Spring 2025: Everything moves outdoors once spring blooms in Budapest, terraces, lidos and music venues a-buzz from May onwards. Check out the concert and party schedules at the Dürer Kert, A38 Boat and Akvárium Klub, but don’t forget about Budapest Beer Week from May 26, the Gourmet Festival from May 22 and Budapest100 kicking off the same day, when local residents throw open their doors for visitors to admire their courtyards and fine architectural detail.
Get ready to glide along the Danube, lay into a bowl of hearty goulash and take in some serious views from rooftop bars, chairlifts and great heights – Budapest awaits. This city is steeped in history, blessed with spa waters and embellished with grandiose façades from the Habsburg days, with plenty of new openings to get stuck into too. From attractions to nightlife, here’s our local’s guide to the city.
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Is Budapest expensive?
In a word, no. Budapest is no longer a cheap date but the weak local forint means your meal or night out is still affordable. Yes, that soak in the Széchenyi costs £20, but a tram ride is £1, a cinema ticket £5 and a beer £3 – if reclaiming the deposit on your glass. It might not be one of Europe’s cheapest city breaks, but it’s definitely good for a budget trip.
How to have the perfect day in Budapest
The perfect day in Budapest always begins with coffee, ideally with an extravagant cake at the ornate Művész near the Opera. From here, you can stroll, cycle or take Continental Europe’s oldest metro along elegant boulevard Andrássy út to the City Park, where the House of Hungarian Music or the Széchenyi Baths await. A late lunch at culinary landmark Gundel shouldn’t break the bank nor evening drinks at the panoramic 360 Bar as the sun sinks over Europe’s most beautiful metropolis.
Words by Peterjon Cresswell, original photos by Szabó Gábor, both based in Budapest. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. This guide includes affiliate links, which have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, see our affiliate guidelines.