Budapest's Parliament seen from across the Danube
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Budapest in 3 days

  • 3 days
  • 6.2 km on foot
  • 16 stops
  • Audio guide

Three days is just enough for Budapest to stop being a list of monuments and become a city. You will see both banks at an easy pace, a Jewish Quarter, a thermal bath and a green island in the middle of the Danube, with room left for long lunches and a dinner away from the centre.

Day 1Castle and Jewish Quarter

Start on Castle Hill with «The best of Budapest: Castle Hill»: Matthias Church, Fisherman's Bastion and the Chain Bridge, before the crowds. Come down by funicular or on foot and have a goulash for lunch in Pest. In the afternoon, change pace and wander the old Jewish Quarter and Andrássy Avenue. With no route to follow, it is the moment to step into a synagogue, have a coffee and peek at the opera house.

  1. Morning

    The best of Budapest: Castle Hill

    Mixed · 1.8 km · 1 h 40 min

    1. Matthias ChurchRoyal weddings, a century and a half as a mosque and a ceramic roof that glitters like fish scales.
    2. Fisherman's BastionIt looks like a medieval fortress, but it's a lookout built in 1902 for gazing at the Danube.
    3. Sándor PalaceThe Hungarian president's residence, where a prime minister took his own life in 1941 rather than break his word.
    4. Buda Royal PalaceDestroyed and rebuilt again and again: the palace of Hungary's kings is the city's great survivor.
    5. Chain BridgeThe first permanent bridge between Buda and Pest, born of Széchenyi's stubbornness and guarded by four lions with a legend.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  2. Lunch

    Try Goulash (gulyás) at Százéves Étterem. Piarista utca 2, Budapest

  3. Afternoon

    Dohány Street Synagogue

    The largest synagogue in Europe, in Moorish style, with two domed towers. It stands in the old Jewish Quarter, close to the centre. It does not open to visitors on Saturdays, so check the day beforehand.

    Directions

    Hungarian State Opera

    A neo-Renaissance theatre opened in 1884, with a gilded interior and a marble staircase. You can visit on a guided tour or catch a performance. It sits on Andrássy Avenue, a short stroll from the synagogue.

    Directions

Day 2Parliament and thermal baths

In the morning, «Budapest from 1849 to 1989: the Pest Embankment»: the Academy, Parliament and St Stephen's Basilica. You end near Liberty Square; hop on a tram to the Great Market Hall and have a lángos there for lunch. The afternoon is for leisure: the M1 takes you under Andrássy Avenue to Heroes' Square and, right beside it, the baths, to end the day in hot water.

  1. Morning

    Budapest from 1849 to 1989: the Pest Embankment

    History · 2.4 km · 2 h

    1. Hungarian Academy of SciencesA palace born of a single gesture: the day a young count gave a whole year's income so that Hungarian could have a science of its own.
    2. Shoes on the Danube BankSixty pairs of iron shoes at the water's edge: Budapest's simplest and most harrowing memorial.
    3. Parliament and Kossuth SquareHungary's largest building, conceived for the nation's millennium, and a square that ran with blood in 1956.
    4. Batthyány Eternal FlameA flame that never goes out, on the corner where Hungary's first prime minister was shot.
    5. Liberty SquareBudapest's most contradictory square: a Soviet obelisk, a bronze American president and a cardinal who lived fifteen years inside an embassy.
    6. St Stephen's BasilicaHalf a century of building work, a dome that collapsed and a church exactly as tall as Parliament.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  2. Lunch

    Try Lángos at Központi Vásárcsarnok. Vámház körút 1–3, Budapest

  3. Afternoon

    Heroes' Square

    A monumental square with the Millennium Monument and statues of the seven Magyar chieftains and Hungarian kings. Take the M1 line, which runs under Andrássy Avenue. It sits next to City Park (Városliget).

    Directions

    Széchenyi Baths

    A yellow neo-Baroque bathhouse with outdoor thermal pools open all year. It is in City Park, near Heroes' Square. Bring swimwear and flip-flops, and book ahead if you can.

    Directions

Day 3Memory, island and witches

Open the morning at the House of Terror, which covers the 20th century, then ride a tram to Margaret Island for a quiet stroll. Have halászlé, the fish soup, for lunch on Fő utca, in Buda. At dusk, cross Elisabeth Bridge for «Witches' Hill: Legends of Gellért Hill», with St Gerard and the Rudas Baths. Finish with marrow bone on toast at Kéhli, in Óbuda.

  1. Morning

    House of Terror

    A museum in the building that housed the headquarters of the Nazi and then communist secret police, on Andrássy Avenue. It is heavy going, but it explains Hungary's 20th century well and complements the history route.

    Directions

    Margaret Island

    A car-free island park, about two kilometres long, in the middle of the Danube. It has gardens, medieval ruins and a musical fountain. Walk in from Margaret Bridge; tram 4 or 6 drops you right there.

    Directions

  2. Lunch

    Try Fisherman's soup (halászlé) at Horgásztanya Vendéglő. Fő utca 27, Budapest

  3. Early evening

    Witches' Hill: Legends of Gellért Hill

    Mysteries & legends · 2 km · 1 h 45 min

    1. Contra-Aquincum and Pest's Oldest ChurchUnder a sheet of glass, the walls of a Roman fort; beside it, a church that was once a mosque and, by tradition, once held a martyr's grave.
    2. St Gerard's Statue and the Witches' HillA bishop who, legend says, was hurled down the hillside, and a hill that for centuries was said to draw the witches of Hungary.
    3. Rudas BathsA 16th-century Ottoman dome over hot springs that were rising from the hill long before the city existed.
    4. Cave ChurchA church carved into the hill, which the communist police walled up behind concrete in 1951.
    5. Liberty BridgeA green bridge from 1896 crowned by four turul birds, the bird of the dream that, legend says, foretold the Árpád dynasty.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  4. Dinner

    Try Marrow bone on toast at Kéhli Vendéglő. Mókus utca 22, Budapest (Óbuda)

The map

Budapest in 3 days, on the map

Each route’s stops are numbered in order; the stars are the extra sights.

Mixed History Mysteries & legends Extra sight

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Before you go

Tips for Budapest in 3 days

  • Book the baths and guided visits ahead in high season: the three days can be reshuffled, but places on tours cannot always be.
  • The 72-hour transport pass is often worth it over three days, since tram, metro and bus link up well. Compare it with single tickets.
  • Many Budapest museums close on Mondays; if your trip falls on a Monday, swap the order of the days so you do not miss the House of Terror.

Questions

Budapest in 3 days: your questions

How many days do you need in Budapest?

Three is a good number: you see both banks, a thermal bath and the less obvious districts without rushing. Two days cover the essentials; with four or more, day trips such as Szentendre or the Danube Bend come into play.

How far do you walk over these three days?

The routes add up to about 6.2 km. With the extras, the trams and each day's strolls, the average is around 7 to 8 km a day, quite manageable if you mix in trams.

Which day is best for the baths?

Day 2, in the afternoon, after the history route. It is the day with the fewest hills, and the baths feel great at the end of it. Avoid weekends if you want smaller crowds.

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