Best places to visit in Budapest

If you are planning a trip to Budapest or are currently in Europe, don’t miss these best places to visit in Budapest

Buda Castle, Matthias Church and Fisherman’s Bastion, Budapest

The Buda Castle, Matthias Church and Fishermans bastion are very popular attractions on the Buda hill. You can walk across the towards the end of the chain bridge and there is a funicular which takes you directly to the castle hill. Be sure to see all these places and there are a number of important museums out there like Hungarian History Museum, National gallery etc..

Szechnyi , Gllert or Rudas Baths

Baths are must-see and unique to Budapest. You have to spend about 3000 forints to enter baths.

The Hungarian Parliament

The Hungarian Parliament is a majestic aesthetically crafted building and the front of the parliament is really beautiful. You can’t miss the guided tour inside the parliament and it is a must-see.

Heroes Square (Hosok Ter)

Heroes Square is the place where Andrassy street ends and it is not far from Deak Ferenc square. There are important museums on either side of the square and visiting them takes at least 2-3 hrs. If you walk behind the heroes square, you can visit szechnyi thermal baths, the castle and a beautiful park. This is a very important monument and well worth spending your time visiting.

St. Stephens Basilica (Panoramic view)

The St.Stephens Basilica is one of the important tourist attraction and the third highest church in Hungary. The sheer size of the basilica, its facade and bell towers is worth admiring. You can go on top of the tower through life and see the best panoramic views of Budapest and you can’t certainly miss that.

The Margarit Island

The Margarit island, not far from Parliament is a long island completely a park. You can relax if you are a nature admirer of green vegetation. The park is very well maintained and is very big and certainly renting a cycle is very recommended to see the island. There is a bus which runs through the island and there are also hotels at the end of the island.

Gellert Hill and Citadella

Gellert Hill is also a very important tourist attraction in Budapest. If you wish you can climb the hill starting from Gellert bath near Szabadsag and climb up. It might be tiring to reach Gellert but climbing up and down is a really fun part of exploring the hill.

The Chain Bridge (Szechenyi Hid)

Walk on the chain bridge at night (amazing)

Deak Ferenc Ter (Main city centre)

Main city centre in Budapest. Start from here and all the tourist buses start from here

Vaci Street (shopping street)

Vaci street is one of the main shopping and restaurant street in Budapest. It starts with Deak Ferenc and is a very long street buzzing with tourists.

House of Terror Museum (Andrassy street)

The Terror Museum on Andrassy avenue contains exhibits related to the fascist and communist dictatorial regimes in 20th century Hungary and is also a memorial. Tickets are not free but I think you can get discounts with Budapest card. It is at a walkable distance from opera.

The Hungarian State Opera

The State Opera is one of the buildings and must be visited at least for a photo. Guided tours are available inside the opera and are worth visiting. For timings please the www.opera.hu website.

The Central Market Hall

The Central market hall is one of the biggest market halls in central Europe. It attracts many tourists for its sheer size and there are hundreds of shops inside for shopping souvenirs, food items, Hungarian delicacies at very reasonable prices. It is at Szabadsag bridge and it can be reached by taking a tram from Deak Ferenc ter.

Castle of Vajdahunyad

The Vajdahunyad Castle and entrance is not very far Heroes square and in fact if you walk it is just behind it. This castle cannot be missed and especially a beautiful church inside it and you would love to take pictures of the castle and gardens. The castle is now Agriculture museum.

Museum of Applied Arts

Lake Balaton: 1 -day full tour

Lake Balaton is the largest fresh-water lake in Central Europe and is about 1 hr from Budapest and there are full-day bus tour trips conducted by tourist companies which include Herend porcelain visit, lunch and spending half a day at Balaton. During summer, over a million tourists visit Lake Balaton and is one of the main attractions in Hungary. Enquire about this at the tourist information office in Budapest and they will book you with one of the companies. You can also take a train which runs from Deli Payaudvar station (Red line metro) to Lake Balaton if you prefer. Very certainly, you will get to enjoy unique Lake Balaton and there are plenty of souvenir shops out there to shop. Be sure to add 1 more day to your trip itinerary, if you want to visit Lake Balaton.

Danube Night River Cruise with dinner and live music

The cruise ride during Night is the best way to see Budapest with all bridges and parliament and castle lit up at night and it is so beautiful. You can get to catch a glimpse of both Buda and Pest on both sides when sailing. The cruise trip starts at night 20:00 and is about 2.5 hr trip including dinner. You have to get tickets at Budapest port or near Erzsebet bridge (White bridge) on the riverside, and there is a ticket counter to buy tickets.

River Ride Bus

The River ride bus is very unique and is the main attraction in Budapest. The bus runs both on land and water and this way you get to see Budapest both on land and water.

References and Links

Tourist Information Office: http://tourinform.hu/english

Restaurants

You will find nice restaurants in these areas. walk around liszt ferencz square near oktogon, then raday utca. There are tonnes but Gundel is the most famous and expensive restaurant.

Coffee Shops

Grab a coffee in Central cafe, New York coffee, Alexandria cafe (worth seeing)

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