Essential
Museums & culture· Lipótváros
Hungarian Parliament Building
The neo-Gothic giant on the Danube, finished in 1904 with a central dome and nearly 700 rooms. Guided tours climb the grand staircase and stop beside the Holy Crown of Hungary.
Collection · Budapest
Budapest essentials
9 placesFreeUpdated November 5, 2026
Parliament, the Chain Bridge, Buda Castle and Fisherman's Bastion, St Stephen's, the Great Synagogue, the Great Market Hall and a soak at Széchenyi.
Loading map…
Places in this collection
9 places
Save these 9 places to Google Maps
Google Maps opens with the list: tap “Select all” and save it to your profile (you need to be signed in to Google).
- Essential
Viewpoint· Castle District
Fisherman's Bastion
Seven fairy-tale turrets built in the 1890s beside Matthias Church. Its arches frame the whole of Pest, with Parliament lined up right across the river.
- Essential
Museums & culture· Castle District
Buda Castle
The former royal palace crowns the hill above the Danube and houses the Hungarian National Gallery and the Budapest History Museum. Its courtyards and terraces are free to wander.
- Essential
Special place· Danube
Széchenyi Chain Bridge
The first permanent bridge between Buda and Pest, opened in 1849 and guarded by four stone lions. Walk it at dusk with the floodlit castle ahead of you.
- Essential
Museums & culture· Lipótváros
St Stephen's Basilica
Budapest's largest church, its dome built to exactly the same 96-metre height as Parliament's. It keeps St Stephen's mummified right hand and has a panoramic walkway up top.
- Essential
Museums & culture· Jewish Quarter
Dohány Street Synagogue
Europe's largest synagogue, a Moorish Revival hall flanked by two onion-domed towers. The compound includes the Jewish Museum and a garden with a metal weeping willow honouring Holocaust victims.
- Essential
Special place· Lipótváros
Shoes on the Danube Bank
Sixty pairs of iron shoes left at the river's edge near Parliament. They remember the Jews shot here by Arrow Cross militiamen in 1944 and 1945.
- Essential
Special place· City Park
Széchenyi Thermal Bath
One of Europe's largest spa complexes, set in a yellow neo-Baroque palace inside City Park. Its outdoor pools steam even in the depths of winter.
- Essential
Shopping· Ferencváros
Great Market Hall
An 1897 iron hall under a Zsolnay-tiled roof by Liberty Bridge. Paprika, salami and pickles fill the ground floor; the upstairs gallery has lángos stalls and embroidery.
Loading map…
Before you go
How to see Budapest's essentials
Book Parliament ahead
You can only see the inside on a guided tour. Book on the official site (jegymester.hu/parlament) a few days out: the few same-day tickets at the visitor centre go fast, and tours can be cancelled for sittings or state events.
One bank at a time
Give one morning to Buda (the castle, Matthias Church and Fisherman's Bastion) and another to Pest (Parliament, the Danube shoes and St Stephen's). Link them by walking across the Chain Bridge.
Skip the funicular queue
The funicular at the foot of the Chain Bridge has long queues. Bus 16 runs from Deák Square up to the Castle District, or you can climb the stairs from the bridge.
Synagogue: never on Saturday
The Great Synagogue is closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays. Cover shoulders and knees; men need a head covering, and a kippah is handed out at the door.
Checked on November 4, 2026. Opening hours and tickets can change, so check each place’s website before you go.
