Hungary is a country where people are willing to sit at a picnic table in the rain and cold just so they can smoke while they drink their beer. (Note: Hungary is a wine county. It is also a palinka and unicom country, but they still consume a lot of beer, they just don’t make much.) It is also a city with very good public transit and a developed tourism industry. Hop on, hop off buses roam the streets as do all other manner of tourist. In this trip that has now spanned six countries, Budapest was the first where I encountered Americans in anything other than a novel quantity.
I spent eight nights in Budapest, which is probably more than is ideal as a tourist, but I was in an AirBnB with a washer, so I made good use of my time. An ideal length of time for a normal tourist visit would be 3 to 4 days. That should give you plenty of time to hit the main tourist sites, go to a bath and do so at a relaxed pace without having to kill time in some third tier museum. However, if you do decide to go to a third tier museum, Budapest has an extensive and easy to use public transit system consisting of buses, trams, and a subway. If you’re there for only 3 to 4 days, It’s probably cheaper to buy single tickets. If you’re staying for longer, you can buy a seven day pass. One and three day passes are also available, but seemed comparatively expensive.
As is always the case, eat the local food. You’re going to get the best Hungarian food in the world here. But, keep in mind, Budapest is a bit of a melting pot with a large Chinatown and a large Asian community. Thai, Sushi and Vietnamese restaurants were also plentiful as well as Chinese. While I was there, I had some excellent Chinese in Chinatown and some meh Thai in the centrum. There are also several kosher restaurants near the Dohany Street Synagogue.
As I was there for eight days, I took some liberties with the eating local mantra, not only eating Chinese and Thai, but also trying Ukrainian (they share a border) and Italian. But sticking to the local food there’s plenty to sample. There are the dishes that everyone is familiar with such as goulash and chicken paprika, but also try goose. Goose is a very popular meat here that we don’t see very often in the US. It’s not exorbitantly expensive either. Goose is so popular that McDonalds was advertising a ‘Goosey Gustav’ burger with goose liver on it (I would not recommend that as your foyer into goose). Hungary is also the second largest producer of foie gras in the world. I personally do not eat foie gras for ethical reasons. My ethical concerns were reinforced when I visited the Central Market on a food tour and was shown a foie gras liver, it was huge and pale. I asked how big a normal goose liver was as I had an idea of the size of a chicken liver in my mind. There were regular goose livers sold at the next counter, the size and color difference was disturbing.
The foie gras/liver viewing was on a food tour I went on with foodtourbudapest.com. The tour lasted four hours and we sampled several liquors and wines. We also samples a traditional, simple sandwich, salami, goulash, a crepe dish, letscho, a pasta, cakes, and coffee, while visiting six places including an old coffee house, the market and a few others. Nora, the guide was very good at explaining Hungarian food and how it relates to Hungarian history.
So, other than cuisine Budapest is famous for its baths and its architecture. I wrote an entire post on the baths of Budapest, so I won’t rehash it here. The link to that post is here . I went to Gellert and to Rudas. Gellert is more ornate and coed. Rudas, less so and single sex, mostly.
The architecture of Budapest’s downtown area is beautiful. Budapest was once three cities Obuda, Buda and Pest. Obuda, or old Buda, was the hilly side with the castle, etc., Buda was the rest of the hilly side, and Pest was the flatter side with the Parliament building. What I found interesting about the city is that the Danube does not serve as a dividing line between classes or races. Certainly, once out of the city center, the development on the Pest side becomes more working class, and it is also true that the highest real estate values are on the Buda side (specifically, in Obuda). But most tourists who are there for more than a few days are going to spend most of their time on the Pest side.
The Buda side though probably has the most visited sites — The castle area has the castle (obviously), Matthias church, the National Gallery, all but one bathhouse (Széchenyi Thermal Bath) and the labyrinth under the castle. It also has the Citadella and the Fisherman’s Bastion. All of these are close together and can be seen in a day. It would probably be a mistake to visit Budapest and not visit this area. How long you stay depends on your interest in castles and churches. As for the labyrinth, if you’re not claustrophobic, go to the labyrinth. It doesn’t cost very much and is worth 0.5 to 1 hour. It is the cave where Count Dracula was imprisoned and that’s not the most interesting part about it. It’s just fun to wander the caves and see various displays.
The Pest side has the larger population and most of the hotels and public transit. It also has its fair share of tourist sites. The Jewish Quarter, or more appropriately, the Jewish Ghetto should be visited. The reason ghetto is the more appropriate term is that Budapest never had a quarter prior to 1944 when the Arrow Cross party, backed by the Nazis rounded up the city’s Jewish population and herded them into a three block area. The Dohany Street Synagogue and free guided tour (after you pay the entrance fee) are well worth it. The tour provides an excellent architectural history of the beautiful synagogue as well as history of the Jewish population of Hungary and the Holocaust. This tour takes under an hour and is worth it.
The Jewish Quarter is now kind of the party area of Budapest. The Ruin Bars are located here, although most are being forced out in favor of fancier ruin bars. Actual ruin bars opened in the years following the fall of the Iron Curtain in dilapidated pre-War buildings. They were pretty Spartan affairs and just a way for people to make money or have a drink with friends. Now, about anything can call itself a ruin bar. Other than that there are many places to eat and drink in the Jewish Quarter, including some serving kosher fare.
The Central Market is also worth visiting — once. It is very crowded and a tourist trap these days. I see people eating there, but to me it’s not worth the hassle. If you do a food tour, this is a likely stop.
Other things to see include St. Stephen’s Basilica, the mausoleum of Gul Baba is a little out of the way on the Buda side, but worth seeing if you have the time and are looking for an urban hike.
If you are in Budapest more than a few days, visiting Margaret Island is worthwhile. It is an island in the Danube that has fountains, botanical gardens sports fields and other things. It is basically a large city park.
I thought Budapest was a beautiful city that probably warrants 3-4 days. I would start with a food tour and adjust the itinerary based on that. Include a bath,though probably not two.