Walking tours

Eyewitness Travel Guides also contain some really nicely laid area maps which are good to formulate walking tours...

The Budapest Card covers a 2-hour (I think) walking tour in Buda (Castle Hill) and another in Pest. I enjoyed both walks. The Pest walk in particular seemed to cover a lot of groumd. There are some themed walks offered by various companies, but I didn't take any of those.

We did the Free Tour, and it was fun, with goofy jokes and a relaxed attitude.

Thanks I will look into Budapest card.

We have 4 days in Budapest in early July. The dates we area there necessitated sightseeing in a certain order, leaving our open time for a walking tour for day 3 so I am not certain we are going to do it. But I did research some and chose this one for if we have the time and energy: http://www.triptobudapest.hu/tours/the-original-tour/

Yes Valerie, we are also looking at that. I will try to do it in our first day to orient ourselves.

Sally, if you want a do-it-yourself orientation tour, let me suggest you ride the trams. You will see about 70% of the main sights and can hop on and hop off at your interest.

From your hotel, walk to the end of Andrassy ut and look to your left where you will see a yellow tram line. Thats the end of the 47/49 tram. It will take you past the Great Synagogue and on to the Market Hall.

At the Market Hall walk about a block towards the river and down the stairs under the bridge. There you will find the 2 Tram, often called one of the great tram rides of Europe. Take it to the right and you will do the Danube River Front all the way to and just past the Parliament Building.

At the end of the line, walk to the street in front of you and look to the right and you will see the 4/6 Tram. Take it moving to your right (away from the river). Get off at the Oktogon (second stop). You are back to Andrassy and a nice walk back to your hotel and you have seen most of scenic Budapest.

Of course at this point there are a few options. Stay on the 4/6 another two stops and see the New York Palace or get on the M1 at the Oktogon (my choice). Now Andrassy ut is a great walking street, sort of the Champs-Élysées of Budapest. But its long. But with trusty TravelCard in hand you can walk a bit and ride the M1 metro a bit (it runs under and the length of Andrassy ut). At the end of Andrassy ut is Hero's Square, City Park, Széchenyi Bath House, the Zoo, the lake ... really a beautiful area.

There are a dozen other possibilities for seeing the city by tram. For instance, you can go as described but take the 4/6 tram the other direction to the Buda side then the 19/41 tram to the funicular and go up to the Buda Castle area, then walk the Chain Bridge and walk to Vorsomart ter where you can take the M1 line to Hero's Square and walk Andrassy home.

Thanks so much James for the very detailed instructions on taking the tram to enjoy the sites in Budapest. I have printed it out so we can take the route. Thanks again!

I still do it with each visit. The city is laid out in a pretty easy to understand fashion and there are enough tall or easy to see landmarks that once you have circled the inner city once this way you will have a very easy time returning to the places you want or just wandering the streets with out fear of getting lost.

Thanks a lot Jessica. Appreciate it.

Sally, Here is another source of do it yourself walking tours.... https://www.bigboytravel.com/europe/hungary/budapest/castle-hill-walking-tour/

And this post has a suggestion that you could adapt: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/hungary/two-days-in-budapest

When you have your accommodations locked in, let me know, I have a little more information on things to do, getting around etc. Never mind. I see i already sent it. Have a wonderful time....

Not to beat a dead horse here; but walking tours in Budapest are a lot more enjoyable if work in a lot of tram and a very little metro. Once you get confident on the trams you will be flying all over town seeing all there is to see. Its a big city and the Tour Book sights are fairly widely spread out. Still, from your hotel, most are within 10 minutes if you get comfortable on the trams and one metro line. Part of the beauty of Budapest is the places in-between.

The episode of the late Anthony Bourdain dosent showcase the beauty well (it rained while he was there), but it still affected him:

Host Anthony Bourdain heads to the Eastern European city of Budapest
for the latest episode of his CNN show, Parts Unknown. Bourdain is
fascinated by Hungary's capital city, and quickly falls in love with
the architecture ("If there was such a thing as building porn, it
would be this"). Perhaps what captivates Bourdain most is the city's
propensity for producing artists and the sheer amount of "heartbreak"
it has endured with multiple world wars, communism, and a failed
revolution. He spends the majority of the episode with one such artist
— legendary cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond — who was in the middle of
film school in Budapest when WWII broke out. While enjoying thermal
baths and dinner parties, the duo chat about what life was like during
the bleakest moments in Hungary's history.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ynGpsRtNHw