Beautiful Things To Do In Budapest

Budapest is a vibrant, 24-hour city, so if you’re here, you must float the Danube, eat lángos and goulash, and sip a panoramic martini.This historic city with spa waters and Habsburg-era façades awaits exploration. Despite its higher price, you can still pack a lot into it. the local correspondent Peterjon Cresswell toured Budapest to find the greatest attractions.

Top things to do in Budapest

1. Gaze down from Fishermen’s Bastion

Built as an afterthought by architect Frigyes Schulek after decades of medievalizing Matthias Church next door, this turreted confection offers stunning Danube vistas from Castle Hill.

The views are stunning, but this is history. The Fishermen’s Bastion has the same number of turrets as the late 800s Hungarian tribe leaders who came to this region of the Carpathhian Basin to market fish and transport it up from the Danube below. All relate to the 1896 Hungarian millennial celebrations when this was built.

2. Visit the Shoes on the Danube Bank

A stark and moving memorial to the 3,500 victims, mostly Jews, ordered to remove their shoes before being executed here by Hungary’s Fascist Arrow Cross Party police at the end of World War I. The piece, created by filmmaker Can Togay and sculptor Gyula Pauer, uses bronze shoes to portray the Holocaust’s horror in Budapest.

3. Get the chills at the House of Terror

The home in Andrássy út 60 was once terrifying as the headquarters of the Communist Secret Police, who tortured and executed their victims. This magnificent estate has held a heartbreaking museum honoring the victims who were carried here and never seen again since 2002.

A unique combination of installations and interactive screens lets you hear survivors’ stories on four floors of the museum. Torturers are proud to describe tearing up farewell notes with no guilt.

4. Take the funicular to visit Buda Castle

Take the funicular from Clark Ádám tér to the former royal palace on Castle Hill, currently home to the National Gallery, Budapest History Museum, and Széchényi Library. Buda’s magnificent cityscape includes its green cupola, added during the 60s post-war restoration.

A funicular ride up Castle Hill is on everyone’s first-time bucket list, especially if they like Monet or Cezanne, on display at the National Gallery near the terminal. The cupola’s panoramic terrace offers stunning views.

5. Soak in the Széchenyi Baths

In the lush City Park, the Széchenyi Baths are an exquisite hot water sanctuary. Inside and out, there are hot, cold, and temperate pools, steam and dry saunas, ice machines, leisure rooms, a lane pool, a whirlpool, and a bar/restaurant with a large patio. The expensive entrance means you’ll want to get your money’s worth, and there’s enough to keep you engaged all day.

A DJ-driven pool party with light shows takes over the Széchenyi on Saturday nights.
Almost all European capitals have galleries, museums, and Michelin-starred restaurants, but sitting outside in the Széchenyi Baths as the city sizzles or snowflakes fall is unique to Budapest.

6. Stroll among the statues of Memento Park

An open-air park on the outskirts of town with Communist-era monuments relocated from prominent locations throughout Budapest following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

To witness the enormity of how Stalin, Lenin, and Marx were portrayed to the masses. There is also a cinema at Memento Park where you may watch disturbing old propaganda films.

7. Marvel at St Stephen’s Basilica

The Basilica, Budapest’s largest church, has one of Hungary’s most holy treasures: the mummified right hand of St Stephen, the nation’s founder in 1000.

For all of the colossal neoclassical architecture beneath a 96-meter-high dome adorned with beautiful religious reliefs. You can also take the lift up to the cupola for breathtaking views.

8. Glide along the Danube

The Danube separates Budapest into Buda and Pest. The river is wide and graceful, connected by a series of gorgeous bridges, and traversed by cruise ships, barges, fire-red speedboats, and aquatic lines on the city’s transportation network.

The Danube plays to your inner Strauss, whether you’re on an hour-long sightseeing tour or indulging in starlit dining à deux. It’s relaxing during the day and romantic at night when the bridges light up like pearl necklaces.

9. Tour Budapest’s cool murals

Many fences in Pest, especially District VII, have paintings about Hungarian history or culture. These reflect the country’s past, including Rubik’s Cube, World War II, 1956 Uprising, and modern achievements, such as award-winning scientist Katalin Karikó’s coronavirus vaccine research.

Football fans love the large portrayal of the 1953 Wembley match between Hungary and England overlooking a parking park in Rumbach Sebestyén utca. Budapest’s murals offer an alternative sightseeing tour with customized walks that reveal parts of Hungary’s heritage and transport visitors to streets they might not have otherwise seen.

10. Party on water at the A38 Boat

This old Ukrainian stone-carrying cargo ship is now one of Budapest’s most famous nightlife locations for live music, DJ parties, and after-hours fun. The A38 contains a café and a gallery with occasional exhibitions, but its varied performance schedule has made it a city music staple for 20 years.

Regardless of the night’s plans, this is the finest place to go out. If Bulgarian black metal isn’t your thing, you can always drink on the top deck and observe the Danube. The A38 is near the all-night 4/6 tram route on Petőfi Bridge, eliminating the need for cabs.

11. Explore the Dohány Street Synagogue

Budapest’s Great Synagogue, first opened in 1859, is Europe’s largest Jewish religious building (and the world’s second largest).The breathtaking architecture and interior design are worth the journey alone, but a visit also includes the Hungarian Jewish Museum & Archives and the Holocaust Tree of Life Memorial.

12. Sink a top cocktail at High Note Skybar

The rooftop cocktail bar of a five-star hotel themed around music, located at eye level with the massive clock in the dome of St Stephen’s Basilica and with a full view of the sun setting over Buda.

Because the Skybar is completely, must-Instagram-this-instantly memorable. Furthermore, the inconspicuous if attractive door at street level near the Basilica conceals what awaits you many storeys up.

13. Seek out Mihály Kolodko’s tiny sculptures

Small figures by guerrilla sculptor Mihály Kolodko are scattered around Budapest’s landmarks. Small statuettes, such as the big-eared cartoon character Kockásfülű nyúl at the Funicular station, illustrate various facets of Hungarian life and can be included into an unusual walking tour. Across from Parliament House, Bem rakpart has a Rubik’s Cube and a pathetic tank. Look for Franz Liszt outside his name airport if you’re passing through.

14. Relax on Margaret Island

Margaret Island, Budapest’s most idyllic green park, is accessible by tram midway along Margaret Bridge between Buda and Pest. Few automobiles and buses travel this route; cyclists, pedalo riders, joggers, and walking couples do.

It’s quiet, few sights (medieval ruins, Japanese garden, petting zoo), and big on space. Summer performances are held on the Open-Air Stage as the musical fountain plays pop and classical hits.

15. Dine inventively at Rosenstein

This cozy restaurant built on the three watchwords of tradition, innovation and family echoes the Jewish roots of Budapest cuisine while inventing reliably superb fare from its weekly changing, seasonal menu. Budapest might boast seven Michelin-starred restaurants but you won’t have a more enjoyable gastronomic experience than at Rosenstein, tucked down a sidestreet near Keleti station.

16. Take in cityscape views by tram

The number 2 tram travels the length of the Pest embankment, taking in the historic sights of Buda on the opposite side. In addition to Buda Castle, Matthias Church, and the Statue of Liberty, you’ll see Budapest’s bridges up close, which wrap around the Parliament building. Tram 2 is a sightseeing trip that can be taken several times for the cost of a basic transportation ticket or pass.

17. Let loose at Szimpla Kert

This is Budapest’s first ruin bar, the one that set the tone for so many others to come, embellishing a big, decaying structure, its open courtyard, and maze of rooms with quirky furniture, edgy artwork, and fairy lights. It hosts a regular schedule of DJs and live performers and is popular among overseas partygoers.

It remains an essential Budapest experience (albeit probably not for Hungarians wanting to avoid visitors). If you’ve never been to the city, the Szimpla will blow your mind; just be prepared to pay a little more for your drinks.

18. Get in tune at the House of Music Hungary

The city’s latest attraction is the crown jewel of the Liget Project, which is transforming City Park into Vienna’s Museum Quarter. Adventurer Japanese designer Sou Fujimoto combined the surrounding trees into the building, which has a holey roof that appears to float.

The House of Music Hungary is an architectural marvel and a complex of live music, concerts, and exhibition areas as well as a musical history lesson. Kids can have fun jumping on the playground and creating odd noises.

19. Sip coffee in style at the New York Palace

After being converted into a five-star hotel in the early 2000s, Budapest’s most exquisite coffeehouse of the 1890s has regained its prominence amid stiff competition. Anantara, a luxury Thai firm, now runs the New York, which serves 24-carat gold coffee under crystal chandeliers in marble and mirrors. All of this costs money, and you must wait in line for a table.

Mihály Kertész, later Michael Curtiz of Casablanca renown, was a regular at this golden age literary café in Budapest, where film directors got their starlets. One of the city’s most persistent urban myths dates back to the 1890s, when dramatist Ferenc Molnár vowed to toss the key in the Danube to keep the place open. Recent sculpture by Mihály Kolodko (see below) took up this idea with a small figurine beside the main entrance.

20. Ride the Children’s Railway

Perhaps the sole beloved Communist relic, the narrow-gauge Pioneers’ Railway (now Children’s Railway) winds through the Buda hills. The driver is a grown-up, but most of the workers are children checking tickets and signaling from the platform. Budapest’s most lovely attraction lets families experience panoramic Buda’s pure air and greenery.

21. Admire a Grand Master at the Museum of Fine Arts

This magnificent landmark in Heroes’ Square houses Hungary’s most prestigious fine art collection, complementing the National Gallery.

After a 2018 refurbishment and collection exchange with the National Gallery, the museum acquired medieval Hungarian art alongside Titian, Velázquez, and El Greco. Ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman artifacts are also impressive.

22. Experience a classical concert at the Liszt Academy

The Music Academy, founded by adjacent Franz Liszt, has been ornately displaying the conservatoire since 1907. Just over a century later, the Liszt Academy’s Art Nouveau splendor was completely renovated, creating a stunning concert hall for great conductors, virtuosos, music students, and fans.

To attend a symphony orchestra, recital, or chamber concert in luxurious circumstances with great acoustics with an informed audience and a rich musical tradition. English-speaking guides are available daily.

23. Snag a retro bargain at Ecseri flea market

Hungary’s greatest junkyard has Habsburg, pre-war, and Soviet treasures. Open daily in a remote south Pest location accessible by buses 54 and 55 from Boráros tér.

Ecseri sells furniture, uniforms, paintings, and vinyl that depict Budapest’s urban past. You can negotiate over the price of a fin-de-siècle lampshade, Soviet Army trapper hat, or Hungarian pop 45.

24. Tour the Parliament Building

A 45-minute tour of Hungary’s Parliament Building, the city’s flagship structure overlooking the Danube and government seat.

The majestic architecture of this 691-room structure dates to the late 1800s, when Hungary was joint ruler of a massive European empire. Hungarian soldiers with sabres protect the Crown Jewels here.

25. Find key souvenirs at the Great Market Hall

A wonderfully preserved market hall in a neo-Gothic edifice, where a river originally transported products directly from the Danube. The Central Market Hall is not only an architectural marvel, but also a one-stop shop for last-minute souvenirs such as paprika, salami, wine, and Hungarian spirits.