Everything, plotted
Interactive map of Budapest
Every place on this site, on one map, colour-coded by type. Switch layers off to see only what you are looking for — the baths alone, or the ruin bars alone, is how most people actually use this.
1215 places plotted
How to read Budapest on a map
Budapest is unusually easy to hold in your head once you know three things.
The Danube runs north to south and splits the city in two. West of it is Buda — hilly, green, residential, and where the Castle District and Gellért Hill rise straight out of the river. East of it is Pest — flat, dense, gridded, and where nearly everything a visitor comes for actually is. If a place is on a hill, it is in Buda. If it is on a boulevard, it is in Pest.
Pest is built as a set of rings. The Small Boulevard (Kiskörút) traces the line of the medieval city wall and encloses District V, the formal centre. The Grand Boulevard (Nagykörút) is the bigger arc outside it, running from Margaret Bridge round to Petőfi Bridge, and it is the practical edge of the walkable centre. Andrássy Avenue cuts diagonally across both, from the centre out to Heroes' Square.
The district numbers spiral. District I is the Castle Hill, V is the centre, and the numbers wind outwards from there — which is why VI, VII, VIII and IX sit side by side in a fan around the middle while XVI and XVII are on the far eastern edge. The district system explains the logic.
Distances, which are shorter than they look
The centre is small. From the Parliament to the Great Market Hall is about 2.5 km along the river — half an hour on foot, fifteen minutes on tram 2.
Crossing the river on foot is five minutes on the Chain Bridge. Most first-time visitors overestimate how far apart things are and take transport for distances they would have walked more pleasantly.
What is genuinely far: the Buda Hills and Hegyvidék in the west, Óbuda and Aquincum in the north, and everything beyond the outer ring. Those are journeys, not walks.
Using the layers
Switching layers off is what makes this map useful rather than decorative. A city map with 1,200 pins on it tells you nothing; the same map showing only the thermal baths, or only the ruin bars, answers an actual question.
The pattern that shows up fastest is the baths: they cluster along the Buda side and around City Park, because that is where the thermal springs surface. There is a geological reason for it.
Frequently asked
Which side of the Danube is Buda and which is Pest?
Buda is the west bank — hilly, green and residential, with the Castle District and Gellért Hill. Pest is the east bank: flat, dense and gridded, and where most of the sights, restaurants and nightlife are. A simple test is that anything on a hill is in Buda.
How far apart are Budapest's main sights?
Closer than most people expect. The Parliament to the Great Market Hall is about 2.5 km along the river — thirty minutes on foot or fifteen on tram 2 — and crossing the Chain Bridge takes five minutes. The genuinely distant parts are the Buda Hills, Óbuda and everything outside the Grand Boulevard.
How are Budapest's districts numbered?
They spiral outwards. District I is the Castle Hill and V is the centre, with VI, VII, VIII and IX fanned around it, and the numbers continue outwards to XXIII at the edges. The postcode gives it away: Budapest codes are 1DDX, where the middle two digits are the district.
Why are Budapest's thermal baths clustered in certain areas?
Because that is where the springs surface. The baths follow a geological fault line along the Buda side and around City Park, which is why they appear in those specific districts rather than being spread evenly across the city.
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