47.50° N · 19.04° E
Hungary's capital on the banks of the Danube: the Parliament, Buda Castle, thermal baths from the 16th and 20th centuries and day trips by train or boat.
Part of DanubeThermal getawaysChristmas markets of EuropeClassical music and opera in Europe
Coming up
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
A guided tour of about 45 minutes with a guide or audio guide in Spanish · Tickets only on the official website · Reduced price for EEA citizens with ID
Buda Hill on foot, from the royal palace to Matthias Church · 2–3 h · Free in the streets · Go up by funicular or bus 16
The coronation church, with a Zsolnay ceramic roof, and the 197-step tower · Church 3,400 Ft, tower 4,000 Ft · 9:00 to 17:00
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Getaways from Budapest
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
In spring and in September and October it is pleasant for walking and the outdoor baths are not scorching. December brings the Christmas markets and steam at Széchenyi. July and August are hot; January and February are cold and cheaper.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
Budapest can be seen entirely without a car, and with a car it is worse: parking in the centre is expensive and scarce. The M1 metro, the oldest on the continent, links the centre with the Széchenyi baths; tram 2 runs along the Danube; the HÉV goes to Szentendre and Gödöllő; and the trains to Eger and Balaton leave from the city's stations. The budget is per person per day, with a hostel or mid-range hotel, food and transport.
Budapest has its own airport, Ferenc Liszt (BUD), with direct flights from Madrid and Barcelona all year round and, depending on the season, from other Spanish cities. It is about 16 km from the centre: the 100E bus drops you at Deák Ferenc tér in about 40 minutes, at any hour. You do not need a car for the city; hire one only if you are continuing to Lake Balaton, Hévíz or Eger.
Budapest gives a lot for its price in luxury: hotels in 19th-century palaces, Hungarian cooking that has won Michelin stars and wines that few people know outside the country. The budget is per person per day, with a four-star hotel or above, a tasting-menu dinner and entry to the baths.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Budapest works with children: a boat, a funicular, a castle and a market. But the most famous baths are no longer for them: since August 2025, Széchenyi and Rudas do not admit under-14s. Plan the trip without counting on a thermal bath if the children are young.
From the age of 14, Budapest gains a lot: they can now enter the thermal baths, and the city has nightlife, 20th-century history and room to get around alone on the metro.
With children up to the age of six, Budapest is a city of boats, trams and squares. They pay for almost nothing, but they do not get into the big thermal baths either.
Budapest is planned in two parts: by day, the thermal baths, and at night, the Danube and the bars of the Jewish Quarter. The baths are what you won't find in another European group-trip city: hot outdoor pools in midwinter and a night-time bath party. Mind the minimum age of 14 at several.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: A hotel at the Buda end of the Chain Bridge, with rooms overlooking the Danube and the castle and a rooftop bar facing the Parliament.
Why we like it: A four-star boutique hotel in a 19th-century palace on Andrássy Avenue, steps from the Opera and the basilica, with a wellness area.
Why we like it: A hostel beside the Central Market with curtained bunks, double rooms with bathroom, a kitchen and 24-hour reception, a step from the M4 metro.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: The four-course menu with the Hungarian wine pairing, to try wineries from Tokaj, Eger and Villány.
What to order: The Gerbeaud cake, with layers of walnut, apricot jam and chocolate, with a coffee from the house blend.
What to order: Order the set menu of the day and a főzelék, the thick vegetable pottage that is Hungary's everyday dish.
What to order: The Hortobágy pancake, filled with meat in paprika sauce and sour cream, and the duck leg with cabbage.
Map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
47.67° N · 19.08° E
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47.60° N · 19.35° E
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47.78° N · 19.13° E
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47.79° N · 18.92° E
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Tips
If a cash machine or card reader offers to charge you in euros, say no: the exchange rate they apply is worse.
The first-hour ticket is cheaper and the outdoor pools are almost empty.
It runs along the Pest bank of the Danube between the Parliament and the Central Market Hall: it is a sightseeing trip in itself.
To see the Parliament lit up, cross to Batthyány tér at dusk: from the Buda bank you have it all in front of you, reflected in the river.
Websites that are still selling tickets for the Gellért baths: they are closed until 2028.
There are direct flights to Ferenc Liszt Airport (BUD) from Madrid and Barcelona all year round and, depending on the season, from other Spanish cities; the flight takes around three hours. The airport is about 16 km from the centre. The 100E bus leaves Terminal 2 24 hours a day and drops you at Kálvin tér or Deák Ferenc tér in about 40 minutes; the special ticket costs 2,500 Ft and is paid for by card at the machine on board. In Hungary you pay in forints (HUF), not euros: withdraw cash from a bank cash machine or pay by card, which is accepted almost everywhere.
Budapest is two cities joined in 1873. Buda, on the west bank, is the hill: Castle District, Gellért Hill and the Rudas and Lukács baths. Pest, on the flat east bank, is the 19th-century city: the Parliament, the basilica, Andrássy Avenue, the Jewish Quarter with its ruin bars and the park with the Széchenyi baths. The Danube runs between the two, and almost everything you will see is on its banks or a few stops from them.
On the first day, Buda. Go up to the Castle District on bus 16 or the funicular, walk around the palace terrace and carry on to Matthias Church and Fisherman's Bastion, ideally first thing in the morning. Walk down the bastion steps to the riverbank and look across at the Parliament. In the afternoon, the Rudas baths, at the foot of Gellért Hill.
On the second day, Pest. The Parliament tour in the morning, with your ticket bought on the official website, lunch at the Hungarikum Bisztró, two streets away, and in the afternoon St Stephen's Basilica and its viewing platform. At dusk, the one-hour Danube cruise with the bridges lit up.
On the third day, Andrássy and the water. Ride the M1 metro along the avenue to City Park and spend the morning at the Széchenyi baths. In the afternoon, the Central Market Hall and Váci utca.
With four nights or more, leave the city. Szentendre is 40 minutes away on the HÉV suburban train; the Danube Bend, with Visegrád castle and Esztergom basilica, can be done in a day by train, bus or, in season, boat. Eger, with its castle, its cellars and its Turkish bath, is two hours away by train; and Lake Balaton and the thermal lake at Hévíz call for two nights.
Budapest sits on thermal springs, and bathing has been part of a visit since the Romans and the Ottomans. But there are two recent changes that many guidebooks do not mention. The Gellért baths have been closed since 1 October 2025 for renovation, and their website expects them to reopen in 2028. And since 1 August 2025, Széchenyi and Rudas do not admit children under 14. If you are travelling with children, the thermal bath is off the list; if you are travelling as a couple or with friends, buy on each bath's own website, not from resellers.
The Parliament is the only thing that sells out: in summer, places on Spanish-language tours go one or two weeks ahead. Book a table at Hungarikum Bisztró and at Borkonyha too. The baths, the boat and the churches can be bought on the day or the day before.
Questions
Three days for the essentials: Buda, Pest and a bath. With four or five, add a day trip to Szentendre, the Danube Bend or Eger.
On the 100E bus, 24 hours a day, in about 40 minutes to Deák Ferenc tér. The ticket costs 2,500 Ft and is paid for by card on board.
No, the currency is the forint (HUF). Cards are accepted almost everywhere.
At Széchenyi and Rudas, not under the age of 14 since August 2025. The Gellért is closed until 2028.
Széchenyi, for the outdoor pools, especially in winter. For a historic bath with a dome, Rudas.
Yes, especially in high season and in Spanish. Buy at jegymester.hu/parlament, the official sales site.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/hungary/budapest
