Széchenyi Thermal Bath
City Park & Heroes' Square4.2(66,332)out of 5 on Google
♨︎ 18–40°C18 pools
Closes at 20:00
Budapest, honestly
Two cities, one river, and about a hundred thermal springs
Buda and Pest were separate towns until 1873 and still behave like it. This is the guide to both — every bath, sight, restaurant and ruin bar worth your time, with opening hours that are actually current.
Budapest right now
26°C · Clear · feels like 27°C
🎄 Season guide
Budapest Christmas markets
Two markets that matter, a light show on a basilica, and a thermal bath at the end of the evening.
80days to go
Open the Christmas guide →Forint converter
Hungary uses the forint, not the euro. Prices run into five figures and the arithmetic never quite settles — so here it is, both ways.
So you know what a number means
- Single ticket500 Ft≈ 1.4 EUR
- Coffee in a speciality bar~1,000–1,700 Ft≈ 2.8–4.7 EUR
- Pint of beer in a ruin bar~1,800–2,800 Ft≈ 5.0–7.8 EUR
- Main course, ordinary restaurant~3,500–6,000 Ft≈ 9.7–17 EUR
Ranges marked ~ are menu prices we sampled, not published tariffs. · checked 2026-08-15
This is the reference rate, not the rate you will get. Exchange offices and ATMs take a margin, and always decline when a card machine offers to charge you in your own currency — that conversion is the worst one on offer.
1,215 places listed
Start from a district
Budapest is organised by numbered districts, and locals navigate by them. These four hold most of what a first visit is made of; the rest have their own reasons.
Castle District
IThe cobbled plateau above the Danube: Buda Castle, Matthias Church and the Fisherman's Bastion terraces. A UNESCO-listed hilltop with the city's best panorama of Pest.
Belváros & Lipótváros
VDowntown Pest and the government quarter: the Parliament, St. Stephen's Basilica, the Danube promenade and Váci utca. Where most first visits begin.
Terézváros & Andrássy Avenue
VIThe grand boulevard quarter: the Opera House, Liszt Ferenc tér's terraces, the House of Terror and a UNESCO-listed avenue that runs from downtown to Heroes' Square.
Jewish Quarter & ruin bars
VIIDistrict VII: the Great Synagogue, a dense grid of courtyards, and the ruin bars that turned derelict tenement blocks into the city's nightlife engine.
♨️ Thermal baths
See all (36) →
🏛️ Attractions
See all (174) →
Central Market Hall
Ferencváros & the Great Market Hall4.3(122,366)out of 5 on Google
Closed · Friday from 06:00
Heroes' Square
City Park & Heroes' Square4.7(87,190)out of 5 on Google
🍽️ Restaurants
See all (476) →
Trofea Grill Restaurant
Terézváros & Andrássy Avenue4.7(24,550)out of 5 on Google€€€€
Open · until 00:00
Menza Étterem és Kávéház
Terézváros & Andrássy Avenue4.5(22,377)out of 5 on Google€€€€
Open · until 00:00
☕ Coffee houses
See all (206) →
Historic
Cookie Beacon Brunch Basilica
Belváros & Lipótváros4.7(19,223)out of 5 on Google
Closed · Friday from 08:00
Historic
🍸 Ruin bars & nightlife
See all (156) →
🛏️ Where to stay
See all (167) →
Anantara New York Palace Budapest Hotel
Jewish Quarter & ruin bars4.7(7,067)out of 5 on Google
Budapest Marriott Hotel
Belváros & Lipótváros4.6(6,521)out of 5 on Google
Where to stay in Budapest
Live prices and availability on a map centred on this exact spot — hotels, apartments and hostels, so you can judge the walk from here rather than guess from an address.
Bookings made through this map earn us a commission. Your price is unaffected.
What's on
See all →9 September
Budapest Wine Festival
Buda Castle
3 October
Café Budapest Contemporary Arts Festival
Müpa and venues across the city
11 October
Budapest Marathon
Start and finish on the Pest embankment
15 November
Budapest Christmas Fair, Vörösmarty tér
Vörösmarty tér
Read before you go
See all →
Where to stay in Budapest: an honest guide to the districtsSix districts worth booking, one that is louder than you expect, and the postcode trick that tells you where a listing actually is.
One day in Budapest: a route that actually worksA single-day route built around walking distances rather than a wish list — one hill, one boulevard, one bath, and no backtracking.
Budapest with kids: a railway driven by children, and eleven other things that workThe city is unusually good for children, and its best family attraction is a narrow-gauge railway staffed almost entirely by ten-year-olds.Why this site exists
A reference, not a booking funnel
Most Budapest guides are one of two things: ten sights copied from another list of ten sights, or a booking funnel with an article wrapped around it. This is an attempt at the third thing.
01
Checkable, not copied
Every place carries its real address, its real coordinates and, where the venue publishes them, its real opening hours — converted into something the site can actually evaluate. That is why the “open right now” filter works and why a card tells you when a place shuts.
02
Written by someone who chose the words
The landmarks that matter are written up properly, with dates, architects and the arguments still attached to them. Where we have nothing to add beyond the data, we say so rather than padding the page.
03
Honest about the money
We earn commission on some bookings, tickets and transfers. Those links are labelled wherever they appear, they never change your price, and they play no part in what gets listed or how it is ranked.
More about who writes this →1,215 places listed
Frequently asked about Budapest
Is Budapest worth visiting?
It is one of the best-value major capitals in Europe, with a thermal bath culture nothing else on the continent matches and an architectural core largely intact from its imperial peak. Three days is enough for a first visit.
What is Budapest most famous for?
Its thermal baths, the Parliament building on the Danube, the ruin bars of District VII, and the Buda Castle district — the riverbank panorama is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Is Budapest cheap?
Cheaper than Vienna or Prague for food, drink and accommodation; broadly similar for museum entry. Hungary uses the forint, not the euro, and paying in euros where it is accepted always costs you more.
What language do they speak in Budapest?
Hungarian, which is unrelated to its neighbours' languages. English is widely spoken in the centre, in hotels and in restaurants, and much less so outside the tourist districts.
Do I need a visa for Hungary?
Hungary is in the EU and the Schengen area, so EU/EEA citizens need only an ID card. Rules for other nationalities depend on your passport — check your own government's guidance before booking.