Please help me fill in days with things to see

Mark, look at some of my posts and you will see I love suggesting what to do. But this week I am in Australia with no lap top and poor internet, so I sent you some poop. See if it helps. If you still need help next week I will be home in Budapest.

Mark. Maybe TexasTravelMom or Christy will help out.

What I can guarantee is yoi will find more to see and do than you have time for.

I get back late Sunday, then I will look at it too.

I will give it a shot, with a couple of caveats. First, I am a slow traveler so I don’t fill my days. And second, some of the best parts of Budapest are the “parts in between”, meaning walking random streets and being totally impressed with the architecture. So walking from place to place (looking up) is part of the beauty.

I don’t know where you are staying but I might reorganize a bit like this:

Saturday: start with a walk up Andrassy ut and visit Hero’s Square. Then take the M1 back to Vosmarty ter and walk to Duna Corso for dinner on the river. Then take the 2 tram one direction and then back (depending on where you are staying) I think I might save the Great Market for a different day unless you are staying nearby. (On Saturday it closes at 3:00.)

Sunday: personally in 3 1/2 days, I wouldn’t add 2 baths and skip other things but ymmv.
Start with the Great Synagogue (10-2); then tram to the Parliament, Shoes, and St. Stephen’s, then Margaret Island - it is beautiful and interesting and could easily fill a couple of hours a couple of hours (bus to the far end and walk back through). Lukacs Baths is open till 7, so you might fit it in here, followed by dinner.

Monday: Start with the Great Market Hall, then tram across the river to Buda Hill (funicular or bus up the hill), Hospital in the rock, the Cave Church.

Tuesday: Széchenyi Thermal Bath, then Vajdahunyad Castle (or the Hungarian House of Music), the Museum of Fine Arts, then M1 or walk back down Andrassy for House of Terror and/or Opera House tour.

I personally love riding the trams at night - a public transportation pass is really useful but then also provides great free views at night along the river. If you still have free time, a walk down Váci utca is very pretty.

Take time for sitting at outdoor cafes for coffee and cake, or lunch.

Mr. É needs to not take vacations. This is harder than it looks. LOL!

https://1drv.ms/i/s!Ai7Zk-szxfTJi8hP7rLtHAmM-EDkSQ

Thank you, Texastravelmom, for your input. I considered it in my slightly modified schedule.
To note, I really do want to do two thermal baths as I have arthritis, and I think they might help, at least keep me more relaxed and maybe a bit looser.
I did remove the Great Market Hall; if time allows and I am in the area, I might check it out. I also decided to not see the Great Synagogue because it is very expensive and sounds like it will take too much time and I think I would rather see the House of Terror (tough choice).

Saturday: I will walk by Parliament (not in), see the Shoes, and then Margit Island (maybe) or explore the Jewish Quarter. I will be tired, so there will not be much on this day.

Sunday: Margit Island, early (if not the day before) House of Terror at 10:00, St. Stephen's Basilica, at 13:00 or later, then Lukas Thermal Baths, explore, Night River Cruise

Monday: Buda Hill (Bastion, Church, Castle, etc.), Hospital in the rock, the Cave Church.

Tuesday: Széchenyi Thermal Bath 7:00, then Vajdahunyad Castle, the Museum of Fine Arts, and finally Heroes Square. (This might fill the day?)

Are there any sites that can be viewed outside (not go in) after most tourist attractions are closed? Examples include buildings, artwork, and so on. Items to fill the early evening?

Do you have any thoughts on this itinerary?

I got some food suggestions, but I always look for good restaurants and street food markets.

Thanks,
Mark

Budapest has tons of great architecture that makes wandering the streets a pleasure. I doubt you'll have to seek out specific buildings or areas; you'll run into them along the way.

• Szabadsag ter (Liberty Square)
• Andrassy utca (on the way up to Heroes' Square)
• Varosliget fasor (on the way back down from Heroes' Square)
• The area immediately outside the SE edge of City Park

The last two are at the top of my list for my next trip. There's apparently lots of Art Nouveau residential architecture there.

acraven is exactly right. And the buildings that haven’t been restored or cleaned are just as interesting for me as those that have. Always something to see! Last time I was walking down a random street (not headed to any tourist sights) and there was randomly what looked like a Greek temple sitting on the top of a building.

You have a good general, not too-packed itinerary. One piece of advice I received from Mr. É that is spot on is to take advantage of any open courtyard door you pass and peek inside. It is easy to wander past and not notice - but often the inside courtyards provide an unexpected glimpse of either current or former beautiful design. And if your arthritis bothers you, take advantage of the trams. Trams and busses will go almost everywhere with your pass. And you don’t have to worry about getting lost - all you have to do most of the time is get off, cross the street, and go back the way you came.

Edit: to add if you are concerned about evenings, this is a good time to visit Hero’s Square, the Shoes and Parliament again with lights, the fountains at Margarit Island, or the baths.

And if you like artwork, you might be interested in the small Roth Museum (stained glass and mosaic work) and the art nouveau Ráth György-villa (has displays from the Applied Arts Museum, which I think is still closed). But both close at 5; however are near each other and near Heroes’ Square (and not far from Paprika Vendéglő for some chicken paprikash).

Thank you, Texastravelmom, for your input. I considered it in my slightly modified schedule.
To note, I really do want to do two thermal baths as I have arthritis, and I think they might help, at least keep me more relaxed and maybe a bit looser.
I did remove the Great Market Hall; if time allows and I am in the area, I might check it out. I also decided to not see the Great Synagogue because it is very expensive and sounds like it will take too much time and I think I would rather see the House of Terror (tough choice).

I have trouble helping without knowing where a person is staying.
It’s a big city but very manageable if you design a day with no
backtracking or little or no overlap of the day before. But again,
that depends on where you are staying.

Odds are at some point if you plan your travel well, you will be going
past the Great Market Hall. That can be a 5 minute stop or an hour
long stop. But do stop. The Great Synagogue is worth the short tour
(30 minutes) and I don’t remember it costing much but …. The House of
Terror is very much worth the time and it will take at least an hour,
maybe more if you are interested.

Saturday: I will walk by Parliament (not in), see the Shoes, and then Margit Island (maybe) or explore the Jewish Quarter. I will be tired, so there will not be much on this day. What time do you arrive in Budapest?

Jewish quarter and the Parliament are not exactly close. So map out
how you are doing this. Where you stay will have an impact on things.
It is Saturday so some of the Jewish aspects of the Jewish quarter
will be closed. But there is a lot more there than that.

Sunday: Margit Island, early (if not the day before) House of Terror at 10:00, St. Stephen's Basilica, at 13:00 or later, then Lukas Thermal Baths, explore, Night River Cruise

Again, depends on where you are staying as the House of Terror is in
one part of town, St. Stephens in another and Lukas in yet another.
But you can tie them all together depending on where you are coming
from and where you want to end up.

Monday: Buda Hill (Bastion, Church, Castle, etc.), Hospital in the rock, the Cave Church.
Tuesday: Széchenyi Thermal Bath 7:00, then Vajdahunyad Castle, the Museum of Fine Arts, and finally Heroes Square. (This might fill the day?)

That might indeed fill the day. That and walking the length of
Andrassy ut.

Walk up Zrínyi u towards St. Stephens for a nice view of St. Stephens

I am staying in district VII near Keleti train station. I chose this location as I have a very early train to Vienna.
I figure I can check out the Jewish Quarter on the way back to my Airbnb.

I will be out and about around 14:00.

I picked those items on Saturday as they are all outside and have no closing times.

All the items listed are in the order I think I should do them because of opening and closing times and the way it seemed to make sense getting from one to another, but I can only look on a map and don't know how difficult this will be.

Mark

Saturday: I will walk by Parliament (not in), see the Shoes, and then Margit Island (maybe) or explore the Jewish Quarter. I will be tired, so there will not be much on this day.

See, now your plans make some sense. From your accommodations you
will take the M2 to the Parliament. You can board either at Keleti or
Blaha Lujza ter depending on which is closer. You get off at Kossuth
Lajos tér and you are at the Parliament building. If you want to
see Margrit Island after, then I suggest you walk up Falk Miska utca
and visit an antique shop or gallery or two. At the end you will find
the 4/6 Tram that stops at the center of the bridge so you can walk
down to Margrit Island.
Coming back I would suggest the 4/6 tram.

I think you will be too pooped for the Jewish Quarter as logistics
arent great, but if you take the 4/6 tram back you could get off at
the Oktogon and walk down Andrassy ut to Deak Ferenc ter where the M2
will take you home. The walk down Andrassy is especially good in the
evening.

Sunday: Margit Island, early (if not the day before) House of Terror at 10:00, St. Stephen's Basilica, at 13:00 or later, then Lukas Thermal Baths, explore, Night River Cruise.

House of terror is the 4/6 Tram from Blaha Lujza ter to the Oktogon
and then a very short walk to the House of Terror.
Then back on the 4/6 tram to very near the Lukas Bath.

Coming home there are a lot of options. If you are up to it, then the
4/6 to the 2 Tram a few stops then walk through Vorosmarty ter to Deak
Ferenc ter where you will find the M2 to go home.

Monday: Buda Hill (Bastion, Church, Castle, etc.), Hospital in the rock, the Cave Church.

To see more, I would take the 4/6 tram to the Oktogon and then the M1
to Vorosmarty ter and then from there walk across the Chain Bridge and
up the Funicular to the Castle Hill . Coming back look for bus 216
or 116 that will take you back to Deak Ferenc ter then you take the M2
from there.

Hahaha! Welcome back, Mr. É!

Mark, you are getting great information - but I just want to say it may sound complicated but it is not.

Thank you so much, and I don't want to seem like a jerk, but on day 2, you missed St. Stephen's Basilica. I picked it second because that day, it opens at 13:00.

Do you know of any good street food vendors on my route or any I should stay away from?

Thank you all so much.
Mr. E, you are greatly appreciated.

Check out the location of Street Food Karavan Budapest and see if you will be passing by.

Sunday: Margit Island, early (if not the day before) House of Terror at 10:00, St. Stephen's Basilica, at 13:00 or later, then Lukas Thermal Baths, explore, Night River Cruise.

House of terror is the 4/6 Tram from Blaha Lujza ter to the Oktogon
and then a very short walk to the House of Terror. Then the M1 down to
the Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út where you will find the Basilica on your
right. Then you walk down the pedestrian road in front of the
Basilica, past the Four Seasons Hotel and to the river front where the
2 Tram will take you to its end where you pick up the 4/6 tram across
the river to the bath house.

Coming home there are a lot of options. If you are up to it, then the
4/6 to the 2 Tram a few stops then walk through Vorosmarty ter to Deak
Ferenc ter where you will find the M2 to go home.

It does sound complicated till you look at a mapy. I may have sent you something with a metro map in it. Really easy when you see it in print.

Budapest really isnt a street food sort of city.

Thank you so much!

Hope this isn't too late, but if you are up for a short road trip and want to see
something offbeat, go to Memento Park.

Memento Park

Reachable via metro and bus. Someone gathered up some of the Communist
monuments and statues and put them in an outdoor park area.

shoeflyer, no one has mentioned that in years. It is interesting, and with what is going on in the world it is a good reminder.

My memories on FB reminded me yesterday that I had visited Memento Park in 2017, and it remains one of the most fascinating things I've seen in Budapest--even the bus ride through the suburbs was interesting, and I probably spent a good hour there. I was impressed that the Hungarians chose to display those statues rather than destroy them and pretend that part of their history, unpleasant as it was for them, never existed. This was on my 3rd visit to Budapest, I don't think I would have done it on my earlier trips but it is certainly worth seeing.

I liked Memento Park a lot. There are a couple of places in the Baltic countries, I think, that have some Communist-era statues on display, but Memento Park is exceptional in the number of statues preserved and the bits of background information provided about them.

I'd agree that Budapest has so much to see, and Memento Park takes so much travel time, that it's not a typical choice for a first-time visitor.