25 Things to do in Budapest, Hungary Travel Guide

Today we’re taking you around a city we’vebeen wanting to visit for a while: Budapest! With beautiful architecture and stunning vistasall around, it’s easy to see why it’s nicknamed the Pearl of the Danube, but Budapestis more than just than just good looks.

This is a city with youthful vibes, vibrantstreet art, alternative nightlife, delicious food and so much more! In this travel guide we’re going to tryand highlight just that along with the main attractions, so let’s dive right in, andlet us show you a few things to do in Budapest on your next visit! So we are filming Buda Castle right in frontof us and next up we're going to ride the funicular which is over there.

Let’s kick things off in Buda on the westside of the Danube River, where our first order of business was riding the funicular(Budavári Sikló) up to the castle.

In we go.

We're first in.

Riding the tram.

First in and we're going to have the viewsgoing up.

Look at that.

Yes.

Sweet.

Buda Castle is a massive complex completewith royal apartments, ballrooms, chapels and anything a king could possibly desire.

That being said, it was quite crowded whenwe visited so we skipped the tour and stuck the courtyards and public places instead.

Today, many of the buildings that make upBuda Castle (Budavári Palota) also house museums and galleries, so while you’re here, you can visit the Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest History Museum, the House of Houdini, and a few others.

The one thing we did make time for was lunch, because if you know us, you know we can’t resist a good food market, especially onelocated in a castle.

So fresh off of the funicular we arrived inBuda Castle (Budavári Palota) and we need food.

And we found food.

Unlike typical Samuel and Audrey fashion we'redigging into food before we do any sightseeing.

So over here we've got some handmade pastaand it almost looks a bit more like a spaetzle.

Spaetzle.

Like the German noodle.

Yep.

Except this is Hungarian.

This is Hungarian.

And then that comes in with chicken.

With a chicken stew.

Looks good.

That looks good.

And then down here.

And down here we have sausage and like a hugeportion of mustard.

Oh yeah.

Let's go for the chicken and the pasta first.

That looks so good.

It really does.

Mmmm.

Mmmm.

How is that? It is really nice.

The chicken is nice and tender and the pastais really thick and heavy.

If you take a look at it here.

You can tell that these are like.

It looks a bit like gnocchi.

Yes, it sort of in between gnocchi and spaetzleI would describe it kind of like that.

Yes.

I'm going to try it out so and it is definitelydense.

And now the sausage is feeling lonely.

Sausage time.

Well you rave about the pasta.

While I rave about the pasta.

So let's take that in for a huge dunk in themustard.

Woah.

Because I'm a mustard.

I'm a fan of mustard.

Woah.

Pardon me.

So in terms of the taste that is one juicysausage.

It is greasy.

Um, it is also tender but what really makesit is that mustard sauce.

That mustard sauce has got a nice kick toit.

It is a bit tangy.

I wouldn't call it spicy but it has got alot of flavor and a bit of a kick to it.

Samuel approved.

Samuel approved.

For something a little unusual, we descendedinto the Buda Castle Labyrinth which once functioned as a prison and torture chamber.

In the 15th century, it imprisoned the oneand only Vlad Tepes, better known to us as “Dracula”.

So we have entered the Labirintus and thisis a maze of tunnels here in the castle district underneath Buda Castle.

And it looks spooky.

And apparently it is associated with the Dracula.

So this is a map of the cave network we haveentered.

Apparently it is going to take us about 30minutes to walk around here.

Hopefully we don't get too lost.

I'm already getting disoriented.

Ah.

It is so foggy down here and we have now gonedown three dead ends.

You're officially starting to get spooked.

I'm spooked.

I don't like it.

It was my idea and I don't like it.

We are back in the safety of the daylight.

Sunshine I love you.

I absolutely loved that.

No.

You didn't.

But I think that is the whole point of it.

If it wasn't a bit spooky then you know whatkind of an attraction is that.

It is supposed to be.

It is supposed to be.

I think I maybe lasted like 10 minutes downthere.

But the thing is the deeper you go the roomsare just filled with fog.

And you can't even see your hand in frontof you.

And there is creepy music playing.

Well I wanted to keep going but that is alright.

Hey.

I think you got spooked too.

That is why we're out here.

Back in the safety of the streets and faraway from the grasp of Dracula’s ghost, we walked over to Matthias Church (Mátyás-Templom).

Again, summer crowds were a bit crazy thatday, so while you can get tickets to visit the church and climb the tower, we opted tojust admire it from the exterior.

We also walked along Fisherman’s Bastion(Halászbástya), which is a beautiful terrace that offers views of the Danube River andPest over on the east bank.

Another spot we hit up is the Chain Bridge(Széchenyi lánchíd) which connects Buda and Pest.

It’s a nice lookout point, and all alongthe river you'll also find a few different departures points for boat tours down theDanube.

I don’t know how we got this far into ourtrip to Budapest without visiting the baths, but better late than never! Our first stop was the Széchenyi ThermalBaths, which are the most-famed in the whole city.

The bright yellow buildings and turquoisepools are iconic and can be found on many a postcard.

So we are at the basement level.

We have men's and women's change rooms.

And this little watch acts as our lock.

As our key.

We finally found our way out of the bath.

That place is a maze.

There are so many pools and showers and jacuzzis.

I know.

We didn't know how to get out.

I know.

It took a while to actually get outside buthere we are and this is basically our first bath in Budapest.

Warm.

It is so nice.

Is it warm? Oh yeah.

I'm happy.

I'm missing out.

The complex has numerous indoors and outdoorspools in varying temperatures, so there’s something for everyone.

Also, Sam discovered that you can buy anddrink beer at the baths, so he was pretty happy about that! Well, well what have you found for yourself? Well, well I've got a Borsodi beer.

Uh huh.

It is perfect because it is starting to getreally warm out.

So time to cool off with a beer.

Who would have thought beers at the baths.

This would so not be legal in North America.

This is a great combination.

What a brilliant idea.

Not too far from the baths, we came acrossVajdahunyad Castle (Vajdahunyad Vára), which despite it’s looks was built in 1896.

The unique thing about this castle is thatit showcases Hungary’s architectural evolution, incorporating styles that span from the MiddleAges through to the 18th century.

And from the castle, it’s just a short walkover to Heroes’ Square (Hősök tere), a Budapest landmark that commemorates the 1000-year-oldhistory of the Magyars, also known as, the Hungarian tribes who settled in this area.

FYI, I've just spent like 10 minutes lookingfor Sam because he tends to wander.

Off he goes.

He is like completely unaware that I'm notwith him.

He's over there somewhere just wandering.

Not even looking for wifey.

So nightlife in Budapest is like absolutelylegendary.

Yeah, so many stag parties and hen-do happeninghere.

There is something for every style.

So first we're going to take you into oneof the famous ruin bars just to show you how busy it is on a Saturday night.

Budapest’s ruin bars are exactly what theysound like: old, derelict buildings, that have been gutted out and turned into alternativebars, complete with cheap drinks, maze like rooms, street art and eclectic items.

You need to set foot in at least one whileyou’re here! So we found an outdoor patio.

Drinks on the patio.

What are you having? And this is the best place to be drinkingright now because it is so stuffy inside of bars.

Yeah.

So we're like we've got to be drinking outside.

Fresh air.

I'm having a Soproni.

Mmmhmm.

It is the local brew.

The local brew.

How does it taste? Cold.

Nice ice cold.

Refreshing.

Yeah, this is a nice way to kickstart theevening I have to say.

And me I'm having a glass of prosecco.

Will you toast me with beer.

Toast.

I will.

Cheers.

To that.

And for something a little fancy, we wentto the famed New York Café.

And this coffeehouse has been voted one ofthe most beautiful in the whole world.

It looks really luxurious online.

So I'm really excited to get there.

Yeah, it is a real institution and what itdates back to the late 1800s.

Yeah, it is old.

It is very old so it should have some nicecharm and yeah let's have a nice date.

This place is so much fancier than I expected.

Like this is up there with some of the fanciestkinds of cafes we've visited in the world.

And like afternoon tea we've done a few ofthose.

Yeah, it kind of reminds me a little bit ofthe Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong and it also reminds me of Cafe Tortoni in Buenos Aires.

poor Audrey, I was I've been waiting herefor like fifteen minutes.

I was really going overboard with the foodb-roll here.

My ice cream is melting.

My gosh! There is just so much going on with the music.

I know.

With the desserts.

Look at this.

We decided to indulge our sweet tooth.

Our sweet tooth.

Oh, so they just finished playing.

Yeah, so I ordered a sorbet and this is strawberrysorbet and champagne sorbet with real chunks of strawberry.

And some mint leaves on top and truffles.

Mmmm.

What do you think? Oh yeah.

That is champagne alright.

I probably went for the most bizarre drinkand food pairing that you could possibly have at a fancy cafe.

I'm going for a beer and cheesecake.

Borsodi.

Yeah, Borsodi which is a local beer and thislooks like a classic kind of New York style cheesecake and I think that is a passion fruitsauce.

Apricot.

Oh, apricot.

Oh, nice.

Oooh, I can tell that is really dense.

Oh la lah.

That tiny little piece is already heavy inthe fork.

Take it for a swim as we like to say.

It is a really big swim.

Mmmm.

Mmmm.

So we are currently at Saint Stephen's Basilica(Szent István-Bazilika) and we just bought tickets to climb the panorama tower.

Hooray for exercise.

And it is 302 steps to reach the top of aspiraling staircase.

And I feel like I've been getting dizzy already.

Oh my gosh dizzying and I'm out of breath.

Ooh.

We've only just begun.

Alright, round two.

We continue.

More stairs.

So we are now making our way down.

We took the stairs up, elevator down.

What did you think of the views? The views were incredible.

I mean it was worth the climb up and it isactually a really affordable attraction.

Yeah.

What was it 700 Forint? 600.

Six hundred Forint.

So even cheaper than I thought.

So yeah, it was definitely worth it.

And yeah, a little bit of exercise too socan't complain.

Of course, no visit to Budapest would be completewithout glimpsing the Hungarian Parliament Building (Országház).

You’ll be able to spot it from numerousvantage points as you explore the city, but note that you can only visit the interioras part of a guided tour, and you’ll need to book that in advance.

And just a short walk south of the ParliamentBuilding, you can also see the Shoes on the Danube memorial.

And after a bit of sightseeing we had to tuckinto the national dish: goulash.

Our favourite restaurant for this was theBlue Rose.

That didn't take long.

The food is already here.

The food is here.

This is what we came for.

The goulash (gulyás) and look at the sizeof this bowl.

This is amazing.

We did order the large.

The large bowl.

Big hearty portions.

Yeah, okay.

So apparently the word Goulash it used tomean herdsmen so this is a dish that used to be prepared by the herdsmen and now itis kind of like the national dish.

You find goulash (gulyás) at almost everysingle restaurant.

Yeah.

So let's dig right in.

And this looks amazing.

That looks so good.

Give it a bit of a nice stir for us.

Look at that.

So we have potatoes, meat, we have carrots.

Those are big hunks of meat.

We have parsley.

Yeah.

Oh my.

And paprika.

Of course.

There is always paprika so let's just trythis.

I hope I don't burn myself.

Mmmm.

So what do you think? Mmmm.

Oh my gosh.

It is so tender.

So tender.

The meat is so tender.

The meat is so tender.

This is good.

Going in for a second bite.

Mmmm.

Quality control.

This is amazing.

Is it? I'm loving it.

So seriously loving it.

Is it spicy at all or not? Mostly just savory? It is not spicy at all it is just like a nicesoup that you'd want to eat on a winter's day.

You just keep stirring that for us it is wonderful.

Seriously.

Look at it.

Look at that.

Yeah.

Look at that.

And you know I've had goulash in other countriesand obviously it varies but the one goulash I've had before in the past was always reallythick.

It was almost like a stew or like a meat withlike a thick sauce.

So this is my first time having goulash asa soup and I quite like it.

I could get used to this.

Another thing we really enjoyed doing in Budapestwas wandering around the Jewish Quarter, where there’s a lot of cool street art, includingmurals covering whole buildings.

We also ventured into the Great Market Hall(Nagyvásárcsarnok), the largest and oldest indoor market in Budapest.

They had a mix of food stalls, fresh produce, souvenirs, and of course, lots of paprika to take back home for your cooking.

And you know what’s across the bridge fromthe Central Market? The Gellert Baths (Gellért Fürdő)! Since it was our last day in Budapest, thisseemed like the perfect way to unwind and get ready for our next trip.

How cold? It is a lot colder here.

Okay we need to go find another one.

This isn't going to work.

So right now we're going to try the medicinalpool because I believe that one is 36 degrees.

I sure hope so.

About as warm as it gets.

Yeah and we don't have much time we arrivedhere super late.

I know.

They are closing.

They are closing in a half hour.

So we've got to make the most of this.

So enjoying.

Wash those feet.

Is it warmer? Excellent.

And just a short walk from the Gellert Baths, we also visited the Gellert Hill which holds the Cave Church (Gellérthegyi-Barlang).

From there we climbed to the Citadel (Citadella)atop the hill, where we got some pretty cool views of the city.

It’s really nice at sunset and there werelots of people hanging out just watching the sun go down.

Lastly, if you feel like you’ve coveredBudapest and you’re craving a slower pace, we would highly recommend a day trip to Szentendre.

It’s a short half hour train ride and onceyou arrive you’ll find yourself in a charming little town with cream-coloured walls, cobbledstreets and flower boxes overflowing with blooms.

And now a final note on transportation: gettingaround Budapest is super easy and they have a vast network of buses, trams and metro linesto get you wherever you need to go.

We used public transport a lot of the time, but there were also days when the weather was beautiful and we did nothing but walk.

And that’s a wrap for our time in Budapest! We hope you enjoyed this video guide and thatit gave you a few ideas of things to do around the city.

As always, if you have any other suggestionsof things to do in Budapest that travellers should know about, feel free to share thosein the comments below.

Wishing you happy travels and until next time!.