Ruin Bars
Ruin bars are essentially abandoned buildings that were turned into bars, and they are really neat! They are actually quite a big part of the culture of Budapest and are fun to explore. The most famous ruin bar is called “Szimpla Kert” and this place is basically a giant bar complex. It has countless rooms with different themes, styles, and decor.
Even if you are not a drinker, you would likely enjoy walking around this space to check it all out. We enjoyed visiting during the day and in the evening just to see it both ways. It is such a unique spot and absolutely worth seeing. It is much more crowded in the evening, but we didn’t find it uncomfortable.
We also took a Budapest Ruin Bar tour with a local through airbnb. These spots were a lot quieter and more relaxed and we really enjoyed a number of them. The tour was very fun and informative and we learned a lot about the history of Budapest and the bars as well.
Fishermans Bastion & Matthias Church
These are two separate attractions in basically the same complex on the Buda side of Budapest, so you can easily check out both. The Fishermans Bastion looks like something out of a fairytale. It’s position overlooking the river and the “pest” side of Budapest is absolutely amazing. It is a stunning spot to visit, take photos, take in the views, and even visit the cafe for a drink or snack. I highly recommend grabbing a spot here for sunset, having a drink, and admiring the area.
Matthias church is incredibly beautiful inside and out. You can actually go up in the tower and get some insane views over the whole scene. It is worth doing and you can get the tickets right on site.
Buda Castle
There are many options for touring the inside of Buda Castle. We walked around the outside on our trip but did not go in. The castle houses the National Gallery and the Budapest History Museum. There is a funicular you can use to get up to the complex, or you can also head up on foot. You’d likely want to pair this with visiting the Fishermans Bastion, the Castle Caves, and the Matthias church as they are all in the same area.
Castle Caves/Labyrinth
We did explore the castle caves, my husband wouldn’t let me skip that one. It was a very interesting experience. It is actually wild to see how much was built underneath this giant complex. The caves were huge and winding and there was so much to be found down there. Even with the signage we actually took a few wrong turns down there! It didn’t take too long to explore and we found it to be worth a visit, it is very unique to see.
Dinner at Borkonyha Winekitchen
This was a fantastic experience from start to finish! Our experience with Michelin recognized spots has been hit or miss over the years, and the hype was high for dining here. This spot was 100% worth the hype. The service was incredibly attentive, kind, and helpful. The wine was some of my favorite I’ve had in my life! Hungarian red wine is truly fantastic. The food was wonderful, every bite was delicious and delightful! The value for cost was spot on, I truly recommend this spot. You must make a reservation here to make sure you do not miss out!
Prosecco River Cruise
This was one of the most surprising things we did during our time in Budapest. I aways enjoy getting on a boat and enjoying the scene, but I didn’t know this would be so pleasant. Unlimited Prosecco REALLY meant unlimited. You could truly drink to your hearts content (and we saw a number of people who did). It was nice to hear the speakers give some information about some of the sites in Budapest, we learned a bit, which we always enjoy. We booked this tour to be during sunset and it was beautiful to watch the city light up as we were riding up and down the river.
I wrote a whole post about this tour and why we enjoyed it so much. You can find it here —> Budapest River Cruise with Unlimited Prosecco
“Twenty Six” Restaurant
I had seen some images and videos of this spot online before coming, but when we walked in it was truly VERY impressive. It is such a stunning green space and a beautiful spot to sit for a bit and enjoy some lunch and a drink. The food here was lovely too, mediterranean and delicious. We had some yummy falafel, a delicious soup, and a lamb shawarma. You should likely make a reservation to eat here, it is rather large, and you could get lucky, but it makes sense to just know you’ll get in. It is also a part of the “Stories Hotel” which is an absolutely gorgeous hotel. It is so well located right in the center of everything and would be an excellent choice for a place to stay in Budapest as well.
Hungarian Parliament Building
This is a remarkable building that is absolutely worth seeing from numerous angles. We enjoyed it from the boat, from the Buda side, and from nearby on the ground. On our trip we did not go inside the building, but there are a number of tours you can do depending on how in depth of a visit you want to have. You can explore them at the link below.
Cute Wine Bars
Although Budapest is known for the ruin bars, I am a wine girl and I found a few cute wine bars that we really enjoyed. There actually was a wine bar inside Szimpla Kert as well.
My absolute favorite place we had a drink in Budapest was the St. Andrea Skybar. When we visited Eger we got to visit the winery for St Andrea. This was honestly some of, if not the very best, red wine I’ve ever had in my life. As soon as I had it I knew I needed to find it again before our trip was over. Thankfully, I found out they had this bar in Budapest. Not only did it have the lovely red wines I was looking for, but it has incredible views over Budapest! We got lucky as we popped up without a reservation and we were able to have a drink. It would be a good idea to make a reso here. It would also be a good idea to look half decent, it was definitely a bit nicer of a spot.
We found “Doblo” to be a particularly lovely stop. We tried some nice wines here and we loved the vibes. The lighting was moody, the decor was charming, they had nice music playing and there was a nice pre dinner crowd here. It’s a beautiful spot and I’d highly recommend.
On the more relaxed side we also really enjoyed a spot we popped into called “Vinikli”. We stopped in here on a whim and I am so glad we did. We tasted some Hungarian white wines and really enjoyed them, we had some delightful snacks here as well. The staff was super friendly and helpful and I would recommend a visit if you’re in the neighborhood.
Byblos: Lebanese Restaurant
This spot was SUCH a gem! We were so pleasantly surprised when we walked in. The restaurant is adorable and so well decorated, it was buzzing with people and there was so much food! We were seated upstairs and there was a live musician performing which was so pleasant. We ordered a ton of food to share and we seriously loved EVERYTHING we tried. I didn’t see this place popping up on a lot of lists before visiting, so I am so glad we didn’t miss it. I feel like it is definitely a hidden gem!
Great Market Hall
I never skip a market, even if they can be touristy sometimes, you know you’re going to find some good regional food. This one is the largest and oldest in Budapest. The building was beautiful (like most buildings in Budapest) and worth seeing. It was also easy to walk to from the main area where you’re spending a lot of time. This market also had some nice souvenir shopping too.
Try Langos & Street Market Karavan
Langos are a Hungarian street food. They look like pizza and are somewhat similar, but are made of friend dough and topped with cheese and sour cream. If you’re thinking that sounds WEIRD, I did too. I was nervous to take a bite, but it was actually DELICIOUS. After we tried them I wished we’d tried more. You can get some different toppings as well depending on where you get them. There was also a neat street food market right near the ruin bars that had Langos among many other types of street food. It was packed with people trying all kinds of things and was a really fun and lively scene.
Sunset Spots
I wrote a whole blog post about this, you can read it here —–> 4 Epic Sunset Spots in Budapest.
Three out of four have been mentioned in the post already. The Prosecco river cruise is an excellent way to watch the sunset. Visiting the Fishermans Bastion and bringing a picnic or sitting at the cafe for a drink is so lovely. The St. Andrea Skybar has incredible views that would be just perfect for sunset. Finally, the Ferris Wheel! The wheel can be found on Erzabet Square and if you time your ride for sunset it is really a fun and beautiful experience. You can see so much of Budapest from up there and feel like a kid again while you ride! A worthy experience for sure!
Thermal Baths
I think I would be remiss to not mention the Thermal baths in a post about things to do, but we did NOT personally experience them so I can’t really say what they are like. I read a lot of mixed reviews and with a short time in the city we didn’t chose to spend our time that way. But they are a very popular activity so if you’re just starting your research I wanted to mention that you may want to look into it.
Where to Stay
Finally, where should you stay when visiting Budapest to be able to access all of these activities, restaurants, and things to do? To make it easy, I wrote a whole blog post about it, you can find it here —-> Where to Stay in Budapest: Buda vs Pest
If you don’t want to read the whole post and are just looking for some quick links… here are a few I recommend.
On the Buda Side
Click here for Hotel Maison & Bistro (we personally stayed here and loved it)
Click here for Hotel Clark Adults Only Hotel
Click here for the Hilton Budapest
On the Pest Side
My posts will sometimes contain affiliate links. This means that if you click and book through my links I will earn a small commission at NO COST to you. This helps me to keep sharing out this awesome info entirely AD FREE! I also will FULLY recommend things that I acquire NO commission on and I just think are truly good recs. You will always get the truth from me here I would never recommend something I didn’t love.