A mixture of Austrian, Ottoman, Soviet and a dozen other influences, Hungary’s capital, Budapest, is one of Europe’s most exciting attractions for travelers.
Sitting right in the middle of the continent, it’s just a few hours train ride from Vienna, Zagreb, Bratislava, Bucharest and more. It’s a no-brainer stop on any European rail trip.
One can spend an endless amount of time in Budapest, so rather than run through the city’s infinite attractions, we imagined what a perfect day in Budapest could entail.
Image Credit: Getty Images, Vladislav Zolotov. Image Location: Buda Castle, Budapest
Visit Buda Castle
Before there was Budapest, there were Buda and Pest, two towns on opposite banks of the Danube River. Since the 13th century, Buda’s residents have defended their home from behind the walls of the great Buda Castle. Occupying a hill overlooking the Danube and the Pannonian Plain, the castle was the seat of Hungary’s kings for centuries.
Though the original medieval structure was mostly destroyed in the 17th century when the Holy League retook the city from the Ottomans, the Austro-Hungarians built a baroque palace in its place, which over the centuries played host to everyone from nuns to nobles and was expanded to be not just a building, but a district of the city.
Today, the vicinity holds the Budapest History Museum, the Hungarian National Gallery, and Hungary’s national library. To walk the castle's grounds is free but museums and galleries require tickets.
Image Credit: Getty Images, LordRunar. Image Location: Great Market Hall, Budapest
Get your paprika in the Great Market Hall
A mecca of spice and flavor, Budapest’s Great Market Hall is a cavernous space in the city center where merchants hawk all manner of local specialties, from salamis to wines from nearby Tokaj, and of course, Hungary’s famous paprika.
Soak in the thermal baths
No, we’re not saying you smell. The city of Budapest is famous for its thermal baths thanks to the city’s position on a bed of mineral-rich hot springs.
Residents of the region have lounged in their waters since Roman times, as evidenced by the ruins of the Thermae Maiores, which are still visible today.
Nowadays, the most famous place for a soak is the legendary Széchenyi Medicinal Bath. With 15 indoor pools and three massive outdoor ones, all nestled into the walls of a 19th-century neo-baroque castle, it is an experience like no other.
Image Credit: Getty Images, alxpin. Image location: Széchenyi Medicinal Bath, Budapest
Go to New York for some coffee
You don’t have to go all the way back across the Atlantic to perk up. Budapest is known for its love of coffee and a glitzy café scene, the most famous of which is New York Café – dubbed the most beautiful café in the world.
Decked out in marble and opulence on nearly every surface, the New York Café will bring you back to an era when the city was a joint capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During most of the day, the café takes walk-ins only, but it does accept dinner reservations for after 6pm.
Drink in a ruin bar
After the high-society feel of the New York café, maybe it's time to end off your day with a sip on the other side of the tracks in one of Budapest's many “ruin bars”, a unique facet of the city’s nightlife.
Ruin bars began popping up in the early 2000s and can mostly be found in Pest in the city’s old Jewish quarter, where they filled the empty spaces of old industrial buildings left empty after the Second World War and neglected during the communist era.
There, the drinks are cheap, the music fresh and the company lively. The most famous of Budapest’s ruin bars is Szimpla Kert, but several others exist, such as UdvarRom and Mazel Tov.
Down to visit the Danube?
Download the Trainline App today and find a train to whisk you away to Hungary's stunning capital. And if you're looking to add some more cities on the Danube to your itinerary for a true central European odyssey, have a look at our article on top European cities on the Danube.
Header Image Credit: Getty Images, PEDRE. Image location: Hungarian Parliament Building, Budapest