2 Days in Budapest: Buda, Pest, and the Baths
A two-day Budapest itinerary covering the Castle District, Széchenyi thermal bath, the Parliament, the Flipper pinball museum, and the Danube by night.
Two days is enough for Budapest if you split it the obvious way: Buda on one day, Pest on the other. The city makes that easy — the good stuff clusters on either side of the river.
Three things I did that I'd repeat: the Széchenyi baths, the night cruise, and the pinball museum.
The pinball museum was the best thing I did in Hungary — not the Parliament, not the baths. It's on nobody's Budapest shortlist and it should be on everyone's.
Before you start
- Base yourself near the Danube or in District V (Belváros). Everything below is then a walk or a short tram ride.
- Get a 24 or 48-hour BKK transit pass for the trams, metro and buses.
- Book the thermal bath, the Parliament tour and the night cruise ahead. Evening slots sell out.
Day 1: Buda, then the baths
Morning — the Castle District
Buda Castle. Walk the courtyards and terraces; the views back over the river are the point.
Matthias Church, with its patterned tiled roof, is the most distinctive building up here.
Fisherman's Bastion gives you the best panorama in the city — the Parliament directly across the water, and the Danube running through the middle of it.
Get up here early. The tour groups arrive mid-morning and the Bastion is the first place they go. You can take the funicular up or walk through the gardens.
Midday — cross to Pest
Walk the Chain Bridge across, or take the tram. Then lunch in District V — this is the moment for lángos or a bowl of goulash.
Afternoon — the Basilica and Széchenyi
St Stephen's Basilica. Climb the dome for a second, very different view over the city.
Széchenyi Thermal Bath — the enormous yellow neo-baroque complex, and the thing people picture when they picture Budapest.
Practical notes that make the difference: reserve a time slot, bring flip flops and a towel, and rent a cabin or locker rather than juggling your things. Don't spend the whole visit outside — the indoor pools are worth working through too. The outdoor pools are best around sunset.
Evening
Dinner in Pest — paprikash, stuffed cabbage, and chimney cake after. If you've got anything left, the ruin bars in the Jewish Quarter are the other thing Budapest is known for; Szimpla Kert is the original.
Day 2: Parliament, culture, pinball, and the river at night
Morning — the Parliament
The Hungarian Parliament Building is the set-piece. Do the guided interior tour rather than just photographing it from across the water, and book it ahead — it sells out and you can't walk in.
Shoes on the Danube Bank is a short walk along the river from it. Sixty pairs of iron shoes at the water's edge, for the people shot into the river here in 1944. It takes two minutes to see and it's worth stopping properly rather than passing.
Midday — Opera House and the Great Synagogue
The Hungarian State Opera House does short tours, and the interior is the reason to go in.
The Dohány Street Synagogue is the largest in Europe, with a museum and memorial garden attached. Dress modestly here and at the churches.
Afternoon — the Flipper Museum
Flippermúzeum, the pinball museum, and the single best thing I did in Hungary.
Entry covers unlimited play on every machine — rows of vintage pinball tables and retro arcade games that you just keep playing, with no coins and no time limit. That's the part that gets you: there's no reason to leave, and I didn't want to.
Budget far more time here than a museum normally gets. Almost nobody puts it on a two-day list, and if you have any feeling at all for retro games, it will be the thing you remember about Budapest.
Night — the Danube cruise
Do the night cruise, not the day one. The whole point is the city lit up: the Parliament, Buda Castle and the Chain Bridge all light up and the view from the water is better than any of the viewpoints.
60 to 75 minutes is the right length, sit on the open deck for photographs, and take a jacket — it's colder on the river than in the streets.
Getting around
- Trams 2, 47 and 49 cover most short hops, and tram 2 along the Pest embankment is scenic in its own right.
- Metro M1 (the yellow line) runs from the centre out to Heroes' Square and Széchenyi.
- Buy passes at metro stations, or use contactless at the machines.
If you have extra time
- Heroes' Square and City Park, right next to Széchenyi.
- Gellért Hill for the viewpoints, or the Gellért baths as an alternative to Széchenyi.
- Margaret Island, the park in the middle of the river.
- Central Market Hall for quick food and paprika to take home.