Budapest, Hungary

With its rich history, delicious food, and thermal baths, who wouldn’t want to experience all that Budapest has to offer? The capital city of Hungary, Budapest is situated along the Danube river and was someplace we always wanted to visit. We ended up going to Budapest over a long weekend in January and loved every minute. There is really no bad place to stay in Budapest, though we stayed on the Pest side. We found it easy to walk between all the sites we wanted to see, and enjoyed the cool fresh air! 

Things to do

Walk across the Chain Bridge

Spanning the width of the Danube River, the Chain Bridge was the first permanent bridge to connect Buda and Pest. Located in the center of the city, you will most likely walk across the famous bridge while you are visiting Buda Castle and other sites. The funicular leading up to Buda Castle is accessible from the Buda side of the bridge. No matter when you visit, the views from the bridge are very beautiful, but it is especially impressive at night when everything is lit up. It can get pretty crowded during the day, so if you are wanting the best pictures, it is best to visit early.

Us in front of the Chain Bridge

Buda Castle

Funicular to Buda Castle

Often called the Royal Palace, Buda Castle is a UNESCO Heritage site. There is no fee to visit the castle and its surroundings, but if you want to go into the various buildings, you have to pay. There are several wings of the castle which are filled with galleries and museums. To get to Buda Castle, you can either walk up like we did, or you can pay to take the funicular up from the square just across from the Chain Bridge. The funicular is the fastest way and offers the best view. I was also told there is a bus that will drop you just outside the castle. We saw some Segway tours too! Once you arrive at the top, the castle complex was quite large and took us over an hour to walk around and see everything.

Buda Castle

Fisherman’s Bastion

Just next to Buda Castle, you find the Fisherman’s Bastion. Not only is the building itself impressive, but the panoramic view it offers is amazing. You can get a good view of the Parliament building on the other side of the river from here. For a fee, you are also able to go in the upper towers, but we didn’t see the need.  

Matthias Church

Just next to Fisherman’s Bastion, you will find Matthias Church. Currently a functioning Catholic Church, you have to pay a fee to go inside, but it is well worth it. If you think the outside is beautiful, the inside is elaborately decorated and even more beautiful. The décor inside is unlike the other churches we have seen. Just pay attention to what day you are visiting, the hours vary, especially on Sundays. As with all religious places, you are required to dress appropriately with your shoulders and knees covered, but you are allowed to take photos. 

Faust Wine cellars

This turned out to be one of our favorite wine tastings we have ever done, mostly because the atmosphere was so intimate. Faust Wine cellars is located beneath Buda Castle, and you have to go down around 50 stairs to reach it. However, just know that to get there, you have to enter through the Hilton Hotel and follow the signs. There are options regarding how many wines you wanted to taste depending on your preference, and they come with snacks. The staff were great and gave us a lot of fun information about the different wines we had. The bottles for purchase were also very reasonably priced and we ended up buying a few to bring home. Just make sure you make a reservation ahead of time, there were only about 6 tables or so and we saw several people get turned away. 

Us visiting Faust Wine Cellars

Parliament building

The largest building in Hungary, the Parliament Building was impressive to see, even if we did just see it from the outside. It is made up of almost 700 rooms, and you can take a guided tour of some of them. The Hungarian crown jewels are also held here and able to be seen on the tour. Being that it is so large, the best view we got of the building was from across the river. It is recommended to buy tickets ahead of time and be sure to read the rules before you go. Since it is still a functioning government building, there is a security check point and no large bags are allowed, amongst other things. 

Parliament Building from across the river

St Stephens Basilica

View from the top of the Basilica

The largest church in Budapest, St Stephen’s Basilica, was named after Hungary’s first president. Although the inside was a little dreary, one of Hungary’s most sacred artifacts can be seen inside- St Stephen’s mummified right hand. The entrance is free, but donations are accepted. If you want to you can pay a fee to go to the top of the basilica where there is a nice view of the city. Don’t worry, there is an elevator if you don’t want to climb! Since this is still a functioning church, religious events might change the opening hours, so be sure to check ahead of time- and to dress appropriately. 

St Stephens Basilica

Dohány Street Synagogue

Emanuel Tree

Also called the Great Synagogue, this is the largest synagogue in all of Europe and can fit 3,000 people. It is found on Dohány Street in an area of town that many Jewish people still live. You will have to go through a security screening and purchase tickets in order to enter (you can purchase them when you arrive). Men will be given yarmulke to wear on their heads, and this is another place where appropriate dress with shoulders and knees covered is necessary. Once you enter, you will see the inside of the synagogue is beautifully decorated and much more impressive than it appears in pictures. The Hungarian Jewish Museum is also attached and has a lot of interesting information and artifacts on display. When you keep walking though the grounds, you will come across a garden that is the burial place of over 2,000 Jewish people who were killed during the holocaust. There is a memorial of a weeping willow tree, known as Emanuel Tree, that has the names of Hungarian Jews who died during the holocaust as well. We spent a few hours walking around as there was a lot of information in the exhibits, so give yourself plenty of time. It is also closed on Saturdays.

Inside the synagogue

Central Market Hall

The Central Market Hall, or Great Market Hall, was another place we really enjoyed. It is the largest market hall in Budapest and it’s 3 floors had everything you could ever want to buy. We saw fresh produce, salamis, paprika, wine, and crafts, and more. If the weather wasn’t so nice on our visit, we probably would have spent more time here. We had some pastries, which were very tasty and affordable, and we bought some salami and wine to take home. Everyplace we stopped at took both cash or credit card, so that was convenient. To get to the market, we walked down Vaci Street until we ran in to it. Just know that the market is closed on Sundays, so plan accordingly.

Heroes square

One of the most iconic places in Budapest, Heroe’s square is a popular square with large monuments in the middle. It is also the largest square in Budapest. There is a very tall column with the archangel Gabriel holding up St Stephen’s crown, and surrounding it there are 14 statues of kings and important heroes from Hungary’s history. When we visited, there were lots of people just hanging out there and taking pictures. Heroes Square is also directly next to the city park, museum of fine arts, and palace of art. We walked through the city park to get to nearby Széchenyi baths, and although I wouldn’t make an extra trip for it, the park was a nice change of pace. 

Relax in one of the baths 

Visiting Budapest’s many thermal baths was one of the things we were most excited about when planning our trip. Since we only had a few days, we sadly only had time to go to one of them. After doing some research, we decided to visit Széchenyi Thermal Baths. They are the largest and most popular, so we figured we couldn’t go wrong. Many of the baths were not coed, and since I was there with my husband, we wanted to spend time together. When we arrived, we found the pools at Széchenyi to be packed full of people. There are many pools to choose from, both indoor and outdoor, which was nice. There is also an option to pay extra for massages if you like. The pools are supplied by thermal springs, and the water is said to have medicinal purposes as well. While we did enjoy our visit, we found it difficult to relax with all the people around trying to make whirlpools and yelling back and forth to each other. 

In the summer months, the pools open up late at night and there are pool parties you can purchase tickets for. We were not there during the season, but thought this might be fun to check out as well!

What to eat

Goulash

While in Hungary, you have to try their national dish! Similar to stew, goulash is broth with meat, vegetables, paprika, and other spices.

Chicken Paprikash 

One of my favorite dishes we ate on our trip, chicken paprikash is chicken that is cooked with paprika and other spices and served with egg noodle dumplings. 

Pálinka

Said to be good for your health, we felt we had to try Pálinka, which is fruity brandy made from all local fruits of Hungary. It was quite strong, but went well after our meal!

Itinerary & Suggestions

We found it easy to walk to all the sites we saw in Budapest, and if the weather is nice, I would suggest you do the same. We were able to see everything in the city that we wanted to in a 3 day weekend, but we could have stayed busy if we had more time! Our schedule went something like this:

Day 1- We started the day with a walk across the chain bridge since we were staying on the Pest side, grabbing a quick breakfast on our way. We climbed the stairs up to Buda Castle where we also saw the Fisherman’s Bastion and Matthias Church. We had a 2pm wine tasting at Faust Wine Cellars which also included some snacks. Afterwards, we took the funicular back down the hill. We walked around Vaci Street, which is the main pedestrian street located just over the bridge on the Pest side. There we had dinner and some drinks.

Day 2- In the morning, we had breakfast and then walked over to the Great Synagogue. After lunch, we took a taxi to Hero’s Square and spent the rest of the afternoon at Széchenyi Baths. We had dinner on our long walk back to the hotel. It was difficult to find a taxi back, but the weather was nice so walking was fine with us. I would suggest arranging a taxi ahead of time. 

Day 3- We visited Central Market in the morning where we had breakfast. Then, we walked along the river on the Danube Promenade to see the Parliament building. In the afternoon, we went to St Stephen’s Basilica. We relaxed and had some more food before our late flight.

If we had more time, we would have liked to visit some of the museums and parks. There is an island in the Danube River called Margaret Island that seems like a big park and would be nice to visit. A tour of the inside of the Parliament building would be interesting also. Besides having more time, if we could have changed anything about our tip, we would have chosen a different bath and skipped Széchenyi. It was just way too crowded for us and not relaxing at all. There are several other baths in Budapest that would be worth a try!