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Julia is standing in front of one of the towers of Fisherman's Bastion, in Budapest. In this blog post, she shares the best tips for a trip to Budapest.

Let’s discover the Hungarian capital together.

Budapest is a thriving, cosmopolitan capital, and a great place to discover Hungary and its culture. Many think that Budapest is mostly a cheap party destination, but it is in fact a bustling city that has a lot to offer – everything from great food, a complex culture, stunning architecture and busy city life.
I rediscovered Budapest last October and enjoyed autumn in the Hungarian capital, on a seven-day trip. Read the Budapest travel guide below to find out about the best sights, restaurants and cafes, and day trips from the city – thus planning the perfect trip to Budapest!

Sights you should not miss in Budapest

🏰 Vajdahunyad Castle and the city park: This stunning castle isn’t the first place that comes to mind when thinking of Budapest, making it a lesser-known gem. The castle was built in 1896 as a copy of a Romanian castle, and looks like a magical Gothic novel castle with Romanesque, Baroque and Renaissance features. It was first made out of cardboard but got rebuilt properly as it became very popular.
It houses the Museum of Hungarian Agriculture, but ultimately Vajdahunyad Castle should be visited mostly for its picturesque beauty. If you are visiting Budapest in autumn, the changing leaves will make the castle and park even more magical!
👙 The Szechenyi Thermal Baths: There are dozens of thermal baths in Budapest, the most fabout being Szechenyi and the Gellert Baths. Despite some bad reviews, the Szechenyi Baths are a must-see in my opinion for their history and stunning architecture. To avoid a bad experience (i.e. sharing the pool with hundreds of other visitors) I highly recommend that you visit the Szechenyi Baths as early as possible. We arrived there at 7.30am and there were only a handful of locals there with us. Remember to bring a swimsuit, flip flops and your own towel – you can rent there on site but for a disproportionate fee. At the baths, enjoy the outdoors heated pool (it has jaccuzzi features) before heading inside to discover smaller pools and saunas. A perfect way to start the morning in Budapest; I recommend staying a couple hours early on, then getting on with your day.

Julia standing in front of a courtyard at Vajdahunyad castle, looking at the Gothic facade. The facade is blue, and there is a whimsical row of columns on a balcony.

🌳 Gellert Hill: Towering high above Budapest, on the Buda side of the city (West), Gellert Hill is a big park with different walking routes, sculptures and panoramic views of the city. There aren’t many green spaces in Budapest, so a walk around Gellert Hill is a breath of fresh hair. Start you walk by climbing up the impressive stairs leading to the statue of Gellert – located on Szent Gellért rkp. 16 in Google Maps. In the autumn, the leaves on the walls of the stairs turn red!
On the side of the hill, you can visit the St Stephen church, built in the rock of the hill. You have to pay a small entrance fee to visit, but it is definitely a unique visit in Budapest.
👾 The Flippemuzeum (pinball museum): Probably the most fun evening we had in Budapest! The Flippermuzeum is an underground playroom full of vintage pinball machines, from the 2000s to the 1940s. Your entrance fee gives you the possibility to play on all the machines, with no time limit – if you visit at opening time, you could play all evening until it closes! You can get non-alcoholic drinks there too. We had a lot of fun trying all the machines – there are loads, so it’s almost unlimited fun. The best way to spend an evening in Budapest if you’re not into bars!
🚶 Go on a walking tour of the city: We did not feel like visiting many museums in the city, so to learn more about Budapest’s History, we booked a free walking tour. We always book through guruwalk because we have never been disappointed in the experience – free to book, easy to navigate, and shows you several walking tours for every place you go. A walking tour of Budapest allows you to hit all the main sights: The Parliament Building, the Opera, Saint Stephen’s Basilica, etc. on the Pest side of the city. On the Buda side, you can see Fisherman’s Bastion, Saint Matthias Church, Buda Castle and the Presidential Palace.

A cloudy sunset view of Budapest from Gellert Hill. We can see the Parliament building and some typical Budapest buildings. The sky is grey and pink.

Places in Budapest that you can skip

If you have limited time in Budapest and don’t want to waste time in uninteresting experiences or places that aren’t ultimately worth it, here are the things that I think you could skip:
New York Café: this famous café, very popular among visitors, has stunning interiors but where the food and drinks are overpriced, the service isn’t great. If you want to see beautiful interiors like those of the New York Café, visiting a castle might be more worth the time and money.
A visit of the Parliament building: while the Parliament building itself is breathtaking, I was quite disappointed by the visit of its interiors. You are very restricted in the areas you visit, and there are guides watching your every move – doesn’t feel very comfortable! Instead of spending money on the tickets (which have to be booked weeks in advance anyway) make sure to admire the outside of the Parliament, both in daylight and at night.
Szimpla Kert ruin bar: this may be an unpopular opinion, but I was just not impressed by the most famous ruin bar in the city. We went one evening and while it wasn’t too crowded and we could easily find a seat, we did not stay to drink there as everything looked filthy. Very dim light, loud music, uncomfortable seating… and I will spare you the state of the toilets, which truly showed how gross everything was. Not worth the hype in my opinion, but maybe if you are in the mood for a party you would enjoy it there.

A Nutella coffee with cute dog latte art at BAR 9, a great café in Budapest.

Restaurants and cafés we tried and loved in Budapest

I love Hungarian food and Budapest has many delightful restaurants where you can try the best of their traditional foods. Here are some specific foods you should try out: chicken paprikash, Hungarian dumplings, langos, goulash, cucumber salad with sour cream, Hungarian crepes (palacsinta). For drinks, you should try local beers and have a shot of palinka (fruit brandy) at the end of your meal.
Here are some restaurants we loved:
🍽️ Frici Papa: I discovered this restaurant in 2019 and went back in 2022, loving it just as much. They have fast service and hearty, simple dishes. The dishes are very affodable too, making it a great place to eat Hungarian food on a budget. I love their chicken paprikash.
🍽️ Pörc & Prézli Etterem: this traditional Hungarian restaurant serves delicious dishes in a more elegant fashion than Frici Papa (which is more low-key). We loved our meal there and there was every some live piano music.
🍽️ Mazel Tov: this mediterranean restaurant is quite well-known in Budapest. We enjoyed their houmous and falafel bowls and their cocktails, the atmosphere inside is great and so is the decor. The service wasn’t terribly friendly, but we could overlook that because everything else was on point!

As for coffee and breakfast, there are also many great options. Budapest is a young city and a student city, so you will easily find cool independent cafés and Instagram-worth brunches. Here were our favourites:
BITE bakery café: for an easy and convenient breakfast or lunch, the BITE bakeries are perfect. It is a chain, so there are several scattered around the city. I love their seasonal coffees (aaall the cinnamon drinks in the autumn) and their cinnamon buns, but they also do fun pretzel sandwiches.
Freyja – the croissant story: this bakery specialises in the famous French pastry, and they do it rather well! Their pastries are super flaky and rich in butter. I loved their pistacchio croissant!
9BAR: this chill café is a great place to sit and read a book or relax after exploring the city. Their coffee is delicious. I loved their Nocciola – a coffee steaked with Nutella. Bonus point for the kind welcome and the cute latte art!
Vinyl & Wood: this café is the perfect brunch place in the old Jewish quarter. Get there early in the morning to get a table, and enjoy amazing brunch food. Their avocado toast bursts with flavour and so does their French toast. They also have fresh pastries and cake to top it all off. A delight!

Hungarian food to try in Budapest: langos and goulash stew from Karavan, in the old Jewish Quarter.

Fun day trips from Budapest to discover more of Hungary

Most people who travel to Budapest stay in the city for the whole trip, which is a shame because there are many cute towns in Hungary to discover. Here are two places we visited on day trips and loved:
Bory Castle: located in the colourful town of Székesfehérvar, Bory Castle is a whimsical structure built single-handedly by artist and architect Jeno Bory. The castle, which more of an artist’s studio, is splendid and looks straight out of a fairytale. I loved exploring the gardens especially, and climbing the towers.
You will need a half day to explore Bory Castle, accounting for travel time (about 1h15 total by train to Székesfehérvar, then bus from there to the castle). You can have lunch in the town before going back to Budapest.
🏰 Eger: a two-hour train ride away, Eger has a rich history despite being a tiny town. Visit the castle for amazing views over the city, climb the narrow minaret (claustrophobic people, beware!) and feed the duck colony at the park.
There are many other places you can visit from Budapest of course. Two worth mentioning are Gödöllo, famous for its lavish castle, and Szentendre, a cute town north of Budapest, on the Danube River, which you can get to by boat!

A panoramic view of Eger, Hungary, from the medieval castle. Eger is a great city to visit on a day trip from Budapest.

PS: Check out my Instagram highlights for extra tips, pictures and Budapest travel inspiration ♥

Hi there! I'm Julia.

About Me

28 years old, based in Paris, France. I'm a primary school teacher by day, blogger and creator the rest of the time! I love coffee, exploring pretty places, and helping you grow through self-care and positivity. Happy to meet you!