30 Best Things to Do in Budapest (2026)

The best things to do in Budapest fit into three or four days if you group them by area, and that’s how this list works: Pest’s riverside, Andrássy út and City Park, the Jewish Quarter, then Buda and the hills. Every price and closing day was checked on the official site in September 2026, and closures other lists miss are flagged.

For the day-by-day version, see our 3-day Budapest itinerary. For the tours worth paying for, see our best Budapest tours guide.

Some links in this guide are affiliate links. They don’t change your price and help keep the site running.

What are the top things to do in Budapest?

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The top things to do in Budapest are the Parliament tour, the Castle District, a thermal bath, St Stephen’s Basilica, the Dohány Street Synagogue and a Danube cruise. Here’s what each costs and when it’s closed:

Prices checked September 2026 on each sight’s official site. Euro amounts are approximate.

Verdict: Book the Parliament the moment you have dates, and plan your museum day for any day except Monday. Everything else can be decided on the day.

What’s closed in Budapest right now?

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Four well-known sights are closed or about to close as of September 2026, and older guides still recommend all of them:

In early October 2026, also note that the Sikló funicular and the Zugliget chairlift are closed from 5 to 16 October, and the Dohány Street Synagogue on 3–4 October.

Pest: the Parliament and the riverside

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1. Take the Parliament tour

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The Parliament (Országház) is the most impressive interior in Budapest, and a 45-minute timed tour is the only way inside. Tickets cost 7,000 HUF (about €19) for EU/EEA citizens and 14,000 HUF (about €38) for everyone else, and in late September 2026 every official slot was sold out for five weeks. If your date is full, the Parliament entry ticket with audio guide costs more (from €43) but gets you in. Everything else is in our Parliament tickets guide.

2. Climb to the dome of St Stephen’s Basilica

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St Stephen’s Basilica is the city’s biggest church, and the panorama terrace around its dome is the best view of Pest you’ll get without a boat. The church costs 2,600 HUF (about €7), the terrace and treasury 5,000 HUF, and an all-in ticket 6,800 HUF. The church opens to visitors Monday to Saturday 9:00–18:00 and only from 13:00 on Sundays, and knees and shoulders must be covered. Organ concerts are held several evenings a week, listed on the official Basilica site.

3. Visit the Shoes on the Danube Bank

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The Shoes on the Danube Bank is a memorial of 60 pairs of iron shoes on the Pest embankment, a short walk south of the Parliament. It remembers the Jews shot into the river by Arrow Cross militiamen in 1944–45. It’s free, always open, and a place to stop and be quiet for a few minutes.

4. Walk across the Chain Bridge and along the promenade

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The Chain Bridge (Széchenyi Lánchíd) reopened in 2023 after a full renovation and is closed to private cars, which makes walking across it a pleasure. Cross it in the late afternoon, then stroll the Danube Promenade (Dunakorzó) on the Pest side. Free, and best just before sunset.

5. Take an evening cruise on the Danube

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A one-hour evening cruise is the best-value thing to do in Budapest after dark: the Parliament, the Castle and the bridges are all lined up along the river. Well-reviewed cruises start at €11:

Day, night, prosecco and dinner cruises are compared in our Budapest river cruise guide.

6. Eat your way round the Great Market Hall

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The Great Market Hall (Nagyvásárcsarnok) at Vámház körút 1–3, at the Pest end of Liberty Bridge, is the city’s grandest market: produce and paprika downstairs, lángos and stuffed cabbage upstairs. According to the hall’s own page, it’s open Monday to Friday 6:00–18:00, Saturday 6:00–16:00 and Sunday 10:00–16:00. It’s closed on public holidays. For what to order once you’re there, see our guide to Hungarian food.

7. Have coffee at a historic café

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The New York Café in District VII is the most extravagant of Budapest’s grand cafés. It takes reservations only after 18:00, so by day you queue, and prices are several times those of an ordinary café. Gerbeaud on Vörösmarty tér takes no reservations at all. Go early, and go for the building rather than the cake.

8. Ride the Budapest Eye

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The Budapest Eye is the Ferris wheel on Erzsébet tér in District V, open all year. A standard ride costs 4,900 HUF (about €13), according to its official site. It’s pleasant, but the Basilica terrace has the better view for the money.

Andrássy út and City Park

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9. Walk (or ride) Andrássy út

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Andrássy út is the grand boulevard that runs from the edge of District V to Heroes’ Square. It’s lined with Neo-Renaissance mansions and forms part of Budapest’s UNESCO World Heritage listing, as does the M1 metro underneath it. The M1 opened in 1896 as continental Europe’s first underground railway. Walk from Deák Ferenc tér to Oktogon, then take the little yellow M1 the rest of the way.

10. Tour the Hungarian State Opera

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The Hungarian State Opera House on Andrássy út was fully restored in 2022, and its guided tour is the easiest way to see the gilded auditorium. English tours run daily at 13:30, 15:00 and 16:30, last 60 minutes, include a short live mini-concert and cost 12,000 HUF (about €33) on opera.hu. The GetYourGuide version costs the same, so book whichever is easier.

11. Visit the House of Terror

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The House of Terror (Terror Háza) at Andrássy út 60 was the headquarters of both the Arrow Cross in 1944 and the Communist secret police afterwards. Today it’s a museum of both dictatorships. It’s open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–18:00 and closed on Mondays. Tickets cost 4,000 HUF (about €11) and are sold only on site, so expect a queue at weekends. Allow two hours.

12. Stand in Heroes’ Square

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Heroes’ Square (Hősök tere) is the monumental square at the top of Andrássy út, with the Millennium Monument and statues of Hungary’s founding chieftains and kings. It’s free and always open, and it’s the gateway to City Park (Városliget).

13. Soak in Széchenyi Baths

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Széchenyi Baths in City Park is the classic Budapest bath: outdoor pools at 36–38 °C in a neo-baroque palace, steaming best on a cold morning. A weekday ticket with a locker costs 13,200 HUF (about €36), or 10,500 HUF if you go in before 9:00. Children under 14 aren’t admitted. See our Széchenyi Baths ticket guide for how to book and what to bring.

14. See the Museum of Fine Arts

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The Museum of Fine Arts (Szépművészeti Múzeum) on Heroes’ Square has one of Central Europe’s great collections of European painting and a strong Egyptian and classical section. The permanent collection costs 5,800 HUF (about €16), and it’s open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–18:00. From 30 October 2026 to 28 February 2027 it hosts a major Gauguin exhibition (“Bonjour Monsieur Gauguin!”, 7,800 HUF; 6,800 HUF on weekdays).

15. Explore City Park’s new museums

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Two of Budapest’s newest buildings stand in City Park. The Museum of Ethnography (Néprajzi Múzeum) costs 5,500 HUF for an all-in ticket and is open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–18:00. The House of Music Hungary (Magyar Zene Háza) has an interactive exhibition on how music works, closed on Mondays and the first Tuesday of each month. Vajdahunyad Castle, a pastiche of Hungarian architectural styles, stands beside the park lake.

16. Visit Budapest Zoo

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Budapest Zoo, next to Széchenyi Baths, is worth a visit for its Art Nouveau animal houses alone. Adults pay 5,900 HUF (about €16) and children aged 2–18 pay 4,200 HUF. It’s open daily all year, 9:00–17:00 in October and 9:00–16:00 from November to February (official hours). For more family ideas, see our Budapest with kids guide.

The Jewish Quarter and District VIII

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17. Visit the Dohány Street Synagogue

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The Dohány Street Synagogue is the largest synagogue in Europe, and the ticket also covers the Jewish Museum, the Raoul Wallenberg Memorial Park with its weeping-willow Holocaust memorial, the cemetery and a guided tour. It’s closed every Saturday and on Jewish holidays. Men must cover their heads (kippahs are provided), and shorts and sleeveless tops aren’t allowed. Adult tickets cost 14,500 HUF (about €40) in 2026; check the hours on the official site. For context beyond the building, a guided Jewish heritage tour is worth it (options in our best Budapest tours guide). See our Dohány Synagogue and Jewish Quarter guide.

18. Drink in a ruin bar

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Ruin bars are bars built into the courtyards of derelict pre-war buildings in District VII, and Szimpla Kert on Kazinczy utca is the original. There’s no entry fee and no table reservations, so go early in the evening before the queue forms. For which ruin bar suits you, see our guide to the best ruin bars.

19. Take a food tour

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A food tour on your first day teaches you what to order for the rest of the trip. Try the Eat, Sip & Explore food walking tour (from €69, 4.8 from 1,565 reviews, four eateries and three drinks). Every option is compared in our Budapest food tours guide.

20. Visit the Hungarian National Museum

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The Hungarian National Museum (Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum) on Múzeum körút tells the country’s story from the Conquest to the 20th century, and its front steps are tied to the start of the 1848 revolution. It’s open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–18:00, and an adult ticket costs 3,500 HUF (about €10) on the official site. It anchors the Palace District, one of the best-value areas to stay: see where to stay in Budapest.

Buda: Castle Hill and Gellért Hill

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21. See Fisherman’s Bastion and Matthias Church

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Fisherman’s Bastion (Halászbástya) is the white, turreted terrace on Castle Hill with the best view of the Parliament across the river. The lower terraces are free. Only the upper viewing level is ticketed, at 1,700 HUF (about €5), 9:00–19:00 (until 21:00 from June to September), and it’s free from 24 to 31 December. Next door, Matthias Church (Mátyás-templom) costs 3,400 HUF, and its tower climb 4,000 HUF. Go at sunrise for the terrace without the crowds. For how to get up the hill (the Sikló funicular costs 4,500 HUF one way; bus 16 costs a normal ticket), see our Buda Castle and Fisherman’s Bastion guide.

22. Explore Buda Castle’s Royal Palace

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The Royal Palace at the southern end of Castle Hill holds the Hungarian National Gallery (5,800 HUF, closed Mondays) and the Budapest History Museum (3,800 HUF, open daily 10:00–18:00). The rebuilt St Stephen’s Hall (Szent István-terem), restored under the National Hauszmann Programme, costs 4,900 HUF, or 5,900 HUF combined with the History Museum, daily 10:00–18:00.

23. Go underground: the castle caves and the Hospital in the Rock

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Castle Hill is hollow. The limestone caves and cellars beneath it served as wine cellars, prisons and air-raid shelters. Two ways in:

The Hospital in the Rock (Sziklakórház) is a wartime hospital and Cold War nuclear bunker inside the hill. It can only be seen on a one-hour guided tour, in English every hour 10:00–18:00, for €30 at the door (official prices). Children under 6 aren’t admitted.

24. Watch the sunset from the Citadella

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The Citadella on Gellért Hill reopened in spring 2026 after more than a decade of works. The park, the wall lookouts and the Liberty Statue are free, open 6:00–24:00 from April to October and 8:00–22:00 from November to March. The new “Bastion of Liberty” exhibition inside costs 4,900 HUF, in timed 20-minute slots (official ticket page). It’s the best sunset viewpoint in the city. Bus 27 stops about 500 metres from the north entrance, or you can walk up from the Buda end of Elisabeth Bridge.

25. Step into the Cave Church

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The Cave Church (Sziklatemplom) is a working Pauline church built into the rock at the foot of Gellért Hill, at the Buda end of Liberty Bridge. It’s open to visitors Monday to Saturday 9:30–19:30 but closed to tourists on Sundays and during the 17:00 mass. Entry costs 1,400 HUF (about €4) for adults, including an audio guide, according to the official site.

26. Bathe at Rudas, on the roof or at night

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Rudas Baths, at the Buda end of Elisabeth Bridge, combine a 16th-century Ottoman Turkish bath with a 36 °C rooftop pool overlooking the Danube. A weekday ticket costs 12,000 HUF (about €33). On Friday and Saturday nights it opens for night bathing from 22:00 to 03:00 (15,000 HUF, online only). Watch out for the single-sex Turkish-bath sessions on some weekdays. See our comparison of the best thermal baths in Budapest for Rudas against the rest.

Margaret Island and the Buda Hills

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27. Spend an afternoon on Margaret Island

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Margaret Island (Margitsziget) is a 2.5-kilometre traffic-free park in the middle of the Danube, reached by trams 4 and 6 or bus 26. Walk or rent a pedal car to the Japanese Garden at the northern end, and swim at Palatinus Strand, the only big bath that admits children under 14.

28. Ride the Children’s Railway and the chairlift

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The Children’s Railway (Gyermekvasút) is a narrow-gauge line through the Buda Hills woods, staffed by children under adult supervision. It runs all year between Széchenyi-hegy and Hűvösvölgy, except on Mondays from the start of September to the end of April (gyermekvasut.hu). Combine it with the Zugliget chairlift (Libegő): 3,000 HUF one way, 4,000 HUF return (bkv.hu), closed on even-week Mondays and 5–16 October 2026.

Further out

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29. See the statues at Memento Park

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Memento Park, in District XXII, is where Budapest put the Communist-era statues it removed from its streets after 1989. Adult tickets cost 3,000 HUF (free with the Budapest Card). Take the M4 to Kelenföld, then bus 101B, 101E or 150, and check the official opening hours, which vary by season.

30. Take a day trip to the Danube Bend

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The Danube Bend, where the river turns south through the hills, has three day-trip towns: Szentendre, Visegrád with its castle, and Esztergom with Hungary’s largest cathedral. You can do it by HÉV train and bus, but a guided Danube Bend day trip (from €85, 9 hours, lunch included) links all three in a day. For the other options, from Eger to Vienna, see our day trips from Budapest guide.

How should you plan your days?

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Group the list by area, and you’ll see most of it in three or four days:

Short on time? Our 3-day itinerary has timings and costs, and the 2-day version says what to drop. For evenings, see Budapest at night. If you’re watching the budget, our list of free things to do in Budapest covers everything that costs nothing.

What should you skip in Budapest?

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Skip the closed sights (Gellért, Király, Elizabeth Lookout) and any list that still includes them. Skip eating on Váci utca, where the menus are priced for people who won’t return. Skip the hop-on hop-off bus: the centre is walkable, and tram 2 along the Pest riverbank passes the Parliament for the price of a ticket. And don’t pair Castle Hill with City Park in one morning: they’re on opposite sides of the city.

For where to base yourself, see our guide to where to stay in Budapest. In winter, most of this list still works, and the baths work better: see Budapest in winter.

FAQ

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What is Budapest most famous for?

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Budapest is most famous for its thermal baths, the neo-Gothic Parliament on the Danube, the view from Buda Castle and Fisherman’s Bastion, and its ruin bars. The river panorama between the Parliament and Buda Castle is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

What are the must-see sights in Budapest?

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The must-see sights are the Parliament (book the tour weeks ahead), St Stephen’s Basilica and its dome terrace, the Castle District with Fisherman’s Bastion and Matthias Church, a thermal bath such as Széchenyi, the Dohány Street Synagogue and an evening cruise on the Danube.

How many days do you need in Budapest?

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Three days is the right amount for a first visit to Budapest: one day for Pest, one for Buda and one for the Jewish Quarter and the river. Two days covers the highlights at a faster pace, and a fourth day allows a day trip to the Danube Bend.

What can you do in Budapest for free?

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Free things to do in Budapest include walking across the car-free Chain Bridge, the Shoes on the Danube Bank memorial, Heroes’ Square, the lower terraces of Fisherman’s Bastion, the Citadella park on Gellért Hill and Margaret Island. Churches such as St Stephen’s Basilica charge for entry.

What is there to do in Budapest at night?

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At night in Budapest you can take a one-hour Danube cruise from about €11, go night bathing at Rudas on Friday and Saturday from 22:00 to 03:00, visit the ruin bars in District VII or watch the city lights from the Citadella on Gellért Hill.

Which Budapest sights are closed on Mondays?

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Most Budapest museums close on Mondays, including the Hungarian National Gallery, the House of Terror, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of Ethnography and the Hungarian National Museum. The Parliament, the Basilica, the baths and the Budapest History Museum are open on Mondays.

Which Budapest attractions are closed in 2026?

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As of September 2026, Gellért Baths are closed until 2028, Király Baths are closed indefinitely, Elizabeth Lookout in the Buda Hills has been closed since February 2026, and the Margaret Island musical fountain ends its season on 30 September 2026 ahead of a renovation.

Is Fisherman’s Bastion free?

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Mostly. The lower terraces and walkways of Fisherman’s Bastion are free at any time. Only the upper viewing level is ticketed, at 1,700 HUF in 2026, from 9:00 to 19:00 (until 21:00 from June to September), and it is free on some public holidays and from 24 to 31 December.

Last verified: 16 October 2026. Prices and timetables change, so confirm with the operator before booking.