I recently took off to spend a weekend in Budapest, Hungary for the first time and it was such a gem of a city. Although I usually travel with my family, this trip was a short getaway with a friend. My husband and I take a couple of opportunities a year to either take a quick trip together or a quick trip with a friend/other family member.
And let me tell you, if you’re a parent and you’ve never tried this, I definitely recommend! I think it ends up being a good experience for everyone (each parent + the kids).
Anyway, back to Budapest. I’d never really given much thought to visiting Budapest until I was looking for a good weekend getaway in Europe but I’m so glad that we landed on it as our destination!
The post is to help you with all of the things you need to know before planning your trip to Budapest, Hungary. These are things that I wish I had compiled for me before my trip.
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18 Tips for Traveling to Budapest for the First Time
1. Budapest is so Worth a Visit
Budapest is absolutely beautiful and is definitely worth a visit. The city is split in half by a large river with gorgeous bridges that cross it and a hill on the opposite side that affords for beautiful views.
There is a lot of history, cozy restaurants, great shopping, and beautiful places to see.
2. Budapest Makes For a Great Weekend Trip
Budapest is just the right size to feel satisfied with what you can see even after a quick weekend trip. Like any place you visit, I’m sure you could spend much more time and still enjoy it, however, I found that two days of exploring in Budapest was totally perfect.
This means that if you are local to Europe, Budapest makes for a fabulous weekend getaway or if you are coming from further abroad Budapest is a great stop to add to your larger European itinerary.
3. Best time of year to Visit Budapest Hungary
The nice thing about Budapest is that you can visit almost any time of year and have an enjoyable experience as (long as you are prepared for the different weather you will encounter).
Similar to most places in Europe, the ideal months to visit to avoid extreme heat and crowds are April/May and September/October. However, I visited Budapest in early August and didn’t feel like the crowds were bad at all.
But on the other hand, if you want a cozy, Christmasy time in Budapest then you should visit from mid to late November through December when the Christmas Markets are up.
Some of the coldest months (and maybe the least exciting months) would be January-March. However, you may have a lot of attractions to yourself.
4. Budapest feels very Safe
I haven’t traveled without my husband in many years which left me feeling a little unsure of how I would feel safety-wise (I’ve just gotten too dang used to having him around 🙈). However, I’m happy to report that there was not one time that I felt unsafe in Budapest.
I traveled with one other female friend and was out late into the dark both nights in the city and we always felt safe. So if you are concerned about safety or interested in a solo trip to Budapest, I don’t think you have any reason to worry.
5. There are Lots of Amazing (yet Affordable) Hotel options in Budapest
I was pleasantly surprised to find that Budapest has some great hotels at really affordable prices. We stayed at the D8 Hotel in the Budapest city center and were soo happy with our stay. D8 Hotel felt super new, our rooms were sparkling clean and the morning complimentary breakfast buffet was great.
Not only was it just an amazing hotel on the inside, but I couldn’t stop talking about its great location! We had just a 5-minute walk to the Danube River River, a 5-minute walk to where we boarded our nighttime river cruise, and just a 15-minute walk to the Jewish Quarter full of loads of history and eclectic shops.
Not to mention we were also just a 3-minute walk to the closest metro line and a 5-minute walk to Budapest’s largest walking street Vaci (which is lined with shops and restaurants including big stores like Zara etc. )that goes all the way to Central Market Hall.
If this doesn’t give you an idea of how great the D8 Hotel is I don’t know what will. The amazing location coupled with the clean, stylish rooms, yummy breakfast, and affordable price really makes staying there a no-brainer.
Although we really loved our experience at the D8 Hotel in Budapest, there seemed to be many other affordable, nice-looking hotels to choose from that you can find by searching here.
6. Budapest has some great spots to See some Beautiful views
I am a real sucker for a good view and maybe that’s one reason why I enjoyed visiting Budapest so much. But really, if you like a good view then Budapest is for you.
My favorite spot for views was from the viewing terrace at Fisherman’s Bastion. It’s a gorgeous area with a beautiful church and fairytale-like spires. We also enjoyed some great views from Buda Castle.
Two unique places that we enjoyed views of Budapest from were the Leo Rooftop Restaurant (I highly recommend) and from a nighttime river cruise on the Danube River.
7. Nighttime is a beautiful time to be out
If you visit Budapest and don’t go out after dark, you’re really missing out. The area along the Danube River is absolutely gorgeous as the sun sets and turns everything a dusty pink. And once the sun is down, the lights along the river start twinkling, the bridges become illuminated and the Parliament Building is a stunning, lit site to see.
I recommend heading to some of the viewpoints I mentioned above right before sunset to watch the city transition from day to night. It was our most peaceful and relaxed time of the trip taking in Budapest at night.
8. A NightTime Danube river cruise Is a must-do Experience
You can take a cruise/boat ride on the Danube River at any time of day, however, I highly recommend booking a nighttime river cruise. The buildings and bridges along the Danube River come alive at night with gorgeous twinkling lights and a boat ride along the Danube is one of the best ways to experience it.
There are a lot of different tour boat companies that offer rides along the river which can make it difficult to choose. However, we booked this boat ride and were very impressed with what we got. I’ve taken a lot of sightseeing boat tours in Europe but this was one of the most comfortable and informative rides I’ve taken.
We sat in comfortably padded chairs and were given a headset that connected to a video showing on a screen at the front that was showing us images of the inside of all of the buildings we passed while we listened and learned about those buildings on the headset. Plus the crew came around to take our drink orders and then served us our complimentary drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options).
Overall our 1-hour Danube River nighttime cruise was really lovely and I recommend it as a great way to end the night.
9. You Can Find Hungarian Paprika Almost Anywhere
Little did I know, but Hungarian paprika is lauded to be the best type of paprika one can have to add a distinct paprika flavor to any dish. Hungarian paprika comes in quite a few different variations including sweet, spicy, and smoked.
The Central Market Hall (or Great Market Hall as it’s sometimes called) has rows upon rows of stalls selling paprika. I’m no paprika connoisseur so it was hard to know which kinds were better than others. However, it was still fun to shop for some paprika souvenirs to take home to family.
10. The bridges have pedestrian paths you can use to cross
Something I wasn’t sure about before visiting Budapest was whether the bridges crossing the Danube River were only for vehicles or if we would be able to walk on them.
Thankfully, the beautiful bridges crossing the river (Széchenyi Chain Bridge, Liberty Bridge, and Erzsébet Bridge) DO have pedestrian walkways.
The bridges were one of my favorite parts of visiting Budapest and I highly recommend walking them.
11. Budapest Has Some Really great places to eat
Since being an adult is basically continually figuring out what you are going to make for dinner, it’s so nice to visit somewhere with a good food scene. Some of the amazing food establishments that call Budapest home are called ‘ruin bars’.
The ruin bars in Budapest are restaurants and/or bars built in old abandoned buildings leftover from WWII and the Soviet Era. One of the most famous ruin bars is Szimpla Kert. It’s more known for its bar and nightlife, however, we visited it on a Sunday morning for the weekly (quiet) farmer’s market which is much more my scene.
We also had brunch at Mazel Tov which is a beautiful and delicious Israeli fusion restaurant built in an abandoned building. If you want to eat here, reservations are highly recommended. You can find so much Israeli-inspired food in Budapest because of the Jewish influence in the city.
Of course, there are also many traditional Hungarian establishments worth a try (which unfortunately we didn’t have time in our itinerary).
And if you’ve never tried Georgian food, there are plenty of delicious Georgian restaurants in Budapest which are also worth a try! We got Georgian food at Hachapuri and it was great!
12. There are Many vintage shopping Opportunities in Budapest
If you love strolling through cute, small shops packed from wall to wall with homemade goods and vintage garb, then the Jewish Quarter of Budapest is for you. I was pleasantly surprised at how many retro shops we stumbled upon and they were so fun to explore.
If you want a couple of vintage shops to get you started, try checking out Retrock and Ludovika VNTG Shop. Or if you are looking for handmade goodies, try Szimpla Design Shop.
A simple Google search for ‘vintage shops in Budapest’ or ‘shops in Budapest’ will give you lots of great suggestions to add to your itinerary. Or you can be like us and just stumble upon shops as you explore the Jewish Quarter.
13. Budapest has Multiple Thermal Pools open to the Public
One of the most common things to do in Budapest is to take a dip in one of the many thermal pools in the city. The largest and most popular pool is Széchenyi Thermal Spa. This is a large thermal pool complex that includes outdoor and indoor pools and from what I’ve seen it looks the prettiest.
We planned to visit the Szechenyi thermal pools, but when the time came we just didn’t feel like getting wet and everything that comes with that 🙃. However, we did pass by Szechenyi and noticed a long line outside for those who hadn’t purchased tickets ahead of time.
So from that experience, I’d recommend purchasing tickets to the pool ahead of time. You can do that here.
Another popular thermal pool complex is the Gellert Thermal Spa. The Gellert pools are a bit more centrally located (still a bit out of the way) but they also feature an outdoor swimming and wave pool which would be fun if you are traveling with kids.
I’d also recommend booking in advance for the Gellert Thermal Pools to ensure you aren’t wasting time waiting in a long line. You can do that here.
14. There is so much WWII and Jewish History in Budapest
I had no idea before visiting Budapest, but there is a lot of amazing WWII and Jewish history in Budapest. Besides wandering the Jewish Quarter for the cute shops and hip atmosphere, I also recommend stopping in to visit the Dohány Street Synagogue.
The Dohány Street Synagogue is the largest Jewish temple in all of Europe and right in the heart of the Jewish Quarter of Budapest. Here you can learn about some of the devastating actions of the Holocaust and its effects on the Jewish residents of Budapest.
This entrance ticket to the synagogue includes a short guided tour of the synagogue or you can book a longer guided tour of the Jewish Quarter that includes both the synagogue plus a walk through the Jewish Quarter with additional information (I would have loved to have taken this).
You can also travel back in time to learn about the 1956 Revolution to the fall of the Iron Curtain and everything in between on this guided historical tour of Budapest including a museum visit.
15. There are Many Great, Guided Tours You Can Book in Budapest
If you’re someone who loves a good guided tour, there are plenty of great tour options in Budapest. As I mentioned above, we took this 1-hour nighttime river cruise on the Danube River. It was so cozy and the views of the lights of the Parliament Building and the bridges from the water were just lovely. Or you can even take a river cruise on an old paddle steamer which looked so quaint.
A walking tour that I’m sure would be amazing is this amazing Jewish Quarter walking tour about the past and present Jewish presence in the community. There is a lot of history there and I would have loved to learn more about it.
Or you can book this all-inclusive Budapest walking tour with a strudel stop that covers many of the main attractions in Budapest.
You can search Budapest tours yourself here to see if there are any other tours that look good to you!
16. You can Book Fun day trips from Budapest
If you want an easy way to see some of the area around Budapest, then you may want to consider booking a guided day tour to one of the popular day trips from Budapest. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time for any day trips from Budapest.
However, if we had had time, I would looked into this day trip to Lake Balaton which includes a stop at a porcelain factory and a boat ride on the lake. There is also this private day trip to Lake Balaton for those who want a more intimate experience.
Another popular day trip from Budapest is to the beautiful river town, Szentendre with entrance to Visegrád Castle. Or you can also head north on a day trip to Bratislava in Slovakia for the day to explore.
But if you’re a wine-lover, the best day trip from Budapest for you may be the half-day Etyek wine country tour from Budapest with dinner. You get to enjoy dinner outside near the vineyard in summer or in the cellar in winter.
17. The Budapest Travel Card is an Inexpensive way to cover Public Transit
Whenever I travel, I love to get a local travel card so that I don’t have to purchase public transit tickets before each journey (it’s SO much easier and often a great deal). Budapest was no different.
You can purchase a 24-hour Budapest Travel Card or a 72-hour Budapest Travel Card for unlimited travel on the metro and bus lines. These are the least expensive travel card options but keep in mind that these travel cards do not include rides on the tram lines (for example the iconic yellow tram that goes along the Danube) and the bus to and from the airport.
If you want to ride the iconic Tram 2 in Budapest (which I highly recommend) then you will need to book a separate ticket either from one of the ticket machines along the route which you can find on a map here. But I think you can also purchase the travel cards plus the one-time single tram ticket on the mobile app here.
However, another option that DOES include a ride on the tram plus the bus and metro line, two free walking tours, and free entry to some museums (plus discounts to others) is the all-inclusive Budapest Card.
The Budapest Card is a good option if you plan to visit many of the included attractions over multiple days. However, for us, it wasn’t worth it so we did the basic 72-Hour Budapest Travel Card.
18. It’s Very Easy to get from the airport to the city center
As I mentioned above, transit to and from the airport to the Budapest city center is not included in the basic Budapest Travel Card. But no worries! It’s so easy to get from the airport to the city center.
All you need to do is hop onto the 100E Airport Express bus and 40 minutes later you’ll be at your destination. You don’t even need to buy tickets in advance. You can purchase your ticket at a kiosk ON the bus using your bank card. A one-way ticket was about $6.
There were even employees at both the airport and the settle bus stops in the city center helping passengers purchase their tickets quickly and efficiently. It was super easy.
If you’re someone who likes having everything settled in advance, then you can purchase your airport bus ticket ahead of time on the Budapest Transit App.
And those are all of my Budapest travel tips that I think you need to know to help you plan the best trip to Budapest, Hungary! Please let me know in the comments below if you have any other questions about my time in Budapest, I’ll be sure to get back to you, and happy to help if I can.
Check out these other posts, I know you’ll love them:
- 8 Best Viewpoints in Budapest You Can’t Miss
- The Only Itinerary You Need for a Weekend in Budapest: 2 Days in Budapest
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Retika
Your post on Budapest is truly enchanting! The way you’ve captured the city’s vibrant essence makes me feel like I’ve journeyed there myself. Thank you for sharing such a delightful and inspiring experience!