How to spend 4 magical days in Budapest

Budapest has to be hands down one of our all-time favourite destinations and is the most magical and beautiful city we have visited! We visited Budapest in 2017 and again in 2025, so this itinerary is a combination of both of our visits to create the ideal itinerary for 4 days. We visited as a family with young children so the itinerary is more tailored for families than young couples who may want to party or visit bars. Obviously, if you have more time than 4 days than you can easily keep yourself entertained as there is so much to see and do.

It has everything that makes a tourist destination great - history, architecture, amazing restaurants, cleanliness, plenty of attractions to keep you busy and a good public transport system. We also noted how safe we felt walking around whether at night or by ourselves early in the morning.

Pro-tips:

• If you are visiting in peak season or during Easter or Christmas, then we would recommend booking accommodation and tickets early.

• Pre-book your tickets online to the Budapest Parliament at least 3 - 6 months in advance. If online tickets are sold out, you might try purchasing same-day tickets at the Visitor Center, but this is not guaranteed.

• Hungary has not moved to the euro (as at the time of writing this blog) - and whilst credit card is widely accepted in Budapest if you are travelling outside of Budapest you will need some cash on you.

• Take the Bus 100E from the airport into the city center. It was super easy to find, buy tickets and took approximately 45 mins to reach Deák Ferenc tér. Note that you need to buy special tickets for this bus and the machines are blue and right near the bus stops.

• Download the BKK mobile app to make travelling on public transport within the city center easier. However, we are old school and still purchased tickets at the booths when we were feeling tired of walking and wanted to catch a metro. Tickets do need to be validated.

• But even with good public transport, we still walked ALOT so highly recommend packing a good pair of comfortable walking / hiking shoes. We can highly recommend hiking boots from Columbia.

• Start your day early to get photos of main attractions (such as chain bridge) without all the people and crowds around.

Photo of Chain Bridge in the early morning with no traffic or people

Accommodation: D8 Hotel.

We loved this hotel as it was central (one street back from the river), close to restaurants and public transport. The breakfast was included, and they had a lovely bar in the front foyer. Recommend booking this accommodation early as it books out quickly!

Alternatively, we previously stayed at the Intercontinental which offers spectacular views of Buda Castle and the river.

Day 1

We arrived at Budapest in the morning and caught the 100E bus to the city center, once we arrived at Deák Ferenc tér we walked approximately 6 mins to our hotel (D8) and dropped off our bags. We were then able to hit the pavement and start to explore. After a long flight from Australia, we were hungry, so we headed towards Artizan bakery. This place is very popular, so be prepared to line up. We were lucky as there wasn’t much of a line when we arrived but by the time we left there was a line out the door. The food here is fresh and amazing, so definitely worth the wait.

Just a few meters down the road is the Light Art museum. I wouldn't call it a 'museum' rather than more like a modern art gallery. Our young son loved the displays, and many were interactive and displayed different aspects and use of light. It was an easy and interesting exhibition to visit.

From here we went to the Magic II Harry Potter themed restaurant for lunch. This place is known for its steaming cauldron drinks and 'magic' burgers.  Recommend making a reservation to ensure you get a table.

After lunch, walk back towards St. Stephen’s Basilica, one of Budapest’s most iconic landmarks. You will need to purchase tickets to enter and the ticket office is across the road (although we were there over Easter and entrance is free during Easter weekend). You can also climb to the dome for panoramic views of the city. Purchase tickets to St Stephen's Basilica here.

Afterwards, make a stop at Gelateria Rosa - here you will get a beautifully hand-crafted ice cream that looks like a rose.

Stop for an early dinner / drinks before heading back to the hotel. There are many restaurants near St Stephen's Basilica to choose from such as Kisharang Étkezde, which serves traditional Hungarian food.

Finish off your first day with a night-time ride on the ferris wheel.

Day 2

We started with an early morning walk along the river promenade with the obligatory photos with the 'Little Princess' Statue. From there we headed to the Hungarian National Museum. This museum included some really interesting exhibitions on the history of Hungary and national treasures all housed in a stunning neo-classical style building.

Afterwards, you will need refreshments so head to the New York Cafe. Whilst it is touristy, it is definitely a beautiful building inside, and the staff were attentive and quick to serve. There is plenty of opportunities for photos inside. But be prepared you may need to line up outside on busy days and it is expensive - we ordered a coffee smoothie, New York lemonade and pancakes for approximate 15,000 HUF.

Musicians playing inside New York Cafe

From here you can then walk to the Jewish memorial and stop at the Dohány Street Synagogue, which is the largest in Europe, with a heart-wrenching memorial garden.

If you are hungry or looking for a late lunch, then recommend stopping at Getto Guylas.

In the evening, enjoy a leisurely walk across the chain bridge. Make a detour at the Budavar chimney cake store - this has to be one of the best chimney cakes we had. It may take a little bit longer as they make it by hand (and there is usually a line up) but it is worth the wait.

If you are in Budapest in cherry blossom season, then you will definitely enjoy a walk along the Tóth Árpád sétány. This is, without a doubt, the most picturesque promenade in Buda's Castle District. We were there at the end of April, and this idyllic spot provided breathtaking views and a double row of cherry trees bursting in pink bloom.

From here, it is a short walk to the Fisherman's Bastion and Matthias church, just in time to get beautiful photos as they sun is just about to set.

For dinner, we ate at the Buda Pest Bistro just down the road from the Fisherman's Bastion.  Highly recommend the chicken paprika and dumplings!

Day 3

We started the day early by catching a beautiful old metro from Vörösmarty tér to Hősök tere to visit Heroes Square. Hősök tere is one of the major squares in Budapest, noted for its iconic Millennium Monument with statues featuring the Seven chieftains of the Magyars and other important Hungarian national leaders, as well as the Memorial Stone of Heroes.

From here it is a quick walk across the road to Vajdahunyad Castle. We were happy to just stroll through the beautiful grounds of the Vajdahunyad Castle. From there we walked across to the park as we wanted to go in the Hot Air Balloon 'Balloon Fly'.

The balloon takes you to a height of 150 meters and we were lucky to have clear blue skies, which gave us views into the distance. Looking down from the basket, we could see the Széchenyi Thermal Bath and Heroes’ Square. The ride cost us 25000 HUF for 2 adults and 1 child and lasts about 15 mins. While it was expensive it offered a great view of the city.

From there we walked back through the grounds of the castle and headed to the museum of Ethnography to explore the garden on the roof. We then caught a metro back to Deák Ferenc tér.

We were getting hungry and had heard some amazing things about the cheesecakes from the Cheesecake Shop (next to the Cookie Beacon). The Cookie Beacon had a very long line outside so we went next door to the Cheesecake Shop. OMG! The cheesecakes are the creamiest we have ever had! There aren't many tables inside and be prepared for a line as both are very popular!

Cheecake Cake Shop - Red Velvet and Caramel

On the way back to our hotel for a rest we stopped by the Pop and Roll Art Toilet. This has to be seen to fully appreciate but this is not your usual public bathroom. It’s also an art gallery!

In the afternoon, we walked along the river with a stop by the ‘Shoes on the River’. The memorial consists of a line of shoes made of iron. The memorial was created to commemorate the Jews who were killed during World War II

From here it is short walk up to the Parliament building - whilst we couldn’t get tickets to go inside it is still worth a wander outside to marvel at this majestic piece of architecture!

That evening we had tickets for a river cruise with dinner and traditional dancing. Highly recommend booking this in advance. The buffet dinner was excellent, staff very friendly and the traditional dancing fantastic! And of course you get to see the city lit up at night!

Day 4.

Today we started with a visit to Margaret Island. You will need to catch a tram along the river or a metro to Lehel tér and walk across the bridge. At the entrance to the park, we hired a 4-wheeler bike and took a leisurely 1 1/2 hr bike ride around the island. Along the way we stopped at the Japanese garden, the water tower, medieval ruins and a small bird sanctuary.

Afterwards we walked along the Buda side of the river and stopped for an amazing lunch at Bem Sorozo Etterem. This was one of our favourite restaurants - it was authentic, not expensive and delicious! It is not easy to find and there are no fancy tables or signs out the front.

From there we easily caught a tram all the way along the river to Szent Gellért tér to walk up the hill for amazing views of the city.

Then we caught another tram back to Buda Castle getting off at Clark Ádám tér. We finished off the day with a leisurely stroll around the Buda Castle area.

As you can see Budapest offers so much to see and do! Four days was just a taste and there was so much we didn't get to do so will need to go back again.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out. Here is also a link to our Instagram post on Budapest.

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