What to see in Budapest in 5 days. Do not miss anything of the Hungarian city

Do you want to visit Budapest in 5 days? Well, you are very lucky because in 5 days you will be able to get to know the most important things in the city without stress, without rushing and without missing anything important in the capital of Hungary. In fact, you will even believe that you have plenty of time.
It is possible to get to know Budapest in 5 days on foot since the main points of interest are very close and you can walk. And more if you want to see it relaxed. In any case, if you don’t want to get tired, public transport in Budapest works very well and is also an experience in itself.
We tell you here our tour suggestion with the best things to see in Budapest in five days.
What to visit in Budapest in 5 days
First day in Budapest
We are going to start the first of our 5 days in Budapest in the Parliament of Hungary, the most famous building in the city and, without a doubt, one of the most impressive parliaments that we can find in the world.
The Parliament can only be visited in a guided way, also in Spanish, so when you book, try to place it early on the first day or adapt this tour to the time you have to visit.
The visit to the Parliament of Budapest will take you an hour, although you will have to be some time before to pass all the security measures and form the groups. The building is completely symmetrical and has two chambers but only one of them is used today. They will show you the other. Also do not miss the spectacular entrance stairs or the Holy Crown and the relics of the coronation.
After the visit to the Parliament of Budapest you can take a walk to the center of the Pest District, where you will find the Basilica of Saint Stephen, with its high towers. You can go up to one of them and have excellent views of the city. Do not get overwhelmed because there is an elevator and it will not be a problem. The interior of the basilica is also essential and one of the best things to see in Budapest in 5 days.
From there we can walk towards Andrassy Avenue, declared a World Heritage Site thanks to its spectacular buildings and mansions along it, especially its first part. Here we can admire the Deschsler Palace or the Opera, to which you can also take an interesting guided tour in Spanish, which takes place every day in the afternoon.
Overcoming the desire to continue walking down the street, we will retrace our steps to reach the Elisabeth Ter Park and the nearby Vorosmarty Ter, the main square of Budapest where you will find the famous Gerbeaud patisserie, where you can have an exquisite ice cream at a reasonable price.
Thus ends our first day in Budapest, a fairly relaxed tour.
What to visit on the second day in Budapest
The second day in Budapest we are going to start on Andrassy Avenue, again, to enjoy the northern part of the street, with fewer stately buildings and mansions but full of embassies. At the end of the street is Heroes’ Square, another of the main squares to visit in Budapest in five days.
We recommend you get here by Metro, since the line that runs under Andrassy Avenue is the second oldest in the world and you will see that it is an authentic experience to travel on its trains.
In Heroes’ Square we find the impressive Millennium Monument where the 7 founding tribes of Hungary are represented. On both sides we find two neoclassical buildings, the Palace of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts of Budapest, which we recommend visiting.
Behind the square we find the City Park, of great beauty and with even a castle inside. A leisurely stroll through the park is highly recommended. And also inside it was the Szechenyi Spa, where you can relax and get to know first-hand one of the great attractions of Budapest, its spas. A good place to spend much of the day.
You can end the day in the Danube River, which we will approach for the first time. The best thing is to take a cruise enjoying the city from a different point of view. At this time you will be able to admire both banks of the river as well as its most famous bridge, the Chain Bridge, which we will return to later to cross it on foot and admire it once again.
Third day in Budapest
We are visiting Budapest slowly but surely. And there is still a lot of city to discover. We can start this third day together in the Buda neighborhood, where there are numerous points of interest.
Two of them are together in the highest part of the neighborhood, the Matthias Church, coronation place of the former Kings of Hungary and one of the most historic places in Budapest, and the Fisherman’s Bastion, a curious neoclassical building that It acts as a viewpoint and from there we can have impressive views of the river and the Pest neighborhood.
The Fisherman’s Bastion is also the best place from which to admire the Parliament of Hungary, so we can return one of the nights to see it illuminated.
From here we can stroll through the neighborhood until we find the Labyrinth of the Buda Castle, a system of caves that have become a great attraction for visitors to Budapest. We recommend it, especially if you go with children, because they will enjoy it a lot.
The Buda Castle is the next destination. You have already seen it from the other shore or from the cruise ship. But now you will visit it closely. Inside there are two great museums, essential to visit in Budapest. These are the Hungarian National Gallery and the Budapest History Museum. From here you also have the best views of the Chain Bridge and St. Stephen’s Basilica.
Once the visit is made, we can descend towards the river. We can do it through the stairs or the funicular that connects both areas in a few seconds. We are finally before the Chain Bridge.
You can cross it. Or overcome temptation and walk along the river bank until you reach the Cave Church, one of the most curious in the city, carved into the rock. Nearby is the Gellert Spa, a good place to end the day and relax.
What to see on the fourth day in Budapest
The fourth day in Budapest we are going to dedicate in its first part to the Jewish Quarter of the city, the area that became a ghetto during World War II.
The main point of interest in the neighborhood is the Jewish Synagogue, the second largest synagogue in the world, second only to the one in Jerusalem. Next to it is the Jewish Museum, which tells the story of Judaism in Hungary, and the Heroes’ Temple, dedicated to the Jews who died in World War I.
In the neighborhood we also find a Jewish Cemetery, other smaller synagogues or the Tree of Life.
After the visit to the Jewish Quarter we will walk to Vaci Utca, the great shopping street of Budapest, an essential visit next to Vorosmarty Ter and that takes you to the Central Market of Budapest, where you can enjoy the delicious Hungarian cuisine and sit down to eat like a local.
After the visit, you can walk along the banks of the river again towards Puente de las Cadenas, enjoying the atmosphere and the great views of the river and its bridges. You can even get there on foot, or better by tram, to Margaret Island, another of Budapest ‘s parks, the largest, where you’ll find a zoo, an old convent and even a water park.
You only have one day left in Budapest that we are going to dedicate to an excursion to a place near the city.
Fifth day in Budapest
All good things come to an end and our last day in Budapest arrives after having known during the first four the best things to see in Budapest. That is why this day we are going to make an excursion outside the city. And it is that the surroundings of Budapest are full of fascinating places that you should not miss.
You can rent a car, go by public transport or take an organized excursion, which we recommend so that you forget everything and just dedicate yourself to enjoying yourself.
The excursions that we propose for this last day are the following:
- Lake Balaton. Visiting the largest lake in Central Europe is the excursion that most people do after visiting Budapest. It is relatively close to an hour and a half and next to the lake we can also visit Balatonfüred, the oldest spa in Hungary. In the surroundings, we highlight Tihany, with its Benedictine abbey and the best views of the lake and Herend, with its porcelain factory, and Tihany.
- Esztergom, Visegrád and Szentendre. The Danube River flows between beautiful cities and these three are among the most beautiful in its path. All of them can be visited in a single excursion since they are very close to each other, a few kilometers from Slovakia. Visegrád Castle is the main point of interest in this city, while Szentendre is a city full of art. Esztergom, meanwhile, is the seat of the Hungarian Catholic Church.
- The Gödöllő Palace. We cannot forget this beautiful palace that is located just over half an hour from the city center, so you can dedicate a morning to its visit and the afternoon to other places in Budapest that you want to know or delve into those that you already know. This baroque palace was the residence of the Empress Sissi and a visit that you will not be able to forget.
You can find more information about what to see in Budapest on the Hungary tourism page.