Aria Hotel Budapest
A playful music-themed five-star by St Stephen’s Basilica, with rooms grouped by genre and the excellent High Note rooftop bar looking over the basilica dome. Consistently rated among the best in the city.
Budapest
Hotel Rum Budapest
A cool industrial-chic boutique on the edge of the Jewish Quarter, moments from the centre, with a buzzy rooftop bar and a great location for both sightseeing and nightlife. Stylish and well priced.
Four Seasons Gresham Palace
Budapest’s most beautiful hotel, a gloriously restored Art Nouveau palace at the foot of the Chain Bridge, with peacock gates, mosaics and rooms looking across to the castle. The definitive Budapest splurge.
Budapest Caves Tour
Beneath the Buda hills lies a surprising network of caves. Easy walking tours visit the dripstone-decorated Palvolgy and Szemlohegy caves, while adventure caving trips have you scrambling through tunnels in overalls. A cool, unusual break.
Szentendre & Danube Bend Day Trip
A relaxed day trip up the scenic Danube Bend to Szentendre, a pretty riverside town of cobbled lanes, Serbian churches, galleries and marzipan, often paired with Visegrad castle or Esztergom basilica.
Communist Budapest & Memento Park
A fascinating look at Budapest’s communist decades, usually finishing at Memento Park on the edge of town, where the giant Lenin, Marx and worker statues toppled in 1989 now stand together. Strange and thought-provoking.
Castle District Walking Tour
A guided stroll around cobbled Castle Hill, taking in Buda Castle, Matthias Church, Fishermans Bastion and the medieval old town, with the thousand-year story of the city and its views over the Danube.
Hungarian Food & Market Tour
A guided graze through the Great Market Hall and beyond, tasting paprika, salami, langos, cake and palinka, with a local unpacking Hungarian food culture. Come hungry and leave a paprika expert.
Budapest Ruin Bar Crawl
A guided night out through the Jewish Quarter’s famous ruin bars, the eclectic, junk-filled courtyards led by Szimpla Kert, with drinks and a local showing you the best spots. The definitive Budapest night out.
Parliament Guided Tour
The only way to see inside the Parliament is a guided tour, taking in the golden staircase, the domed hall and the Holy Crown of Hungary. Tickets sell out, so book ahead, especially for the English tours.