Day 1 — Buda: Castles, Views & the Chain Bridge
Start on the Buda side, which is quieter and more overtly historic than Pest. The funicular (Budavári Sikló) from Clark Ádám Square deposits you at the top of Castle Hill — or walk up via the garden stairways if you want to warm up slowly.
Buda Castle itself houses the Hungarian National Gallery (the country's most important fine art collection) and the Budapest History Museum. You don't need to go inside both — the Castle District's streets are the real attraction. Matthias Church, rebuilt in Gothic style in the 19th century but sitting on foundations from 1015, is worth the entrance fee. Fisherman's Bastion next door is free outside the main tower.
Lunch in the Castle District, then walk down to the Danube and cross the Chain Bridge on foot. The view back to Buda — the castle, the church spire, the hill — is the defining image of the city.
Afternoon: walk the Pest embankment south to the Shoes on the Danube memorial (Liberty Bridge area), then north to see the Parliament exterior up close from the water. Evening: dinner in the Belváros (Inner City), then a first exploration of the Jewish Quarter after dark.
Day 2 — Pest: Parliament, the Jewish Quarter & Andrássy Avenue
Book your Parliament tour for 10:00 — it fills up, especially in summer. The guided tour (about 45 minutes) covers the main staircase, the Dome Hall, and both the Hungarian Crown Jewels and the Parliamentary Assembly Hall. The building is more impressive inside than out.
After the tour, walk east along the embankment and then cut into the Jewish Quarter (District VII). The Dohány Street Synagogue is the largest synagogue in Europe and the second largest in the world. The adjacent Jewish Cemetery within the complex is unexpectedly moving. The Hungarian Jewish Museum next door is small but well-curated.
Spend the afternoon wandering the Quarter's streets — it has a particular atmosphere, a mix of shabby and gentrified that's changing fast. Gozsdu Udvar (a covered arcade) connects several courtyards and is full of bars and restaurants by evening.
Evening: Szimpla Kert for the full ruin bar experience — two floors of eclectic decor, cheap beer, and a genuinely mixed crowd of locals and visitors. Sunday mornings it hosts a farmers' market, but on weekend evenings it's the original Budapest institution. Follow with Instant-Fogas next door if you want to keep going.
Day 3 — Heroes' Square, Széchenyi Baths & the Great Market Hall
Start at Heroes' Square (Hősök tere) at the end of Andrássy Avenue. The Millennium Monument (completed 1896) frames the Magyar chieftains and Habsburg emperors in a sweeping colonnade. The Museum of Fine Arts on the left has a genuinely strong European collection — El Greco, Goya, Rembrandt — and is rarely crowded.
Walk through Városliget (City Park) behind the square to reach Széchenyi Baths. Book online for a morning session (10:00–12:00 is less busy than afternoon). The outdoor pools are the highlight — you can spend two full hours between the thermal pool, the cool pool, and the whirlpool jets. The neo-baroque building is extraordinary.
Lunch: the park's Vajdahunyad Castle café, or back towards the Jewish Quarter for something better.
Afternoon: the Great Market Hall. Go for the ground floor's stalls — Hungarian salami, paprika in every grade and variety, Tokaji wine, fresh produce. The upper floor is touristy but the food stalls (langos with sour cream and cheese) are worth it. Budget 45 minutes.
Final evening: walk Váci utca (the main pedestrian street, overrated but necessary to see once), then dinner somewhere off the main drag in Belváros. Budapest's restaurant scene has quietly become one of Central Europe's best — particularly for modern Hungarian and Jewish cuisine.