Location: Budapest
Top Things to do in Budapest
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What to do and see in Budapest, Central Hungary: The Best Free Things to do
Over 15 million gallons of water bubble daily into Budapest's 118 springs and boreholes. The city of spas offers an astounding array of baths, from the sparkling Gellert Baths to the vast 1913 neo-baroque Szechenyi Spa to Rudas Spa, a dramatic 16th-century Turkish pool with original Ottoman architecture. The "Queen of the Danube" is also steeped in history, culture and natural beauty. Get your camera ready for the Roman ruins of the Aquincum Museum, Heroes' Square and Statue Park, and the 300-foot dome of St. Stephen's Basilica.
Restaurants in Budapest
1. Koller Gallery
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 263 reviews
Located in the historic Castle District of Budapest, we are working since 1953 as the oldest private fine art gallery in Hungary. Our three storey atelier-house & beautiful sculpture garden welcomes our visitors and customers with a homely and warm atmosphere. We show works of the best modern and contemporary Hungarian painters, sculptors and etchers. We advise our guests in fluent English, German, French and Italian.
Reviewed By yaacovc2016
A very good place to see contemporary art.the gallery is very friendly and prices are very good. The garden is lovely.
2. Margaret Island
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 5,286 reviews
Quiet walkways, flower gardens, romantic ruins and century-old trees make up this popular recreation spot located in the heart of Budapest.
Reviewed By Grizwold13 - Perth, Australia
Great place to visit and relax for a couple of hours there are all sorts of bikes for hire to cruise around the island and a couple of interesting sites including a musical fountain that plays every hour.
3. Halaszbastya
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 31,812 reviews
Built during the 19th century for the Hungarian Millennium celebrations, this mock bastion features pointed towers and turrets, reminiscent of the fairytale castles in Disney World.
Reviewed By Alessia_sp - Mosta, Malta
If you love pictures you certainly cannot miss the most popular selfie location...We had the perfect day on Buda side exploring the Budapest Castle grounds, followed by Fisherman's Bastions and the top of Buda where there is a beautiful garden and a stunning little village and church. The Buda sightseeing bus is the perfect way to get yourself to each stop without too much walking. When you get to the Fisherman's Bastions make sure to look at the views as long as take a selfie and group picture, the architecture is really beautiful. I would suggest going early so that you can appreciate the place without all the crowd. Pictures on @lessiaestil
4. Varhegy
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 10,653 reviews
Lovingly restored after being reduced to rubble during World War II, this picturesque area is located in the heart of medieval Budapest, which is characterized by cobblestone streets, narrow alleys and lovely squares surrounded by baroque and classical buildings.
Reviewed By ParvizM2013 - San Diego, United States
We decided to spend almost one day on the Buda side of Budapest and walk the hills of Buda Castle and see the beautiful attractions over there and also watch the beautiful views of Budapest from up there on the hills. The main attractions on the Buda side include Buda Castle, Hungarian National Gallery and Budapest History Museum, terraces of Fisherman’s Bastion, and Matthias Church. From our hotel in the city center, we could take a bus directly to Fisherman’s Bastion or walk. We decided to walk since we could see the beautiful Chain Bridge again and also walk up the Buda Castle Hills and see the panoramic views of the city. It took us about 45 minutes to walk from our hotel Moments to the top of the hills. It is of course hilly, but is a nice walk. On our way, we passed the Buda Castle, National Gallery and Budapest History Museum, Fisherman’s Bastion, and Matthias Church. These are all beautiful structures. We skipped going inside the buildings since we wanted to spend more time outside and see the views of the city. Of all these sites, the Fisherman’s Bastion and Matthias Church are truly magnificent and we really liked Fisherman’s Bastion. The structures and the views from there are really fantastic. I will review Fisherman’s Bastion separately. The Matthias Church is an amazingly beautiful building. We did not go inside, but the outside structure is so colorful and pretty. All together, we spent about 4 hours walking the Buda Castle Hill and other attractions on the Buda side and took the bus directly from there back to the city center on the Pest side, about 15 minutes bus ride. The walk was very nice and we all enjoyed it very much. Highly recommend it.
5. Szechenyi Lanchid
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 17,514 reviews
Completed in 1849, this bridge was the first to be built across the Hungarian section of the Danube and is now considered to be one of the city's major landmarks.
Reviewed By Seniortraveller51
This beautiful bridge is the joining point over the Danube, linking shops, restaurants etc to the beautiful castle area, very pleasant walk and photo opportunities, enjoy seeing the river cruise boats, which when I was there were lots.
6. Heroes' Square
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 12,694 reviews
A large square constructed in 1896 for the millennium of the Magyar Conquest of Hungary. The square's Millennial Monument is flanked by the Fine Arts Museum and the Mucsarnok Art Gallery.
Reviewed By alexnaturalhealt2017 - Leicester, United Kingdom
We arrived at the destination of the Heroes square only to be a little confused as the square was completely enclosed with high advertising sheets and temporary seating erected around the square as a special celebration day was taking part in that of juvenile horse racing. No seating available to watch the celebration. We eventually found an entrance to gain a sight of the Heroes Sq. It's the largest and most impressive square in Budapest. The Millennium Monument. It is situated at the end of Andrassy Avenue &next to City Park. It is surrounded by two important buildings the Museum of Fine Arts & Kunsthalle ( Hall of Art). The Millennium Monument in the middle of the square was erected to commerate the 1000 yr old history of the Magyars conquest. The Arch Angel Gabriel stands on top of the centre pillar, 36mtrs high holding the Holy Crown & the apostolic Double Cross of Christianity. The Chieftains who led the Magyar tribes to Hungary are featured on the plinth between the colonnades to the left and right. Statutes of the Kings and other important historical figures stand on top of the colonnades on either side of the centre pillars. If you look on the left of the colonnade the last five spaces were reserved for members of the ruling Hamburg family dynasty. The Hamburg Emperors were replaced with Hungarian Freedom fighters when the Monument was rebuilt after WW11. At the front of the Millennium Monument is a large stone Cenotaph surrounded by an ornamental Chain. The Cenotaph is dedicated "To the Memory of the Heroes who gave their lives for the freedom of the people & the National Independence". To get to Heroes Sq take the metro M1 (Millennium metro) to Hosok Tere station. It's worth a visit to the square both during the day and night, then walk along Andrassy Ave to window shop or sit and have a quiet drink and watch the world go by or stroll over to City Park where the winter skating takes place
7. Janoshegy
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 268 reviews
The highest point in Budapest offers stunning views of the city and Danube River below.
Reviewed By GCKJA - Lincoln, United States
In the summertime, this place is PACKED with people - almost all Hungarian. This isn't a super-touristy thing to do. It's far from the city center, but it's absolutely worth it! We walked through the park and made our way up to the tower and then took the chair lift down. The walk is not tiring, but relaxing as the trail winds and curves through the park. There are several fantastic playgrounds for kids. Once you reach the chair lift, you can walk or take stairs to the tower and the view is absolutely worth it! Be sure to buy a chimney cake (kurtoskalacs) for your trip down the hillside.
8. Citadel
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,052 reviews
Located on the summit of Gellert Hill, this fortress was built by the Hapsburgs in 1854 to keep the city under surveillance.
Reviewed By Tiberiu_Baranyi - Timisoara, Romania
The Citadel of Budapest its a fairly recent addition to the cities historical buildings - when I say fairly recent, well it was built after the 1848-49 revolution, by the austrian authorities .... it for years for the inhabitants of Budapest it has been a symbol of the austrian occupation. Designed by an austrian military engineer it was built in only 4 years on top of the Gellert mountain and had a few dozen gun emplacements overlooking the city bellow. It was dismantled in 1899 and it was re-commissioned during WWII and played a role in the hopeless (and futile) and desperate German Wehrmachts attempt to hold Budapest. The projectile damages can be seen on the walls of the Citadel even today - mementos of WWII. Today it's a popular tourist attraction of Budapest - and as such it has a restaurant, some food stands, a small bar and several souvenirs and trinkets booths. The views from the top are beautiful and definitely worth the effort to get there. Visiting is free of charge - getting there it is fairly simple - you can use public transportation, you can use on of the Hop-On/Hop-Off companies , walking up the Gellert mountain is also a popular option. So, when you are in Budapest, put on your to do list a visit to the Citadel - it is worth it .
9. Gellert Hill
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 7,737 reviews
The best views of Budapest and the Danube River are from this hill, which also features the imposing fortress, the Citadella, at its summit.
Reviewed By LW7893 - Kingston-upon-Hull, United Kingdom
We climbed to the top of Gellert Hill - it took us about 20/25 minutes as it was a very hot and humid day and the climb is pretty steep in places, the view from the top of the hill is beautiful and definitely worth the climb - a great panoramic view of the city!
10. Gozsdu Udvar
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,270 reviews
Gozsdu: where past and present meet. Gozsdu Courtyard is one of the most dynamically improving centres in downtown Budapest; it is a meeting point that combines entertainment, gastronomy and culture. The entertainment quarter is awaiting its guests with uniquely exciting programmes every day of the week. The Courtyard makes room for countless places (restaurants/bars/cafés/pubs), representing extraordinary styles, thus providing colourful experience for all generations. It attracts more than 900,000 visitors per annum; due to its cosmopolitan nature it has become extremely popular among residents of Budapest and tourists as well. CULTURE. FUN. STYLE. GOZSDU COURTYARD
Reviewed By trulov86
Recently traveled to Budapest and discovered this fabulous collection of connected courtyards filled with great restaurants, fun bars and interesting shops. This is the hippest spot in town filled with tourists and locals alike, housed in the old Jewish Quarter and open until the wee hours of the night. Such a variety of excellent food and music it was hard to decide which to choose. Wish we had more time to try them all !
