocked by how awful humanity can be, and how easily, and how regularly. And how we must never forget the human stories, human lives lost and lessons in humanity learnt.

13. Escape rooms

Budapest is home to escape rooms. For those of you who don’t know, escape rooms are rooms you are locked in to and have to solve puzzles to get out of. I’ve probably played about 40 escape rooms now, in countries from Germany to the UK to America to, well, Hungary. And Budapest has a great selection – our favourite was Locked Room Budapest, closely followed by the Egyptian room at Scavenger Escape.

14. Thermal baths

One of the most famous attractions in Budapest, the poster boy of thermal baths in Budapest is the Szecheyni Baths, sourced from 2 natural hot springs. Alternative choices are the Gellert baths or Rudas baths. Here you can relax in the hot waters after a busy day sightseeing – or even treat yourself to a massage as well.

15. Vajdahunyad Castle

Vajdahunyad Castle was built as part of an exhibition to celebrate 1,000 years of Hungary. It’s lovely to walk around the lake outside, as well as the wider grounds. Inside the castle is now the largest agricultural museum in Europe, if that’s your thing.

16. House of Terror

House of Terror is a museum located in the building from which the secret police conducted their reign of terror during the communist era. It now contains exhibits related to the fascist and communist regimes in 20th-century Hungary and is also a memorial to the victims of these regimes, including those detained, interrogated, tortured or killed in the building. Again a truly horrifying museum, and worth at least a couple of hours of your time.

17. Cave Church

One of the coolest churches I’ve ever seen, a little bit like the rock church in Helsinki, this still functioning church is carved in to the cave systems of Gellert Hill. The audio guide is definitely worth taking as well.

18. Dohany Street Synagogue

This is the largest synagogue in Europe, seating almost 3,000 people. A beautiful building and truly spectacular inside.

19. Hungarian National Museum

The national museum for art, history and archaeology, with a quite amazing staircase – this museum is good for anyone with an interest in the history of Hungary. One thing I will say though is that it doesn’t truly acknowledge all parts of Hungarian history. For example, it speaks of war time atrocities being due to the Nazis, but the reality is that Hungary was ruled by the Arrow Cross Party – a far right Hungarian group who committed plenty of atrocities against the Hungarian population themselves.

20. Miniversum

A bit of light relief from intense museums – Miniversum is great for kids (and big kids). It’s a giant version of Hungary in miniature – there’s even a mini UK downstairs! Fun to lose a few hours and learn about the other regions of Hungary.

Thanks for reading! Are you planning to visit Budapest once lock down is over? Hopefully this list has helped if so. I’ll also be posting a ‘perfect weekend in Budapest’ itinerary soon. And fingers crossed we can all travel again soon.