Rank Must-See Sights in Budapest for Those with Limited Time

We spent a wonderful afternoon at the Szechenyi Thermal Baths…..rented a locker, enjoyed inexpensive massages…….it was great!

Budapest is the whole that is greater than the sum of its parts--that the city's overall experience is much greater than its collection of "must-see" attractions

I think you have said it well. Budapest, unlike other large cities I have visited, is a place where a simple walk is an attraction equal to many museums. So save times for those - they count. But with limited time, for a first time, my favorites are: the Opera House, the views from Fisherman’s Bastion, the Danube at night, City Park with Heroes Square, and riding the 2 tram and the M1 - oh, and if you have any interest in music, attending any kind of performance with a Hungarian audience (as most will primarily be) is a unique experience I love. I have been to a lot of the “lesser” sites and have a long list of more to come but walking place to place in Pest is the best.

The baths are a unique feature (I have been to Szechenyl, Gellert, and Rudas so far) and they are very interesting. I will happily keep sampling different ones. But just for me, they wouldn’t exactly top the list.

I loved just walking around. I also enjoyed both Szechenyl Baths and the Holocaust tree at the Synagogue, but what lives in my memory is the memorial to the Jewish people who died....all those shoes lined up next to the river. It was heartbreaking.

We also had a lovely afternoon at the baths, but we went in our second visit to Budapest.
On the Buda side of the city is the Matthias Church near Buda castle. Also there is the Fisherman’s Bastion which was interesting and has lovely views from its turrets.
We were disappointed with the Great Market Hall, especially since we walked there and it was quite a hike.
The House of Terror was an eye-opening jolt about the horrors of life under a communist regime. These types of museums are always hard to visit but makes us, as Americans, appreciate our country even more. You can take as long as you want or you can speed through most of the exhibits.
The Opera House was a nice change of pace. We missed getting tickets to Parliment on both trips.
Also interesting, on the Buda side, was the Hospital in the Rock. It always amazes me the ingenuity of people when faced with roadblocks and how they are able to come together to work through the problems.
We also took a ride down the Danube and attended a folk dance/music show. Our hotel got the tickets for the show for us. It was also on the Buda side.
That’s all I can remember right now from our trips in 2002 and 2014. I’m not at home to look at my photo book.

I've been to Budapest twice. The Szechenyi Baths are a must. I could have easily spent an entire day at Szechenyi and done nothing else, and it would be time well spent. The Great Market Hall, the Great Synagogue and Matthias Church round out my top four. I've seen the outside of the synagogue twice but have never been inside. Both times I showed up, it was closed to visitors. What bad luck! It and the Spanish Synagogue in Prague are the two most distinctive in Europe. Matthias isn't just another church: It's probably in my top three of the hundreds I've seen in some 17 European countries. That might be worth hiring a guide because of some interesting stories about it.

In his guidebook, Rick listed a bicycle tour of Budapest in English. (If you show them Rick's book, you get a $10 discount in the forint equivalent.) I think it was called Yellow Zebra. The tour was fabulous! I strongly recommend it.

RJ ive been looking for the perfect description for years, and you nailed it

I can do a list, but to be really helpful, i need dates. Some things are time of year dependent, and some things are day of the week dependent, others time of day dependent.

For RS to place the Szechenyl Baths in a unique position is a bit strange. It's wonderful, as are a few of the other baths and most everything you listed ... depending on interests.

As for Aggies .... ehhhhhh but I wear my cap here every day.

Everyone's must-sees and dos are different but a guide book helps narrow it down. Parliament, the Great Synagogue and the Opera house are solid top 3 choices. In 6 visits to Budapest I have not been to any of the baths, simply not interesting to me...but if I did, it would be Szechenyi, the building is just gorgeous, and you'd be in City Park so that would also have you seeing Heroes' Square and the Vajdahunyad Center. Nearby is the excellent Neprajzi Museum (ethnographic), full of wonderful things pertaining to the history and culture of the Magyars...I love it so much I have visited 3 times.

I enjoyed the House of Terror, but perhaps not interesting to everyone. I toured it in about 2 hours. For something unusual go over to Castle Hill and visit the Hospital in the Rock. I always spend a few hours exploring Castle Hill, and the views of Pest are spectacular, night or day.

I visit Szentendre every trip, and always make several stops on Margit sziget if it's spring and the nesting storks are there, and never miss a chance to take the bus out to Ecseri piac for a good poke around the crazy funky flea market. Speaking of taking the bus, if you've any interest in the Communist era and have a couple of hours to spare on a pleasant day there's the fascinating Memento Park, full of statues they rounded up and banished to the outskirts of town.

I am not ignoring RJ. We took care of it in a PM.

The lists above are great. I spend so much time here that it becomes routine and the other visitors help to keep it fresh for me.

Széchenyi, Gellert and Lukacs are three totally different experiences. If you like one, try all three, and you can pair them with different parts of town and different things to see.

The three quintessential tours in town are the Great Synagogue, the Parliament and the Opera House.

The far end of Andrassy ut is a day in and of itself. Széchenyi, The Hungarian House of Music, the Museum of Ethnography (just to see and walk “the roof” if not the inside as well), the balloon ride, the lake (or skating rink depending on time of year), the castle, Contemporary and Fine Arts museums at Heroes’ Square, some interesting food choices …. Then you start the walk down Andrassy ut. First past the great old mansions, now many of which are embassies, then the most stunning apartment blocks in town to the House of Terror and beyond that the fashion stores of lower Andrassy ut and the Opera House and Theater District. This is a full day if done well.

The Castle District is a place I lost track of and only recently reunited with. It’s a day. I would not have said that 6 months ago. Walk across the Chain Bridge to the Funicular up. The Fishermans Bastion, Mathias Church, the oldest Synagogue in Budapest, Hospital in the Rock and the remarkable Castle Museum. I mean truly remarkable. Then the walk down to the Várkert Bazár and two trams back to Pest (with maybe a stop at the Gellert Bathhouse).

Szentendre by commuter train up, and boat back. Nothing sweeter than making the bend around Margit Island and seeing the Parliament rise before you.

Memento Park. Hungarians have done a good job of remembering and facing their past … good and bad.

OH, and the RS Gudie Book is the best. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING BETTER .... but .... get a copy of the Eyewitness Top 10 Budapest. It is more about being there and less about planning to be there and its small enough to carry and look things up when you see them. OH, did I say that the RS Gudie Book is the best. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING BETTER?

Favorite Tourism Video of Budapest https://youtu.be/1nd5AtZIrTk?feature=shared
Anthony Bourdain describing how visually pleasurable Budapest is https://youtu.be/0nd9DuDGCz0?si=aa0c19KaJHEtabkX

And Steele has us at number 9. Where have I been? I am still reliving 1919 and 1939.

https://youtu.be/OIlKsGkaskw?si=qcky9GWIEFoXzwgV

Many thanks to all who responded. For the sake of Mr. E., I hope the Aggies do better than 9th. It's a brutal conference. And I did enjoy the attached video--I had not realized that Budapest offered such cultural diversity!

On a different note, this thread seems especially helpful to those who have limited time in Budapest (like those on the RS Central Europe tour). It has refined my thoughts that the two tours to take are the Parliament building and the Jewish Quarter with the Great Synagogue with the rest of the time spent exploring the city on foot.

RJ The video, something less than 10% still live that way, but the influence on everthing on campus is substantially larger. These were still being sold at the campus bookstore when I was there...... notice the name of the last school .... we still call it that: https://i.pinimg.com/736x/bf/b1/8d/bfb18da03b4c9376226d6cc7236802e0.jpg

Anyway, you chose well I think. Do also write down the time of the tours at the opera house. Not expensive only takes about 45 minutes, often you can just walk up and buy a ticket and its where you need to be walking after the Jewish quarter. If you need stops for wine or beer, ask and I can post a few of my favorite.