3 Days in Budapest – Baths, Architecture and Ruin Bars

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
3
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
8
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
9
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
5
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
7
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
8
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
75 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
101st/454
Top 30%
continent
Europe
country
Hungary
Length of time
3-4 days
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$130 ($175-$575 in 2021 prices)
Time of year visited
September
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Big city Partying / Lash Thermal Baths
All Tags
Bustling restaurants Cable cars Castles / Fortresses Christian site Cliffs Fabulous hotel Jewish site Palaces Restaurant recommendations Rooftop Bars UNESCO world heritage site
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Summary

I’m a huge fan of Budapest. It feels quite different from most of the classic Western European city destinations, with its grand Austro-Hungarian architecture, slightly rougher Eastern European edge, famous thermal bath culture and lively ruin bar nightlife. The combination of these things makes it one of the best cities in Europe for a long weekend and real wow-factor.

Is Budapest worth visiting? Yes 100% – especially if you’re looking for a European city break that feels a bit different from the usual Paris / Rome / Barcelona type destinations.

In a nutshell:

  • One of Europe’s best long weekend city breaks
  • Famous for its thermal baths
  • Very impressive architecture along the Danube
  • Great atmosphere at night in the ruin bars
  • Ideal for a 2–3 day trip
Highlights
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#1 Enjoying the sun in the wonderful outside area of Szechenyi Thermal Baths

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#2 Gorping at the magnificent Hungarian Parliament Building

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#3 Walking around the superbly renovated Castle Hill area and enjoying views over the Danube and the Parliament Building

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#4 Having a few drinks in the super accessible beer gardens and ruin bars near the Jewish Quarter

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#5 Having a drink in one of the rooftop bars overlooking the Basilica of St Stephen

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#6 Enjoying some of the many other bath houses scattered around Budapest. Rudas, with its traditional Turkish Thermal Spa, is very different to Szechenyi and worth a visit

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#7 Having a coffee or food in the ornately beautiful inner hall of the Parisi Udvar

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#8 Taking the train up to Sventendre just to the north of Budapest to wander through the cute cobbled streets full of arty places 

Travel Tips

Stick to two sight seeing spots

Like most cities steeped in history and with architecture exploding from every street, it can be quite easy to get a bit palace’d / church’d / latest historical bulding’d out and quickly become tired.  I’d suggest focusing on the Castle Hill area to soak up the Palace and views over the Danube and the opposite views from the Parliament area.

Yes, you’ll miss some of the galleries and a church or ten, but you won’t be disappointed and, critically, won’t tire yourself out.  To be able to “see” rather than visit everything, there is always the hop on hop off tourist buses that run the full route.

 

Which baths

The baths were the highlight of Budapest for me because they added such a different dynamic.  Be sure to try:

🥇 Szechenyi Baths – a large and wonderful series of baths just a bit further out of town. The outside bath area is worth the trip alone. A must

🥈Rudas Baths – slightly smaller, but make up for it with a cracking location with various views over the Danube and a jacuzzi area on the roof, slightly warmer water options and a sensational old Turkish-style Thermal area. Just check the website though for when you plan to go as some days have some areas make / female only

🥉 Gellert Baths – third of the 3 main bath highlights in Budapest

 

Bars and going out areas

Budapest has well deserved reputation for one of the best nightlife destinations in Europe.  The area in particular around the Jewish Quarter and Erzsebetvaros has some brilliant beer garden style areas, the famous ruin bars and a series of arcade-style places with multiple bars to choose from with a shared central area.  Great fun and easily accessible if keen even for just one drink – compared to some cities where there is a tight dress code / more clubby vibe.  Some bars in particular we’d recommend:

  • Jewish Quarter – within the square block of Dob u, Hollo u, Kiraly u and Rumbach Sebestyen u in the Jewish Quarter is a series of covered small lanes absolutely rammed with bars.  Even if you don’t fancy a big night out, it’s worth wandering through here on an evening – it really brings to life why Budapest has such a great reputation for nights out
  • High Note Sky Bar – for a nice vibe and great views over St Stephen’s Basilica
  • Koleves Kerr and Backyard – for beer gardens right in the centre
  • Szimpla Kert and Blitz Kert for ruin bars – but expect long queues to get in
  • Parisi Udvar – pop in for a coffee / drink / food in the magnificent interior
  • Szechenyi Baths – I’ve mention it already, but having beers in the sun in the outside pool area (and of course the Beer Spa!) of the Szechenyi Baths is not to be missed
  • Panoramia Cafe & Bar – on the Buda castle side, this place is very touristy, but if you can get a spot by the park edge, it’s a great spot for a drink and views of the Danube and city

Restaurants

We ate at quite a few restaurants (ate a lot of Goulash) and had a bit of a mixed bag.  The ones we would recommend are:

  • Puder Barszinhaz – for a super colourful spot with a good younger atmosphere and great food
  • Ruben Etterem for a slightly more upmarket spot
  • 2 Spaghi – it may look very basic from the outside, but this Italian run restaurant specialises in only pasta and is superb (I’d go as far as to say this was our favourite)
  • Szentendre – there is a half day trip up to Szentendre just to the north near the bend of the Danube. It’s cute with its cobbled streets and artsy vibe, but I wouldn’t prioritise over any of the above

 

Getting around

Super easy either from public transport or Bolt (Uber equivalent with same interface but cheaper) or the electric scooters all over town.

For the electric scooters, be aware of a couple of things:

1. There are 3 main companies (Bird, Lime and Tier) so you’ll need to download each to use.  We found that we were able to get round with only Lime ones.

2. They’re not allowed in or around some of the main tourist areas (roughly 400m either side of the Danube) and won’t run if you venture into them. The off-limits area is shown very clearly in the app and I’ve added a photo so you can see.

 

Restricted area map in central Budapest for ride-hailing apps like Bolt

Restricted area in central Budapest for ride-hailing apps like Bolt

 

Accommodation

I stayed in the Mystery Hotel Budapest (USD180 per night) which had its own mini spa, rooftop bar area, helpful and knowledgeable staff.  I’d very much recommend, if a little on the pricey side.

 

Experiences Nearby

The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences

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Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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