Interesting Things To Do In Budapest

An Overview of Budapest

As the capital of Hungary and one of the most beloved cities on the Danube River, Budapest is considered one of the most beautiful and active tourist destinations in the world. The city is known for its rich culture, beautiful government buildings, stunning spas and famed underground chasms. There are many interesting things to do in Budapest.

Interesting Things To Do In Budapest

Szechenyi Spa Baths

This is a huge oasis of calming, hot water sprawling in a grand Turkish building. The site is the largest medicinal bath in Budapest with thermal waters supplied by two natural springs.

Jewish Quarter

This neighborhood is a ritzy little area full of popular nightlife activities including many snack shops, restaurants and eclectic bars. The area is best known for its many historic landmarks, it’s immense synagogue, several famous ruins converted into bars and hidden art galleries.

Margaret Island

This is large, water-surrounded greenspace with a quiet parkland.  The island is the main connection between Buda and Pest via old bridges linked to gardens, fountains, cafes and flowering walkways.

The Shoes on the Danube Bank

This is a heart-wrenching memorial respecting the 3,500 people killed by fascists during the Second World War.  The 60 pairs of cast iron shoes respects all victims of Arrow Cross’s militiamen in Budapest, including 800 Jewish casualties.

Buda Castle

This is a major UNESCO World Heritage Site packed full of vaulted arches, amazing architecture, the National Galley, the Castle Museum and National Szechenyi Library.

The Great Market Hall

This fully restored neo-Gothic tunnel is crafted into a sensory overload of shopping centers and arcades. Visitors can find small stalls, sopping venues, grocery stores and unique souvenirs within.

Szimpla Kert

This is a huge, sagging building full of broken bits which lead to an open courtyard.  Scattered around is lopsided furniture, edgy artwork, communist artifacts and strange atmosphere.  This is a popular night life location, signiture drink is the odd Unicum.

St. Stephen’s Basilica

This is the largest church in Budapest which holds up to 8,500 people and the mummified right hand of Saint Stephan, the patron saint of Hungary (found in a glass case to the left of the altar).

Lángos 

This is an excellent traditional Hungarian snack of deep-fried food slathered in cream cheese. It can be found throughout the city, but especially in bakeries.

Parliament House

This is the huge center of governance and a famous landmark of the city due to its Gothic Revival Architecture. The Parliament House rests near Kossuth Square on the eastern bank of the Danube.

Momento Park

This is an open-air park displaying statues, plaques and memories stemming from the Communist period of Hungary under Stalin’s dictatorship. There are dynamic statues of Lenin, Marx, Engels and several Hungarian Communist leaders.

Flippermuzeum

This is a large pinball museum in a windowless basement. The venue holds more than 140 pinball machines and vintage arcade games, all of which can be played by guests.

Dohany Street Synagogue

This is the second largest synagogue in the world, hosting stunning architecture and beautiful interior decorations with an in depth history of Hungarian-Jewish culture.

Heroes’ Square

This is an outdoor sculpture gallery rotating around a central pillar of the Archangel Gabriel depicting a variety of other famous Hungarian figures.  The square also depicts the Seven Chieftains of the Magyars, who are believed to have led the original Hungarian ancestors from Central Asia to the Carpathian Basin.

Danube Promenade

This is a spacious walkway which follows the Danube River to reveal some of the most famous sights along the waterway, including restaurants, Szechenyi Istvan Square, the Little Princess Statue, Buda Castle, Castle Hill and the Fisherman’s Bastion.

The Invisible Exhibition

This is a sensory deprivation exhibition emulating the experiences of people who are completely blind.  The endless darkroom goes on a tour through various environments, including gardens, supermarkets, bars and more.  There is a dinner restaurant at the end which is served in pitch darkness by blind waiters

Ecseri Flea Market

The Ecseri Flea Market is a truly fantastic flea market on the outskirts of the city with a variety of different cheap treasures hidden amongst bits and tokens of other goods.

Andrassy Avenue

This street is a beloved walking avenue extending from Erzsebet Square to City Park.  It has many cultural heritage sites along the route making it a UNCESCO World Heritage location in 2002. 

Liberty Statue

Located atop Gellert Hill is a prominent Communist statue which remained standing after Hungary’s transition to multiparty parliamentary democracy.  Though the statue built by Soviet Troops remains unchanged, the engraving was altered to proclaim independence, freedom and prosperity for Hungary.

City Park

This is a wonderful leisure facility for the citizens of Budapest with swimming baths, boating lakes, flower gardens and the Vajdahunyad Castle. 

The Time Wheel

This is one of the largest sand-based hour-glasses in the world.  It takes exactly 1 year for the timer to run our, and the glass is rotated each New Year. The hourglass can be found in City Park, right near Heroes’ Square and behind the Palace of Art.

Aquincum Museum and Ruin Garden

For truly ancient history, this location served as an important Roman military base during the zenith of the Roman empire.  There are various relics and a working replica of a water organ.

Mattias Church

This is a stunning church which includes many additional statues.  It is the location of several coronations, including the crowing of Charles IV in 1916, the last Habsburg King.

3D Gallery Budapest

This is an optical illusion photo museum dedicated to artwork describing the beauty of Budapest. The quirky gallery allows guests to interact with artworks, touching certain pieces while playing around with 3D effects.

For Sale Pub

This is a Budapest bar which allows visitors to leave advertisements wherever they would like.  As a result, the drinking establishment has a shaggy interior due to the hundreds of pamphlets, adds and sticky notes left behind.

Fisherman’s Bastion

The Fisherman’s Bastion is the most famed iconic structure overlooking all of Budapest.  The fairy-tale structure peaks over the Danube with neo-Gothic structures all created to celebrate the 1000th birthday of the Hungarian state.

Panoptikum Budapest

This is a strange series of caves under Castle Hill which once held an infamous prisoner named Vlad Tepes, better known as the supernatural Count Dracula or Vlad the Impaler.

Szabo Ervin Library

This is a 19th century aristocrat mansion has been turned into a secret library. The library’s entrance is hidden inside an operating public library,

Epreskert Garden (Mulberry Garden)

Though this site was originally a mulberry field, the farm was converted into an urbanized artistic space now hiding a sculpture wonderland.  Garden walls have been converted into beautiful green spaces with protected buildings, including an old chapel from Kalvaria Square which was dismantled and rebuilt, brick by brick.

Vajdahunyad Castle

This is a Hungarian Castle originally constructed out of cardboard and wood.  This tribute to Hungary’s architecture tradition proved so popular, that it was eventually remade out of more permanent stone.

Mihaly Kolodko’s Mini Statues

These are tiny bronze statues scattered around the city.  Created by a guerilla sculptor, the bronze figures include cartoon characters, tiny tanks, frogs and many other mini artworks in odd locations.

The Tree of Life Memorial

The Holocaust Memorial Tree, also known as the Emanuel Tree and Memorial of the Hungarian Jewish Martyrs displays the names of thousands of Hungarian Jews murdered by the Nazis during WWII.  The sculpture is covered in silver-colored metal weeping willow trees.

Micro-Wonder Museum

This is an amazing little museum with numerous sculptures, so tiny that a microscope is needed to see them.

The Istvántelek Train Yard

Found in the northern outskirts of the city, the rusting locomotive heaps were formerly known as the Red Star Train Graveyard.  100 locomotives and trains rot away, all of which transported prisoners to Auschwitz during the Holocaust.

Budapest Botanical Gardens

The peak of Budapest gardening ambitions, these are large and extremely pleasant green spaces. There are several found throughout the city, including ELTE Füvészkert, which is the oldest botanical garden of the city, hosting an array of water lilies, cacti and orchids. To the south, there’s also the Botanical Garden, Soroksár which contains meadows, forests, seasonal flowers and hiking trails.

Gellert Baths

This is a thermal bathing site which is much quieter than the more famous Turkish Baths of the central city.

Day Trips From Budapest:

Szentendre

Szentendre is a UNESCO World Heritage City.  Known as a classic Budapest trip, it’s known as being an artistic city with narrow streets, cobblestone lanes, numerous shops and galleries and a soothing promenade along the Danube.

Godollo Palace

This is a large Baroque Chateau and the old summer residence of the Empress Elisabeth of Austria.  The glamorous interior is filled with tranquil parks, royal stables and large estate features.

Visegrad

Visegrad is a fortified collection of castles, towers and palaces located along the Danube Bend. 

Holloko

This is an ethnographic village which has deliberately preserved the rural lifestyle of Hungary in the 18th century.  It is currently a UNESCO World Heritage Site with many unique displays.

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