Itinerary help for a very short trip in October

Especially on a short trip it matters where you are staying when it comes to itinerary advice. With that it's easier to lay something out that flows well, is enjoyable and doesn't back track. This is a large city but very well connected if you have a plan. And the places in-between are as good as the destinations.

Thank you Mr. E, We are staying at the Courtyard city center.

Okay, then you are on the outter loop road on the 4/6 Metro line and near the M2 at Blaha Lujza tér (ter = square). Not bad.

First make dinner reservations at the NY Cafe which is right up the loop road from you. Anything in bold, google to know why. Then if you are flying into town stop at the BKK office in the arrivals hall and buy a 72 Hour TravelCard. If you are coming by train, then the same at the BKK office in the lower level of Keleti Station (assuming thats where you are coming in). There is one a Nyugati Station too, just cant remember where exactly. I think in the large concourse of the underground metro station. Last option is download the BudapestGo App and buy it on the App. Follow the instructions for use if you use the App. I just prefer the paper version. If you are over 65 forget everything I just said and use the public transportation at will.

Lets do the long haul first then go sight seeing. Go to Blaha Lujza tér and board the M2 metro in the direction of Déli Pályaudvar (yet another train staion). Get off at the thrid stop Kossuth Lajos tér. Go up to the street level and wa-la, you are at the Parliament building. Walk around it, go to the Shoes on the Danube Memorial Then look around for a yellow tram. Hard to miss it. You want to board the one that heads towards the river and turns left. That is the 2 or 2B or 23 Tram. Sit on the right and enjoy the view across the Danube. Stay on for 4 stops. Or easier its the second stop after you cross under the Chain Bridge. You will be at Vigadó tér get off and look to your left and you will see the DunaCorso restaurant. Sit outside, take in the view and have lunch.

Back on the tram, same direction. I think its three stops, but you wont miss the next one because the tram parks under a bridge. This is Fővám tér. Get off, go up the stairs and walk about half a block and you are at the Great Market Hall. Be sure and visit the fish and the pickles in the basement. Back out the door and you will see another tram parked out front. Thats the 49 or 48 or 49 Tram. Hop on moving away from the river. The second stop is Astoria. There are illuminated signs in the trams with the stop names so you can always check. Walk up the road following the tram line for about 500m and you are at the Dohany utca (Great) Synagogue. Do the tour. (utca = street)

Back on the tram till the end stop (the next stop actally) now you are at Deák Ferenc tér M. Continue walking in the same direction that the tram was traveling (go to the right side of the street) and in about 500m you will come to the end of Andrassy ut.

I am going to suggest walking it. Generally speaking the architecture is beautiful. The lower end the only tourist attraction is the Hungarian National Opera House. Too late for the tour today. Past the Hungarian National Opera house you will see a large octogon shaped square. Its called the Oktogon. To your left you will see modern yellow trams. Go and get on one moving from left to right. Third stop is Blaha Lujza tér and you are home to get ready for dinner. If you are short on time or tired the M1 metro runs under Andrassy ut. Second stop from the metro station at the end of Andrassy ut is the Oktogon.

After dinner back on the 4 or 6 tram to the Oktogon. Then walk back down to the Opera House. In the evening there is no more beautiful place in town. To the righ of and behind the Opera are some nice wine spots to sit and consider the day.

Day two. This we will do Andrassy ut and the bath house. But I have to run right now and will finish this in the morning ... my morning is 6 to 9 hours later than yours.

Thank you thank you thank you!

Okay, I said reservations at the NY Cafe. It is the most beautiful coffee house in Europe. When people come here from Vienna they go home in shame. But check the menu and if the prices are a bit high for you we find a substitute. There isnt too much near your hotel so other choices will take a bit of tram time, but thats part of the fun.

Friday, you have breakfast at the hotel then you get on the 4 or 6 Tram to the Oktogon. Then you get on the M1 Metro and go to the Széchenyi fürdő stop. Thats the Széchenyi bath house stop (fürdő = bathhouse) . A tip on the M1 metro. Its the oldest on the continent and so its a bit primitive. To go up Andrassy ut you get on the metro from one side of the street. To go down Andrassy ut on the Metro you enter the metro from the other side of Andrassy ut. You want the entrance that says Mexikói út above the stairs.

Do the bathhouse early as i think you will find it less crowded and more enjoyable. If you click on my name it will take you to my profile page and there you will find a link to my travel notes. In my travel notes is a detailed description on what and how for the bathhouse. I was writen by another RS contributior who I hope joins this conversation.

After a few hours in the bathhouse walk to Heroes' Square (Hősök tere) look around, etc. Then we will start walking down Andrassy ut towards the Opera house. YOu dont have to walk it all, its about a 40 minute walk, but the M1 runs directly under it so you can hop on and off and see parts as you go. Andrassy ut is essentiall three parts. The lower part is high end retail and apartments. The middle is mostly all apartments and they are majestic old apartment blocks. The upper part is mostly old mansions now converted to embassies and offices and a few hotels. I do suggest you walk at least the . Bajza utca stop to the Kodály körönd stop then you can get back on to the Hungarian National Opera stop. Here you have bought tickets for a tour at 1:30pm https://opera.jegy.hu/. But you should have time for lunch first. To the right and behind the Opera is a place called Cork Breakfast and Wine. Hungarian / Eastern European with Ukrainian overtones (and ownership). Good for lunch and dinner.

After the tour we are heading off to Buda. Got to see Buda. So get back on the M1 on the opera side of the street. The sign above the stairs will say Vorosmarty ter. Take it two stops to Vorsomarty ter, then walk towards the river. There you will find the 2 Tram you took yesterday. Take it a stop up river to the Chain Bridge and walk across the bridge. At the Buda side you take the Funicular up. On castle hill use your DK Eyewitness Top 10 Budapest Guide that you got on Amazon.com to find your way around. Right now the views from Fishermans Bastion and the tour of the Matthias Church are the two best draws. Oh, and the Hospital in the Rock.

Would you like an early dinner or a late dinner? For an early dinner I will get you to Margaret's Restaurant and Pub for authentic rural artery clogging delights, for a later dinner, two choices either an old world Hungarian or a fairly modern but wonderul wine and food place. Here are the names, decide and we finish the tour accordingly

Kiraly100 https://kiraly100.hu/en/king100restaurant/
Margarets Restaurant and Pub https://margarets.hu/
N28 Wine and Kitchen https://n28.hu/

then after dinner you have a choice of drinks and a view at the river or a couple of exceptional wine bars or ......

Mr. E - This is fantastic! Thank you.

We actually made a reservation at Margaret's for our first night based on your recommendation on this forum but we can easily change that to second night. New York cafe looks absolutely stunning and we were thinking of grabbing coffee and snack there first thing upon arriving in Budapest or maybe for breakfast the next day. We usually eat dinner early around 6 pm but we can be flexible as I'm sure there will be many snacks consumed on our Budapest tour!

The NY Cafe works better the first night because you can get a reservation. During the day no reservations you wait in a line and hope. ANd its close to home. Just makes for an easy first day.

Margarets works great on the second day as .....

After visiting the Castle Hill you take the Funicular or you walk down to the river where you find the 19 and 41 tram. You take it up river until it crosses under the Margaret Island Bridge and you get off. Walik up to the road that crosses the river and you will see Margarets Restaurant and Pub.

After dinner the 4 or 6 tram parks right along side the restaurant (its a bit of a walk to the nearest cross walk to the tram stop though). The 4/6 will take you across the river, past Eiffel's Nyugati Station and on to your hotel. Or you can get off at the Kiraly utcas stop, and wander down Kiraly utca and have a farewell glass of wine at Kadarka Wine Bar.

The next morning the Keleti train station for the trip on to Vienna you can reach in one stiop on the M2 at Blaha Lujza tér. 15 minutes to the platform at most. Oh, unless you are going RegioJet. Then you need Deli Station. For Deli you will still go to the M2 stop at Blaha Lujza tér. but you get on going the opposite direction to Déli pályaudvar (the end stop). Plan on 30 minutes. But check me on that, maybe some go to Budapest-Kelenföld which is a tad tricker to reach.

This is perfect! Thank you so very much for your time and kindness Mr. E!

We have a few others on the forum that have good perspectives on what to do here and how to do it. I hope they chime in too.

I will add that Mr. É has given you a really good overview plan. Not much to improve on.

There is a wide array of things to see or do, but Budapest itself is its own best attraction. So whatever you do or see, don’t rush through it and enjoy your trip! My first visit I was there for 18 hours and it was enough to bring me back.