Are you thinking of visiting the capital of Hungary and would you like to know what the things to see in Budapest are? Browsing online you will certainly have seen some splendid photos and, if any of your friends has already been to this beautiful European capital, I’m more than sure they will have raved about it.
Budapest is a unique city, of great beauty and elegance. It isn’t called the Paris of the East for nothing, although in my view it has even more in common with Vienna and Prague, because of the strong influence of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The history of Budapest has left such deep traces in its buildings and its culture that it is impossible not to notice them.
Visiting Budapest in 3 days will let you discover the city’s main attractions and get to know its double soul. On one side you have Pest, modern, young and dynamic, while on the other you will fall in love with Buda, the older part, where the most interesting monuments are.
Have I caught your interest?
Below you will find my list of the 10 things to do in Budapest in 3 days, with the most important monuments to visit and the key activities for making the most of your experience and discovering all the charm of this pearl of the Danube!
Let’s go!
1 – St Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest
Visiting St Stephen’s Basilica (Szent István) is one of the 10 things to do in Budapest for two reasons.
First, because it is the most important religious building in the city. Second, because it is so imposing that you simply cannot miss it! The basilica stands in the district of Pest and can hold thousands of people inside.
Work began in 1851 and lasted fifty-four years, until 1905, because of a number of events that badly slowed the construction down. The most dramatic was the collapse of the dome in 1858: the church was so badly damaged that everything already built had to be demolished and started again from scratch.
The project had been conceived in neoclassical style, but on the death of the first architect it shifted towards the neo-Renaissance you see today, with two bell towers and, in the middle, the dome 96 metres high. The dome can be visited for a fee and the view from up there is one of the finest in the city.
You should know that Saint Stephen is deeply venerated in Hungary.
Not only was he the country’s first king, he also drove the spread of Christianity in the region. It is no coincidence that, among the things to see in the Budapest basilica, the most important is the Chapel of the Holy Right Hand. Here you will find the relic of King Saint Stephen’s right hand, among the most venerated in the whole country.
What else is there to see?
Inside the basilica I suggest you notice the beautiful mosaics by Károly Lotz, which decorate the dome, and the works by Gyula Benczúr. The marbles decorating the basilica are lovely too, with dozens of different varieties set against one another.
Finally, among the things to do in Budapest, don’t let the beautiful organ concerts held inside the basilica pass you by; you can book them here.
Prices and opening hours (2026): be careful, entry is no longer free as it was a few years ago. Today the nave alone costs around 2,600 forints (just under €7), while the panoramic terrace with the treasury is around 5,000 forints and the ticket covering everything about 6,800. The nave is open Monday to Saturday 9:00am to 6:00pm and Sunday 1:00pm to 6:00pm, because mornings are reserved for services.
2 – Visiting Heroes’ Square in Budapest
Visiting Heroes’ Square is absolutely one of the things to do in Budapest to discover its history and that of the 7 founding tribes of Hungary.
Heroes’ Square was designed for the Hungarian millennium of 1896 and its monument was only completed in 1929: it represents the country’s first thousand years of history. The most important figures are all portrayed here, beneath the chariots bearing the allegories of peace and war.
Along the colonnade stand the Hungarian kings, while at the centre tower the seven Magyar chieftains who founded the nation. It was these tribal leaders who led the Hungarians here, following their commander, Árpád.
Visiting Heroes’ Square in Budapest is a genuine walk through history. The square, together with Andrássy Avenue that leads to it, is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site protecting the banks of the Danube and the Buda Castle Quarter.
But that’s not all!
This is also where I had one of the loveliest experiences of my trip to Budapest: not far away lies the beautiful Városliget park, where you can take a wonderfully romantic boat ride. Not to be missed!
To reach Heroes’ Square in Budapest you can take metro line M1, the oldest in continental Europe, and get off at Hősök tere (Heroes’ Square).
I promise you it will be worth it.
3 – Buda Castle on Castle Hill
Even if you only have 3 days, a walk on Castle Hill is absolutely one of the things to do in Budapest. It is one of the oldest areas of the city and can be reached on foot, by bus number 16 or by funicular.
The view of Budapest from the castle ramparts is something indescribable and I’m more than sure it will make you fall in love with the city. From here you will have a wonderful view of the parliament and the Danube, but you can also take the chance to visit the royal palace, admire the ruins of the old medieval castle and wander among the gardens and fountains. Some of them are beautiful.
Buda Castle is one of the most visited places in the city because, together with the Chain Bridge, it forms a monumental architectural complex waiting to be explored.
Oh, and don’t forget to see the Fisherman’s Bastion and Matthias Church.
The Fisherman’s Bastion in Budapest was completed in 1902. In front of it you will find the equestrian statue of King Stephen I, the same one the Budapest basilica is dedicated to, while the bastion’s seven towers commemorate the 7 founding tribes of Hungary, exactly as at Heroes’ Square which I mentioned a moment ago.
Now let me tell you about Matthias Church.
4 – Matthias Church in Budapest
Matthias Church is a small Gothic gem, much reworked over the centuries. One of the things that truly enchanted me about this building, besides the beauty of its forms, is the brightness of the white stone, which gives the square a surreal and very romantic atmosphere.
The church was originally built by King Béla IV in the thirteenth century and dedicated to the Virgin. Only later did it change its name in honour of the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus, who rebuilt it at the end of the fifteenth century and also used it for his two weddings. The face you see today, however, is largely that of the great nineteenth-century restoration by Frigyes Schulek, who gave it neo-Gothic forms, before the damage of the Second World War required fresh works.
Among the loveliest things to notice, Matthias Church in Budapest has a very tall 80-metre tower decorated with lacework and a stone spire. The roof, made of coloured tiles, hardly goes unnoticed either. The interior, on the other hand, will strike you not only for the beautiful stained glass and the decorations by the most important Hungarian artists, but above all for the perfectly blended fusion of styles.
The acoustics of Matthias Church lend themselves perfectly to the organ concerts held inside all year round.
Prices (2026): the entrance ticket costs around 3,100 forints for an adult (about €8), with reductions for students and over 65s and free entry under 6.
5 – The Parliament Building in Budapest
From the very first time I saw it, this building fascinated me. Online there are countless photos of the Budapest parliament at every possible hour. But standing face to face with its imposing structure is another thing entirely.
Its red dome and its neo-Gothic forms are truly splendid.
The decoration of the façade is then a riot of small arches, windows, turrets and spires which, with the evening play of light, make it perfect for a romantic walk. The dome of the Budapest Parliament, meanwhile, is exactly 96 metres high, like that of the basilica, to symbolise the balance and parity between secular and religious power.
What is inside?
Well, the interior of the parliament is dominated by a neo-Gothic splendour enriched with numerous works of art, including beautiful frescoes and sculptures by the most important Hungarian artists. Particularly beautiful is the dome hall, where you can see the Holy Crown of Hungary, along with the other royal regalia including the sceptre and the sword.
A curiosity!
The Budapest Parliament was built between 1885 and 1904 and designed to house two chambers of the parliamentary assembly, today reduced to one. At 268 metres long it is one of the largest in Europe and remains the largest building in Hungary.
The palace can also be visited inside, only on a guided tour and by booking ahead, something I warmly recommend because the slots sell out: you can do it here.
Admiring this building is for me one of the 10 things to do in Budapest but, believe me, you couldn’t have skipped it even if I hadn’t told you!
6 – The Jewish quarter and the Budapest Synagogue
Exploring the Jewish quarter of Budapest means discovering an important chapter of the city’s history, but also visiting the largest synagogue in Europe, which can seat up to 3,000 people. Called Erzsébetváros, this area was the centre of the city’s Jewish community for centuries.
Today this quarter is one of the most characterful in the city, made of disorderly little streets that will lead you to plenty of artisan workshops and typical little bars.
The Dohány Street Synagogue is the beating heart of the quarter.
Outside you will notice the two great 43-metre towers and the roof covered in ceramic decoration. Inside there are two beautiful wooden galleries, which separate the men’s and women’s areas, and rich decoration on the vault.
Consider that the Nazi occupation and the battle for the liberation of Budapest heavily damaged the building, which was restored between 1991 and 1998, bringing it back to its former splendour, partly thanks to private donations from abroad.
Today, in the garden behind it, thousands of Jews rest, and you will also find the moving Tree of Life by Imre Varga. It is the sculpture of a weeping willow, on whose leaves the names of victims are engraved: a memorial to the roughly 400,000 Hungarian Jews murdered during the Holocaust.
Absolutely worth seeing!
7 – Visiting the beautiful museums of Budapest
There are many fine museums in Budapest such as the Hungarian National Gallery, the Budapest History Museum, the excavations of the ancient Roman city of Aquincum and the museums of recent history, like the House of Terror. In my opinion, though, the most interesting is the Museum of Fine Arts, which stands on Heroes’ Square and is shining again after a long restoration completed in 2018.
The collection is genuinely rich and well organised, from Egyptian mummies to Greek vases, from ancient sculpture to the beauty of canvases by Cranach, El Greco and Brueghel. Here, incidentally, is one of the most important collections of El Greco outside Spain. It has nothing to envy the greatest museums in the world such as the Louvre, our own Capitoline Museums or the Uffizi in Florence.
Inside the picture gallery of the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest you will find thousands of paintings spanning the thirteenth to the eighteenth century, including a rich collection of Italian works. Among the finest, I suggest you hunt out the masterpieces of Raphael, Tintoretto and Titian, but also Veronese and Annibale Carracci.
The section devoted to the Flemish artists is beautiful too.
And that’s not all!
If you like nineteenth and twentieth-century art, you will find masterpieces by Monet, Gauguin, Delacroix and others.
I got lost in the medieval section: we spent more than three hours there and by the end we were completely worn out.
Absolutely one of the 10 things to do in Budapest!
8 – Taking a Danube cruise, following Strauss
Don’t forget to take a cruise on the Danube in Budapest, ideally while listening to Strauss’s “An der schönen blauen Donau”. You will get a very different and at times surreal view of the city!
Some of the most important attractions in fact face the river, like the imposing Hungarian parliament, Matthias Church visible on the hill, and the baths. I recommend getting a day ticket, so you can make use of the boat both by day and by night, as an alternative means of transport.
While you sail on the gentle waters of the Danube, you will certainly notice a small island in the middle of the river. This is Margaret Island, a public park rich in greenery, where you can relax for a few hours.
It is called Margaret because of the daughter of King Béla IV. During the terrible Mongol invasion of 1241, the king and queen vowed that, if the country were freed, they would consecrate to God the daughter about to be born. Margaret was entrusted to the Dominicans at the age of three and at nine she moved to the monastery on this island, where she remained until her death, at only 27, in 1270.
A curiosity that is rarely told: the Mongols did come back, in 1285, but that second invasion was repelled and had nothing of the devastation of the first.
9 – Devoting a day to the thermal baths
If you decide to visit Budapest without devoting at least a day to the baths, you have genuinely missed one of the loveliest and most important attractions of the city.
The thermal baths of Budapest are a tradition that comes from a long way back. Consider that the Romans, who called their settlement Aquincum, already appreciated this place for the great variety and beauty of its natural springs and for the quality of its waters.
I visited the Rudas, an Ottoman-era bath house built in 1566 by Sokollu Mustafa Pasha, and I stayed there until deep into the night. The atmosphere was thoroughly pleasant, it was a unique experience. The heart of the Turkish bath is a large octagonal pool with four smaller pools in the corners. Looking up you will find a beautiful dome supported by columns that helps make this place genuinely enchanting.
If you want an out-of-the-ordinary experience I recommend going to the Rudas Baths on a Friday or Saturday, the days when they stay open until late at night.
Watch out for one important change (2026): the Gellért Baths, which were by far my favourite for their splendid Art Nouveau style, closed on 1 October 2025 for a major restoration and will not reopen before 2028. If you were planning to go, save them for your next trip: the alternatives are the Rudas, the Széchenyi in Városliget park and the Lukács.
Prices (2026): the Rudas costs around 12,000 forints on weekdays and 15,000 at the weekend and for night bathing, which can only be booked online. Prices at the Budapest baths have risen considerably in recent years, so budget for it.
10 – Getting lost in the Great Market Hall
The tenth of the things to do in Budapest is also the most delicious. The Great Market Hall (Nagyvásárcsarnok) was inaugurated on 15 February 1897 to a design by Samu Pecz and is the largest and oldest covered market in the city, with over ten thousand square metres spread across three levels.
From outside it almost looks like a nineteenth-century railway station, with its steel structure and its roof clad in the colourful Zsolnay ceramics from Pécs. From inside it is the right place to understand what people really eat in Hungary.
On the ground floor you will find stalls of fruit, vegetables, cured meats and of course paprika of every kind, which is also the most sensible souvenir to take home. On the mezzanine there are the kitchens, where you can stop and eat something hot standing up, and the craft stalls. In the basement you go down for fish and pickled specialities.
You will find it on Fővám tér, at the head of the Liberty Bridge and at the end of the Váci utca shopping street, so you will pass it almost inevitably. One practical warning: it is closed on Sundays, and on Saturdays it closes in the early afternoon.
What to eat in Budapest
After all this walking and swimming, and after listing all the things to do in Budapest in 3 days, it is time to put something between your teeth. As usual I’m including a part on typical dishes, because gastronomy is part of the local culture too.
Hungarian cuisine has a centuries-old tradition and some exquisite dishes, although the heavy use of spices may not be to everyone’s taste. I was so enthusiastic about it that I even bought a book of local recipes. Chilli and paprika are in practically every dish, so if you don’t like heat, it is best to ask first.
Here are some good things you can eat in Budapest:
Gulyás: the classic soup, made with onions, paprika, pieces of meat and herbs. Its flavour is hard to forget, outstanding!
Pörkölt: a meat and onion stew flavoured with caraway
Gombapaprikás: mushrooms in paprika
Esterházy torta: with almond paste and vanilla
Töltött káposzta: a cabbage roll stuffed with minced meat
Paprikás csirke: chicken in paprika, often served with little dumplings and sour cream (paprikás csirke galuskával)
Dobos torta: the classic Budapest cake, invented by the pastry chef József C. Dobos. It is made of sponge, chocolate cream and a caramel crust, delicious!
Halászlé: a typical fish soup, also seasoned with paprika, onions and peppers
Apple or pear cider: cider is alcoholic but also very sweet and fruity. The best I have ever drunk I found in Budapest!
Quite a choice, isn’t it?
The Budapest Card and practical information
One of the things I found indispensable for visiting Budapest in 3 days was the Budapest Card. As in other cities, these cards are ideal for visitors because you can take the metro an unlimited number of times and you get free or discounted entry to a great many museums, restaurants and attractions. The Museum of Fine Arts I told you about is included too, so if you do two museums and move around a lot it pays for itself quickly.
Prices (2026): the 72-hour version runs at around 30,000 forints, with “Plus” variants that add the airport transfer, a Danube cruise and the funicular. Rates are adjusted every season, so check before buying.
One last important thing to know is that in Budapest you don’t pay in euros: the local currency is the Hungarian forint (HUF). To give you an idea, one euro is worth about 360-370 forints, so 1,000 forints is a little under 3 euros. Watch out not to muddle the zeros when reading prices, it happens to everyone on the first day.
Tips on Budapest
This is my list of the 10 things to do in Budapest, although this city offers so much more!
And you, what appeals to you most about Budapest: the art of the Pest museums, or an evening in the warm water of an Ottoman bath?
