3 days in Budapest: a day-by-day sightseeing plan

Budapest is two cities joined by the Danube: hilly Buda with its castle, and flat Pest with Parliament and the grand avenues. Day one crosses the river from Parliament to Buda Castle, day two stays around Heroes' Square, City Park and Andrássy Avenue, and day three moves from Matthias Church to the Jewish Quarter and the south of Pest.

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Day 1

Parliament, the Danube bank and Buda Castle

5 stops

09:00
Hungarian Parliament Building
About 50 min
The neo-Gothic Parliament on the Pest bank is visited on guided tours, which show the grand staircase, the domed hall with the Holy Crown and one of the old chambers. Tours often sell out, so book ahead, and walk along the river side afterwards to see the full facade.
Walk, 6 min
10:00
Shoes on the Danube Bank
About 20 min
A short walk south along the river, sixty pairs of iron shoes mark where Arrow Cross militiamen shot Jews into the Danube in 1944 and 1945. It is a brief, quiet stop; take a moment before walking on to the Chain Bridge.
Walk, 10 min
10:30
Széchenyi Chain Bridge
About 25 min
The first permanent bridge across the Danube in Hungary opened in 1849, with stone lions guarding each end. Cross it on foot to Clark Ádám Square in Buda, where the Castle Hill Funicular or a footpath takes you up to the palace.
Walk, 5 min
11:00
Hungarian National Gallery
About 1 h 30 min
The national gallery fills much of the former royal palace on Castle Hill, with Hungarian art from medieval altarpieces to the 20th century; look for the large 19th-century canvases by Munkácsy and Szinyei Merse. When the dome is open, it has a view over the river.
Walk, 1 min
12:35
Buda Castle
About 1 h 40 min
After the gallery, step outside and walk the palace terraces and the Castle District, with views across the Danube to Parliament. The Budapest History Museum is in the same palace, and the restored Castle Garden Bazaar below makes a gentle way down to the river.

Day 2

Heroes' Square, City Park and the House of Terror

5 stops

09:00
Heroes' Square
About 25 min
The Millennium Monument, with the seven Magyar chieftains and Hungary's kings and statesmen, stands at the top of Andrássy Avenue between the Museum of Fine Arts and the Hall of Art. A short look is enough before you walk into City Park behind it.
Walk, 7 min
09:35
Széchenyi thermal bath
About 45 min
The yellow neo-Baroque bath is the largest medicinal bath in Europe, with outdoor pools warm enough to use in winter. The plan gives it a short slot; if you want to bathe rather than look, bring a swimsuit and give it longer, trimming time elsewhere in the day.
Walk, 6 min
10:30
Vajdahunyad Castle
About 1 h 30 min
Built for the 1896 millennium celebrations, this castle by the lake copies parts of famous Hungarian buildings in Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles. You can wander the courtyards, and inside is the Museum of Hungarian Agriculture, which fills the longer slot if the subject interests you.
Walk, 3 min
12:05
City Park
About 1 h
City Park is the city's big green space, with the lake by Vajdahunyad, the zoo and newer museum buildings such as the House of Hungarian Music. Walk it at an easy pace, then take a short taxi down Andrássy Avenue to the House of Terror.
Taxi, 4 min
13:10
House of Terror Museum
About 1 h 35 min
The building at Andrássy Avenue 60 was the headquarters first of the Arrow Cross and then of the communist secret police, and the museum tells the story of both regimes inside it, ending in the basement cells. It is a heavy visit, so leave time afterwards to sit on the avenue.

Day 3

Matthias Church, Andrássy Avenue, the Great Synagogue and south Pest

5 stops

09:00
Matthias Church
About 50 min
The Gothic church in the Castle District has a roof of patterned Zsolnay tiles and an interior painted from floor to vault. Fisherman's Bastion stands right in front of it, so walk its terraces for the view over Parliament before a taxi across the river to Pest.
Taxi, 5 min
09:55
Oktogon
About 20 min
Oktogon is the eight-sided square where Andrássy Avenue meets the Grand Boulevard, ringed by matching 19th-century corner buildings. It is a quick stop rather than a sight in itself, a good place to see the scale of the avenue before walking south into the Jewish Quarter.
Walk, 17 min
10:35
Dohány Street Synagogue
About 30 min
Europe's largest synagogue is a Moorish Revival building with twin onion-domed towers. Behind it are the Holocaust memorial garden with its metal weeping willow and the old Jewish cemetery; the short slot covers the main hall and the garden.
Walk, 20 min
11:25
Liberty Bridge
About 20 min
The green iron bridge from the 1890s links the Great Market Hall on the Pest side with Gellért Hill and the Gellért Baths in Buda. Walk out onto it for the view along the river; it is a short stop before the taxi out to south Pest.
Taxi, 6 min
11:55
Hungarian Natural History Museum
About 1 h 30 min
Hungary's largest natural history collection is in the old Ludovika Academy building in south Pest, with displays on the country's wildlife, fossils and minerals. Treat it as optional, best with children; otherwise spend the rest of the day on Gellért Hill or in a bath instead.

Good to know

Walk on the Pest side and use the funicular, a bus or a short taxi to get up to the Castle District; Matthias Church is up there too, so you can fold it into day one.
Book the Parliament tour ahead, as places on the day are limited.
Several museums close one day a week, so check before you fix which day you do what.
Spring and early autumn are the easiest seasons for walking; in winter the outdoor thermal pools are a warm way to see the city.
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3 days in Budapest: a day-by-day sightseeing plan

Hungarian Parliament Building

Shoes on the Danube Bank

Széchenyi Chain Bridge

Hungarian National Gallery

Buda Castle

Heroes' Square

Széchenyi thermal bath

Vajdahunyad Castle

City Park

House of Terror Museum

Matthias Church

Oktogon

Dohány Street Synagogue

Liberty Bridge

Hungarian Natural History Museum

Good to know

Make this plan yours