Must visit places in Budapest: the Danube Pearl
This city, divided into two areas, Buda and Pest, is perfect to spend a long weekend, as it has everything you can expect from a trip: a lot of history, stunning architecture, good food and a great atmosphere. That’s why our ideal time to see everything the city has to offer would be about 3 days.
In addition to this one, we have other interesting posts about Budapest, which will help you to complete the information we give you in this post:
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If we had to choose just one place on the list of must-see places in Budapest it would be the Hungarian Parliament. This place is a true marvel, one of the most impressive buildings we have ever visited.
Located in front of the Danube and inaugurated in 1902, this great building is the centre of the Hungarian legislature and has other places inside such as the Budapest Library. In this building, the main political decision makers of the country meet to make decisions.
We would visit and see this place in different ways and at different times:
- The first is to see the building from Kossuth Lajos Square, as you see its inner side which is impressive. The oldest tram in the city, a very cool little yellow tram, also passes by here.
- The second way is to see it at night from the other side of the river. For this, there are two ways, one free and the other paying. The free one is to go to the metro stop Batthyany ter, which is right in front of the Parliament in the Buda area. The paid one is to take a boat to see it from the river at night. Both are super cool, we did them both.
Visit the inside of the building. This is a 45-minute audio-guided tour that takes you inside the building, taking in the parliament chamber, the treasury, the entrance and some impressive rooms. It costs €27.5 and tickets can be purchased by selecting the time of entry, at the ticket office in Parliament itself (you enter right through here) or online at the official website.
The times to visit the inside of Parliament are 11am and 3pm each day.
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St. Stephen's Basilica
St. Stephen’s Basilica is the most important religious building in the city. Built in neoclassical style in 1905, it is another of the must-see places in Budapest. It is named after St. Stephen I of Hungary, the country’s first king.
To visit the inside of this place, you must get a ticket from the official website and there are several options. Access to the interior alone costs around €5, while the combined interior + viewpoint costs €15. The viewpoint of its towers is probably the best viewpoint to admire Budapest from the air. Just to get to the top is worth paying the entrance fee. Moreover, it is quite adapted with lifts, so it is not too much of a problem.
Finally, don’t forget to take a picture of the building from St. Stephen’s Square, the best place to photograph the building.
St. Stephen’s Church is open from 9am to 7pm.
Chain Bridge
Like any city with a river, Budapest has numerous bridges connecting its two parts, Buda and Pest. The most famous and oldest of these bridges is the Chain Bridge.
The original bridge was completed in 1849, but as in most of Europe, the Second World War wreaked havoc and the Germans dynamited it to prevent the entry of Soviet troops, so it had to be rebuilt and reopened in 1949.
You are sure to walk along it during your stay in the city as it is very centrally located and is the main way from Pest to the most important area of Buda, the castle and the Fisherman’s Bastion, so we recommend that you stop to look at the views and admire how beautiful it is.
Buda Castle, must-see places in Budapest
Buda Castle is one of the must-see places in Budapest and the most important place in the Buda part of the city. It is the most historic place in the city, as it has approximately 700 years of history and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Over the years it has been the residence of the kings of Hungary and the site of major events in the country. Its geographical location on top of a mountain and in front of a river was also a strategic position of protection and surveillance against enemies.
Our recommendation is to visit this area on a tour, as it has a great history behind it and we think it is good to get to know it and have details of its kings explained to you, especially one of the most popular, who has a representative figure in a fountain and gives his name to a church in the area, Matthias Corvinus. We took this night tour of Buda.
If you don’t want to see it with a tour, you can walk around the inside without going inside, as it is open to visitors, and observe the most outstanding places on the site, such as the viewpoints overlooking the Danube to admire the views, the interior courtyards and the fountain of Matthias Corvinus.
Fishermen Bastion
Every city has that key place to photograph where there are spectacular queues and crowds to take the best photo. In this case, in Budapest, it is the Fisherman’s Bastion, one of the must-see places in Budapest.
This place is located near the Buda Castle and in the past this place was defended by the fishermen of the city, hence its name. The current construction was built at the beginning of the 19th century, with an architecture similar to that of the Buda Castle. In the end, it consists of arches built as a viewpoint overlooking the river, so visiting it is free of charge.
As it is difficult not to find it crowded at peak times of the day, we recommend going to this area very early in the morning to get the best pictures or at night when it is not so crowded.
You will also find some cafes to access the top of the wall. We haven’t been, but we’re not too keen on going to places like this in touristy places.
Matthias Church
The Matthias Church is located right in front of the Fisherman’s Bastion. Matthias Corvinus, one of Hungary’s most popular kings and the person who rebuilt the church in the 15th century, gives his name to this church, which is very striking and beautiful on the outside. For a long time it was the coronation place of the kings of the country.
Inside, it is worth mentioning.
- its famous organ
- its altars
- paintings and sculptures
- religious relics
- King Matthias’ coat of arms
We recommend entering if you can as it is quite beautiful and worthwhile.
Tickets can be bought on the spot at the entrance of the church and cost between 4-5€ per adult and the opening hours are from 9am to 5pm.
Jewish Quarter
As great history lovers, we need to recommend visiting the Jewish Quarter as one of the places to see in Budapest. It has no great sights or attractions, but it is a place of incredible historical importance.
Budapest suffered greatly during WWII, especially when it disassociated itself from Germany to make a pact with the Allies, so it suffered particularly harsh reprisals in the last years of the war. As always, the Jews were the hardest hit, and thousands of them were captured, murdered and sent to concentration camps.
This quarter, which is also home to many Jews today, is a reminder of that horror. Our recommendation is to visit it with a tour that explains history, highlights and reminds us of the mistakes that mankind should never make again. We would recommend this tour.
Shoes on the Danube Bank
Continuing with the horror of the Second World War, we would like to point out a memorial to the Jewish victims who were killed in Budapest during this war. In Budapest, in order to save bullets, Jews were lined up in front of the Danube, tied together with wire, and the first and last in line were shot, so that they fell into the river, taking all the rest of the living people with them.
In memory of these people, we have a memorial on the banks of the Danube, right next to the Parliament, which is a pair of shoes. It is worth visiting it and reflecting on the events that took place.
Heroes Square, must-see places in Budapest
This square is one of the must-see places in Budapest and one of the more iconic ones as it commemorates important moments for the Hungarian state. It was built in 1896 commemorating the arrival of the Hungarians in the Carpathian Mountains in 896.
The large monument to be seen is the Millennium Monument, which has a central arch topped by a statue of the Archangel Gabriel and columns with sculptures of military and political leaders.
It is a place that hosts many events in Budapest because of its importance. It is also one of the gateways to the city park, Varosliget Park, and at the end of the city’s most important avenue, Andrassy Avenue, so it’s great to combine these visits all together.
Varosliget Park
It is the big park of the city and therefore one of the places to see in Budapest. It is a great park to stroll around, have a drink and sit quietly. We quite like to visit parks in big cities because they always show you things about how the people of the city live and what they do.
One of the attractions is the Vajdahunyad Castle, which is very beautiful and situated next to a lake. Inside is the Budapest Museum of Agriculture.
Right in the park is also the Széchenyi Thermal Baths, the most famous and iconic of the city, so when you visit this area it is interesting to do Andrassy Avenue, Heroes’ Square, the thermal baths and the park itself.
Great Synagogue, must-see places in Budapest
This synagogue, located in the Jewish quarter of Budapest, is the second largest synagogue in the world, making it a great place of worship for the practitioners of this religion and a place of reference for Jewish culture.
It was built in 1859 at a time of growth of Jewish culture in the country. Inside, this building has a Holocaust memorial, the Jewish museum and an organ that is one of the largest in Europe.
For its history and impact, a visit to this building is very interesting. The price is a bit steep (25€) and you can buy tickets on the official website of the Synagogue or book a guided tour like this one.
You can visit the building every day from 10am to 4pm, except Saturdays (closed) and Fridays from 10am to 2pm.
Budapest Opera House
The Budapest Opera House is another very interesting building to visit. It opened in 1884 and has a super cool decorative and architectural style. Nowadays, it houses numerous opera and ballet performances by renowned international artists.
Even if you don’t like this type of work, it’s worth going inside as it’s very beautiful. We bought tickets for the ballet that day which cost us €5 and gave us access to some pretty bad seats but allowed us to visit the inside.
If you want to do the same as us, you can check all the information about new performances and their prices on the official website of the Budapest Opera.
Liberty Square
This is another of the must-see places in Budapest. Liberty Square is situated in the heart of Pest and originally commemorates the liberation of Budapest from the Nazis, especially with its Freedom Monument.
Important buildings such as the US embassy and some ministries are located on the square.
Another important place in the square is the monument to the victims of the German Occupation. It is a very controversial monument because Hungary was on the side of Germany for a long time, so it seems to be an attempt to victimise the country when it was part of this problem. Later, when there was a change of sides, there were problems of reprisals.
Try Turkish baths
Hungary has a long history and during this, it spent a century under Ottoman occupation. Because of this influence, they left a legacy that continues to this day. And it is none other than the Turkish baths.
There are numerous places to try this experience in Budapest and, after two times, we have noticed that it is something that not only tourists do, but locals do as well.
We have visited two spas:
- Széchenyi Spa. They are the most famous and typical ones. We visited them on our first visit to the city and we liked them very much because the experience of being in the water while it is quite cold outside is very curious. It has an outdoor part of central pools and then several smaller indoor pools. Normally it is more crowded than others, so if you want to relax, maybe this is not the place for you. You can buy a ticket here.
- Rudas Hot Springs. We went on our 3rd visit and we really liked them a lot. They have a type of visit that is nocturnal and it was the one we chose. It lasts from 10pm to 4am and it’s on Saturdays. The problem? It’s pretty cool, so there are a lot of people. Also, the coolest part of this place is a pool on top of the building which is uncovered and overlooks Pest and the Danube. It is very very top, but there were a lot of people in the same place. You can find tickets and prices on their official website.
Another important thermal baths are the Gellert Thermal Baths, located at the foot of the Gellert hill, so it is a third option for this activity.
Climbing Mount Gellert
The ascent to the Gellert mountain we have done it only 1 time and the truth is that for us it is worth it and we include it in the list of the must-see places in Budapest.
It is a mountain located next to the Buda Castle. To reach it, you have to cross the Szabadzag bridge and start climbing the slope of the mountain. It is about 15 minutes of ascent, nothing super complicated. When you go up, you will reach a super cool viewpoint overlooking the Danube that is perfect for taking a picture. A little further up is the Citadella, which is currently under construction and renovation (2024).
The descent we would do it on the other side of the mountain, towards Buda Castle to see another perspective of the views from the mountain.
Strolling around the Danube
As you will have seen in this list, the Danube is the centre of this city split in two. Well, for us, one of the must-see places in Budapest is to take a leisurely stroll along the riverbank and admire both sides of the river.
If we were you, I would take this walk on both sides, the Buda side and the Pest side, as it gives you different and super cool perspectives of the city and its two parts. If you can do it, it’s also a great change to do it during the day and at night, as the lighting of this city at night is amazing.
This walk will give you many places to photograph and admire, we believe that it will not leave you indifferent. It is one of the things that we liked the most in the city, we think that if we lived there we would do this walk very often 🙂
Taste Hungarian cuisine
We admit, we didn’t know what we would find in Hungary in terms of food. And we were pleasantly surprised. You can eat VERY well in Budapest. In terms of food, we would recommend trying the Langos, Gulag, chicken paprika, the Kürtoskalács and some of their meat in sauce.
If you want the best list of recommendations after 3 times there, complemented with the experience of Sergi, Chris’s brother after 6 months there, we leave it in our post of Where to eat in Budapest: a guide for foodies.
Danube Cruise
It is an extra but we liked it and therefore we want to add it to our list of must-see places in Budapest. It is a typical one-hour walk with a drink and an audio guide who explains the history of each of the places you can see from the river.
We think it is a different way to experience the city from its most emblematic place, the Danube River. We also think it is a perfect place to see the Parliament in its splendour (preferably at night).
Our cruise was with Legenda City Cruises and we think, from what we saw, that it is one of the best, so we recommend you to take it 🙂
Go to the Ice Rink of the Varosliglet Park
If you go in winter, between November and March, you will find right in Varosliget Park and in front of the castle, a place that for us is super cool if you want to do something different. And it’s none other than the city’s ice rink.
You’ll see that every evening from 6 o’clock it opens to the public and lots of people gather to skate there. The truth is that it is a super nice place and there is a great atmosphere with the music and all the people skating, so we would recommend you to try it, whether you know it or not. We don’t know and we had a great time.
You buy your ticket at the ticket office there and they give you your boots and a cloakroom, so everything is prepared for you to enjoy the activity.
The opening hours are from 9-13 and 17-21.
Margarita Island
Margaret Island is an island in the middle of the Danube with a huge park, ideal for walking or cycling. We visited it in winter, so there wasn’t much atmosphere, but in summer, Sergi told us that there were a lot of outdoor activities and a lot of people gather there to make life there, so in our opinion, we would recommend visiting it in summer.
If you go in winter anyway, it’s an ideal place for a nice, quiet walk, so it’s also great if you have time and fancy something more relaxed.
The ideal way to do it, for us, is by bike as it is fully groomed and these are super long and flat, so there is zero difficulty.
Map of must-see places in Budapest
We also leave you a map of the places in Budapest, distributed by days as we did.
As you will have noticed if you have come this far, the list of things to see in Budapest is quite extensive and there is plenty to do. It is a city, as we have said, that is very complete and fun, so you will surely not be indifferent and you will love it.
As always, contact us if you have any questions via comments or social networks!
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