11 Awesome Things to Do in Budapest, Hungary

If you had asked me five years ago where I imagined myself traveling in my twenties, I probably would have listed twenty countries before Hungary. Honestly, it wasn't even on my radar until less than a month before I traveled there–but after visiting (and spending a whole month there), I can’t imagine Budapest not being a part of my travel adventures.

Being the capital of Hungary, and a huge city with a population of 1.7 million, Budapest is a hotspot for tourists especially in recent years. There’s a balance between younger crowds looking for nightlife, historic parts of the city with incredible architecture, older locals with mom and pop restaurants and stores, and everything in between. It’s also an incredible foodie city, with extremely affordable meals and countless cuisine options, including traditional Hungarian delicacies.

If you’re looking for an affordable city in Central Europe to spend some time exploring historic streets, soaking up history, enjoying amazing dishes, and dancing the night away, Budapest is the place for you! I’m sharing 11 of my favorite things to do in the city to help you embrace being a tourist and get the most out of your trip.

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1. Get Drinks at the Ruin Bars (Szimpla Kert)

When in Budapest, going to a ruin bar is a must-do. There are plenty to choose from, but the most popular is Szimpla Kert, an abandoned building in District 7 that’s now home to a collection of bars inside. As you walk through each room and hallway, up stairs and around corners, you’ll find graffiti and plants and neon lights and lots and lots of alcohol. During the day, there are vendors selling cheeses, hot drinks, and homemade goods, and at night it becomes a lively club with live music, hookah bars, and plenty to drink. It’s not an every night spot (for me at least), but it’s a really fun place to experience the transition from day to night! There’s an outdoor food hall next door, too, for when you need to mix in some fries or a sandwich (or more drinks, honestly).

2. Soak in a Thermal Bath

I’m not normally one for public baths, or swimming in public places in general, but I really enjoyed my visit to the Széchenyi Thermal Baths! Budapest is located on a fault line, and the natural mineral springs here have been turned into spas all around the city. Széchenyi Baths, built over 100 years ago, is the largest thermal bath in Budapest, as well as one of the biggest in all of Europe, and it’s incredibly popular with tourists and locals alike. It’s a great place to spend the morning or afternoon relaxing (go right when it opens in the morning for the least amount of other people), and they even have night-time parties with food and drinks if that’s more your style! There are a number of other popular thermal baths in Budapest, like Gellért Baths and Rudas Baths, but I can only vouch for Széchenyi personally. Regardless, all of the baths in Budapest seem to be very well taken care of, so there’s really no going wrong!

3. Cruise on the Danube River

We would have been remiss to not take a quick trip down the Danube during our stay in Budapest, and luckily, we easily found a ton of cruise options! We opted for a two-hour Prosecco cruise that brought us down the river a bit and served unlimited Prosecco throughout the duration. The ambiance can be hit or miss depending on who else is in your group - we had two bachelor/ette parties seated right next to us, which was entertaining but also a bit annoying when they got drunk and extremely loud. The boats are big, though, and if you go during the spring or summer, it’ll be warm enough to go stand up top (it was too cold in March). But long story short, you can definitely find some quiet areas if needed. I took this tour with friends, but there are definitely nicer options if you’re going with family or a significant other and would prefer a dinner cruise or something similar. All in all, it was a cool way to see some amazing buildings from a new perspective on the water.

4. Visit Fisherman's Bastion

On the Buda side of the city, Fisherman’s Bastion overlooks the Danube River and the Parliament Building across it. It’s a large collection of stone towers and walkways that provide some of the best views in the entire city, and it’s mostly free to enter, save from the tops of some lookout towers. Matthias Church is right in the same plaza, too, and that’s absolutely a sight you don’t want to miss. It’s a really beautiful area, and if you can visit early in the morning or on weekdays when it’s slightly less crowded, you’ll appreciate the bit of quiet beauty for sure. There’s a nice cafe as well as a gift shop and some food vendors next to the monument, and we enjoyed a nice warm cup of mulled wine and a freshly made chimney cake after exploring a bit. This is a great first stop on the Buda side of the city, especially if you plan to walk around Buda Castle and do any other sightseeing west of the river.

5. Eat Traditional Hungarian Food

You can’t visit Hungary without trying traditional Hungarian food, and everything I ate in Budapest was outstanding! The highlight meal for me was at Hungarikum Bisztró, a lovely little restaurant in District 5 that served the most incredible Hungarian food I’ve ever tasted. You can read more about some awesome Hungarian foods to try during your visit in this blog post where I share my favorites (and some that aren’t great, but are rites of passage in Budapest).

6. Do an Escape Room

If you find yourself looking for a unique activity to do with a group of friends in Budapest, I highly recommend doing an escape room at Neverland in District 7! It’s a bar and restaurant along with escape rooms, and it was such a cool way to spend the night. There were 8 different rooms to choose from, and each had a different theme and difficulty level. It was my first time ever doing an escape room, so choosing the scariest option was probably not the best choice–we’re talking bags over our heads and getting locked in cages, people–but we made it out with two minutes to spare and it was a fun adrenaline rush! You can even bring your drinks into most of the rooms (which I did), but there are lockers to hold your things as well. I’d definitely suggest doing this if you’re with a group of people–it’s much easier and more fun the more friends you’re with. You can just stop in for food and drinks, too, so if you’re not in the mood for an escape room, you can still hang out in a really cool atmosphere and get a yummy meal.

7. Tour the Hospital in the Rock

We weren’t initially planning on touring the Hospital in the Rock, but after a group of fellow tourists recommended it to us, we signed up for the flashlight tour the next day and loved it. On the west side of the river near Buda Castle, you’ll find this museum that brings you through a tour of the hospital created within a natural cave system already being used during WWII. It was built in 1944 and used through the end of the war, and was reopened as a functioning hospital in the 1950’s, was upgraded to a nuclear bunker, and is now a waxwork memorial that highlights the museum’s history through the years. As I mentioned, we got tickets for the flashlight tour, which is the same as the normal tour except the lights are all turned off and each person has a flashlight to light the way through the museum. I believe the majority of the tours each day are normal, with flashlight tours held on Fridays and Sundays. Regardless of which you choose, it’s a great place to visit and learn some history about WWII while exploring the actual site of the hospital used during those years. (Note that photos are not allowed inside.)

8. Visit the Parliament Building

We didn’t end up going into the Hungarian Parliament Building, but even just walking by was like looking at a painting. We’re always in disbelief after seeing such beautiful architecture just casually on the street on our way to get breakfast or going shopping, and I think this building takes the cake for me being the most impressive one. It’s always a bit of a culture shock since the US doesn’t have any architecture remotely like what you’ll find in Europe, especially not just right across the street from the train station or local coffee shops. District 5 is a nice area as well, so spend some time exploring the streets, grabbing a bite to eat, and walking down by the river–you’ll find the Shoes on the Danube Bank exhibit by the water as well.

9. Explore the Buda Castle Grounds

Buda Castle sits high atop Castle Hill on the Buda side of the city. Since we stayed across the river in the 8th District, we took a couple buses/trams to get to the castle, but you can walk, bike, scooter, Uber, whatever else you need to get there, too. You can even take the funicular to get to the top of Castle Hill! Buda Castle used to be the royal palace for the Hungarian Kings and was first built in the 1200’s, but what we see today was rebuilt in the mid-1700’s. We didn’t go inside, but if you want to pay admission you can see the Budapest Historical Museum and the Hungarian National Gallery. We opted to simply walk around the grounds, and that was beautiful enough with interesting architecture and a view across the Danube River to the entire Pest side of the city.

10. Shop at Budapest's Many Markets

Budapest has some great markets and halls to explore, so if you enjoy shopping for souvenirs, food, trinkets, and more, you should definitely check them out! Two of my favorites were Central Market Hall and the Gozsdu weekend market, and the Szimpla Farmers Market is super neat to visit during the day. There are plenty of others all around the city, from food markets to clothing and jewelry and everything in between! You’re pretty much spoiled for choice when looking for a market to wander around in Budapest.

11. Enjoy the Nightlife

If you’re anything like me, going to clubs or raves or karaoke isn’t really your thing–I much prefer sitting in a booth at a bar and having a chill night rather than standing shoulder to shoulder in a sweaty room with music blasting. However, every once in a while I like to pretend the latter is my style, and Budapest is a great city for doing just that! My one recommendation is Szimpla Kert at night–you have to experience it in full swing when the sun goes down and the drinks come out. There are ruin bars (and normal bars) all over the city, though, so no matter what district you find yourself in, you’re sure to find a place to drink and dance until the wee morning hours. The Blue Bird Karaoke Rooms in Gozsdu Court proved to be a great time, too, if you’re into scream-singing early 2000’s pop songs into a microphone (or just singing along from across the room). Generally speaking, District 6 is going to be your best bet for nightlife here–it’s the busiest area in Budapest, especially for bars and clubs.