Budpest: Please Help with my 3.5 day Itinerary

Friday: Day 1: Arrive from Vienna @ 11:00 (I need to book the train tickets)

Try and get an earlier train

Take taxi to hotel (City Taxi app not great reviews?)

I think City Taxi is the best and the app is fine

drop bags at Hotel Moments. Grab a bite to eat perhaps in the Jewish Center? tour Great Synagogue (1 hour tour) not sure of the hours. It will probably be abut 4 pm by now, Head to the Great Market (closes at 6)

Eat a big breakfast and push thru with lunch at the Market Hall or across the street on Vaci utca, after.

Sat. Day 2: Am head to Szechenyl baths take M1 Metro, have a massage and experience the pool, spend morning. Walk around Heros Square and grab lunch near baths.

Paprika Vendéglő

Do the reverse Andrassy ut Walk
Walk to House of Terror: Take tour 1/1/2 hrs
Opera House: English tours: 45 min 14:00, 15:00, 16:00(catch 4:00 tour)
Dinner:?

PM me an email and I will send you a list

Sun: Day 3 Taxi to Parliment to catch 10:00 tour (booked but can be changed) arrive after tour take the RS Leopold Town Walk

Dont take a taxi. Walk to the 2 Tram on the river front

Lunch?
Head up to Buda spend a few hours seeing the sites there
Dinner then Cruise on the Danube?
Mon: Day 4 ( Museums are closed today)
Take wine tour to Etyek. Will return to the city by 1:30 or so
See the other things missed: New York Cafe (peek into maybe in the am before the wine tour?
Dinner:?
Tues: Day 5 Depart for home
Thank you in advance,

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/hungary/restaurants-in-budapest-october-2022

City Taxi app works fine for me, but set it up ahead of time. I generally use it to schedule a pick up ahead of time - several times for heading to the airport the following day, but it looks easy to use just like Uber.

City Taxi is fine. If you don't mind public transportation, take the M2 from Keleti to Deák Ferenc tér and walk to your hotel; it's not far.
If you want to eat upon arrival to your hotel, there is a little cafe across (ish) from your hotel: Művész Kávéház

I would recommend spending a morning at Széchenyi, not an afternoon. After avoiding the baths on our first two trips, we now go at least twice. It's wonderful. However, I would recommend against a massage as the reviews are not positive. Perhaps someone else can chime in.

I would not taxi to Parliament, there are several public transport options, the M2 from Deák will be the fastest. To walk, it will be just under 1 mile and it is quite pleasant.

I hope others forgive me for this: I'm not a huge fan of New York Cafe. Visually, it's worth a peek, but not worth a visit as I find them over priced and lacking in quality. Instead, when you're in Buda, check out Ruszwurm, the oldest bakery in Budapest. I always order the krémes, it's THE BEST in town.

Be sure to get that list from Mr. É, he will offer great suggestions. My suggestion for dinner is Pörc & Prézli Étterem, which is roughly two blocks from your hotel. Be sure to make a reservation and note that it is worth it to accept their recommendation of ordering a raspberry palinka before your meal.

Listen to Christy and TexasTravelMom, they are. my guides in Budapest.

Friday: Day 1:

7:40 to 10:19 Train from Vienna to Keleti: 39.5 euro https://jegy.mav.hu/
Walk down the stairs a the front of the station, on the right is the metro ticket office, buy a 72 hour Budapest TravelCard: 5,500 HUF https://bkk.hu/en/tickets-and-passes/prices/travelcards-valid-for-one-or-more-days/ or use the app (I like the paper cards though)
The metro would be the fastest, cleanest and cheapest way to your hotel, but I would still take a taxi so you can see a little upon arrival. Otherwise you are underground.
Check-in and drop your bags.
Take tram to Great Synagogue. Its noon by now.
Do the tour
Tram to Great Market Hall. Eat on first floor (second level) of the Market Hall. Or wait until you are done with the Market Hall and walk across the street to the end of Vaci utca and pick a place to eat Touristy, but convenient.
‘Now its maybe 3pm
Take tram across the river, switch trams and go up river to the Funicular
Take funicular to Castle Hill, pull out your guide book and walk around with your Eyewitness Top 10 Budapest Guide Book …. Small enough to fit in your pocket – https://www.amazon.com/Eyewitness-Budapest-Pocket-Travel-Guide/dp/024146286X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=38T3QJ32Z7K29&keywords=eyewitness+top+10+budapest&qid=1686885804&sprefix=eyewitness+top+10+budapest%2Caps%2C321&sr=8-1
Take Bus 16 from Castle Hill to Deak Ferenc ter.
Go to your 7:30 dinner reservation at https://www.rezkakasbistro.hu/ good Hungarian and Gypsy Music.
Short Walk back to your hotel.

Sat. Day 2:

Early breakfast in the hotel
Walk up Andrassy ut to House of Terror. Be there at 9:30 for 10am opening.
Spend 90 minutes.
Walk to next metro stop, Vorosmarty utca, and take it to the Széchenyi fürdő stop (bath house)
Use your pre-purchased “fast track” ticket with changing room https://tickets.szechenyibath.hu/
Nice walk through the park for a late lunch at http://paprikavendeglo.hu/
Walk down Andrassy ut (30 to 45 minutes)
Clean up
7:30 or 8pm reservation at https://maceszbistro.hu/en/
Dobolo after dinner for music and wine https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g274887-d1969468-Reviews-Doblo_Wine_Bar_Home-Budapest_Central_Hungary.html

Sun: Day 3

Walk to the riverfront so you can see more of the city. Get on the 2 Tram to the Parliament. Leave about 8:30am, won’t take that long but will give you time to poke around on the way.
Do you tour
Take 2 tram to end stop and then take tram across the river
Buy ticket on the H5 to Szentendre
Spend the afternoon in Szentendre and eat lunch there and take the 5pm boat back to Pest.
Shop a little on Vaci utca before dinner reservation at 7:30 or 8 pm on the Corso https://www.dunacorso.hu/hu/index.php
Walk home or head to Kadarka Wine bar http://kadarkawinebar.com/

Mon: Day 4

Good day for the Basilica and the pedestrian zone in front and, yes, wandering streets as every street is amazing.

and the hotel moments made TA list of worlds best. You choose well: https://www.tripadvisor.com/TravelersChoice-Hotels-cFamily-g1

Thank you for the excellent advice helping me plan our time in Budapest, it's much appreciated.

Everyone has different interests. The trick is to study the tram routes and come up with something that keeps you going in one direction to what interests you. The trams are excellent HOHO bus substitutes.

I have taken pages of notes from all of the great advice you all have posted on the forums, the details/links that you provide are amazing and so helpful-thank you. My husband and I will be arriving from Vienna also and are planning to spend 4 nights in Budapest in September!! We love to wander around markets, I see you suggest the great market hall, do you have any thoughts on some of the other markets in town? Hunydi ter market or Lehel market hall? we also want to see the storks and other sites on Margaret island, is this where we get the H5 (train,bus I'm not sure) to Szentendre? thanks in advance

Erin--I previously got to Szentendre via the M2 line to Batthyany, one of the stations for the HEV 5 train, but on my trip this May I realized that tram 4 or 6--the same that gets you to Margit sziget--would be even easier. The exit is Margit hid Budai hidfo; this is the first stop after the middle of the hid (bridge) coming from Pest towards Buda, and once you exit turn around and head to the station just under the bridge. If you have a transit pass you will still need to purchase an additional ticket to cover you past the range of the pass. Sounds confusing, but it's not, and it's about $2.00 US, you can easily use a credit card. I buy the additional ticket for my return at the same time.

I hope you love Margit sziget as much as I do, but if you're there in September you may miss the storks--they generally migrate by mid-August. Plenty more to see there, though, and definitely worth a few hours of exploration--it's such a lovely, serene oasis in the middle of a busy city.

Erin - with 4 days, I think the Great Market Hall is sufficient. If you really love them, try Fény Utca market on the Buda side by Széll Kálmán tér and Mammut mall. Hunyadi is pretty small so it won't take too much time to pop in and look around. Lehel is interesting, just for the weird building. You could also check out the farmer's market at Szimpla Kert if you're there on a Sunday.

The other markets are for the local experience and architecture. Most are better on weekends. Hunyadi, for example, had outside farmers market, and Klauzál tér usually has some antique vendors on weekends (those are the two i do my grocery shopping at) . All of them will draw you a bit of the standard tourist zone, which is good just to experience the city.

Mammut is a modern shopping mall, for that, I like the West End Mall which also gives you a chance to walk thru and visit Nyugati Station.