DOs and DON'Ts in Budapest and Hungary

Well, you don’t really need a guide if you want to spend a few days in Budapest (but it’s different than wandering with a local companion). Here are some simple advice for those who want to wander in Hungary on their own- with Google Maps links to make it easier. What to see, where to eat, caves and hiking, jogging and souvenirs, museums and sightseeing trams- I try to help you! Certainly, you can ask me directly anytime or can check my walks’ page, and we can organize a day to visit some of the well-known or unique spots I mention below. If you find my website useful you can also send me a message! Also if you would like to join one of the best free tours in Hungary, I recommend this company.

When you are walking in Budapest on your own, DO remember this simple rule: the flat bank of the Danube where you can find the Parliament and the Basilica is Pest, and the side with the hills and the Castle is Buda. You will easily recognize it when you cross the river: the Danube is wide in Budapest and the bridges are long.
DON’T use a taxi. Expensive, and… well, you can find angry reviews of overpriced rides anywhere.
DO use public transportation in Hungary. It’s not expensive, you can go anywhere easily and there are plenty of night buses too.
DO visit Buda Castle for the best view. I know, everybody does it, but the view is great. Really.
When you come to Hungary, DO check the weather forecast. The winter can be rather cold, with heavy snowing, and during the summer months the temperature can be well above 30 Celsius degrees. In those hot days I’d recommend to plan sigthseeing in the morning or in the late afternoon.
DON’T try to taste the very typical Hungarian meals in restaurants, or if you do, choose a good restaurant. For me, eating some really Hungarian-style food in a restaurant is usually a disappointment. Those are simply much better if somebody cooks them at home. For example, you can’t do a good pizza in a typical kitchen at home, but Hungarian foods like chicken paprikás, stuffed cabbage, and lecsó are way better if my mother makes them.
DO your research when choosing a restaurant, bar or pub in the heart of Pest: there are some places with incredible prices where they simply cheat.
If you ask me to name a place where you should be really careful when we talk about tourist traps, it’s the Váci utca (Váci street) in the heart of Pest, which is full of overpriced shops, bars, and restaurants. DON’T choose any of these without checking their reviews!
If you’re fond of jogging DO an island circle in the Margitsziget running trail. It’s easy to go there, nice and fun.
DON’T go jogging in the city. The streets can be dirty, the sidewalks are narrow, and you always have to stop when you cross a street.
DON’T change too many Hungarian forints. Awful currency, in a few years the nice 20,000 forint banknote will be worth only a few USD. Use your debit or credit card, you can do that in most of the shops, bars, and restaurants.
When you change any kind of currency, DO check the rates and the commission! The same applies to ATMs as well.
But at least it’s easy to calculate with the forint so DO check the prices. Now (2022 July) 1 USD or 1 euro equals about 400 Hungarian forints. So it may sound a lot if something cost 2000 forints, but that’s only 5 USD or 5 euros. That means it’s quite easy to be a millionaire in Hungary.
DON’T drink too much pálinka. It’s a really strong spirit. Even many of the Hungarians don’t like that.
Maybe you want to spend a few hours in a laid-back place close to the Danube river, close to nature. If so, DO visit the so-called Római Part (Római Beach) in the north of Buda.
Another nice spot at the riverside is the Kopaszi-gát where you can find bars and restaurants. DO spend here an afternoon if you stay on the southern part of Buda!
Maybe you’re interested in Hungarian craft beers but I think most of them are overrated and overpriced, so DON’T spend too much on them.
DON’T drink cheap wines. Those are simply bad and you’ll have a terrible headache the next morning.
A very typical summer drink in Hungary is the so-called fröccs, which is practically wine spritzer. You mix wine (preferably white) and soda water (or any sparkling, carbonated mineral water), but based on the proportions there are plenty of variations. The most typical proportions: 1 dl wine + 1 dl soda water, 2 dl wine + 1 dl soda water, and 1 dl wine + 2 dl soda water. If you spend a hot afternoon by the river Danube and find an old-school pub, DO taste the fröccs!
If you want to see a rarely visited, but really unique neighborhood close to the center of Buda, DO visit Gül Baba street and Gül Baba türbe, and after that ascend to the Mansfeld Péter park to enjoy the view.
DON’T drive if you drank even a very small amount of alcoholic drink. The same applies to any vehicle with an engine (scooter, bike, etc.)
You’ll see dozens of Instagram-worthy statues in the city. DON’T think they mean anything to us. Those are only for tourists who want to share some funny photos from Budapest.
DON’T you ever mix up Budapest (the capital of Hungary) and Bucharest (the capital of Romania).
Maybe you want to see a typical suburb with dozens of blocks of flats, which are far from the popular inner city. You can visit some of them (I recommend Békásmegyer in the north of Buda, which you can reach in 20 minutes by suburban railway, or Kelenföld and Őrmező districts in the south which have stations on the metro line M4) but DON’T spend there too much time. Not much to see in those districts. We just sleep here.
Be careful when you cross any road, DO look around before you go to the other side.
If you choose some kind of street food, DON’T expect too much. Maybe you will be lucky and get a quality burger for example, but sadly that’s rare.
DON’T go to a Hungarian football match. We use to say only their names are the same, but the football they play in England, Spain or Germany is a totally different game.
If you ask a local for directions or want to buy something in a small shop DON’T be surprised if many of the Hungarians can’t understand a word. The lack of foreign language skills is typical.
If you’re interested in ancient Roman heritage like I am, DO visit the Aquincum Museum to see the ruins of the Roman city.
If you would like to learn about the communist era of Hungary, DO visit the House of Terror Museum.
DON’T buy plenty of traditional, typical, very Hungarian souvenirs. Even I’m surprised to see what kind of garbage the souvenir shops sell. There aren’t too many real Hungarian gadgets which you could take home if any. Some people recommend buying drinks like pálinka, Tokaj wine, or paprika powder, paprika cream, sausage, but, come on…
Anyway, if you want any of these food souvenirs, DO buy them in a simple supermarket, not from a fancy and overpriced souvenir shop.
If you ask about a very Hungarian product, many of us mention one thing: the Túró Rudi, which is a kind of dairy sweet. (Even those Hungarians know it who aren’t fond of it!) It’s curd (like cottage cheese) covered in chocolate (I’m not joking!) that should be kept in the refrigerator, but most foreigners hate it. DON’T taste it unless you are really brave. (Fun fact: its predecessor originally was a dessert invented in the Soviet Union, but we feel our version is a real Hungarian thing.)
When you enter a shop, a restaurant, a museum, or anywhere DO greet the people there. We always use to say Good Morning, Hi, Hello, etc. and it’s considered rude when someone doesn’t.
In Hungary, it’s typical to give way to women or older people. DON’T be offended if someone lets you go first simply because you’re a woman. There isn’t anything special meaning to this, it’s simply a habit.
In Hungary, you can drink anything, anytime (cappuccino after lunch, pálinka in the morning, beer after eating fish, etc.), nobody cares about that. So DO choose anything you like with your lunch or dinner.
The “traditional Hungarian restaurant” usually means huge rations so DON’T order soup, and starter, and main course, and dessert. I recommend a soup and a main course or a main course- and if you feel you can eat it, you can order a dessert after finishing the main course. Some of the restaurants offer half rations for a reduced price.
DON’T be surprised when you order goulash (in Hungarian gulyás) and you get a soup. It is definitely a thick soup as a Hungarian meal.
DON’T talk politics with a Hungarian. Useless.
In Budapest there aren’t too many public toilets, so DO visit them when you have a coffee or beer in a bar, or spend some time in a restaurant, or museum.
It may sound very touristic, but it’s a nice experience to view Budapest from the river Danube. If you like this kind of program, DO book a ticket for a river cruise, it isn’t expensive at all.
When you look for accommodation, DO check its location. In the very eastern, southern, or western districts, there are nice-looking apartments and houses but I can tell you if there isn’t a nearby metro or suburban railway station, getting there by bus will be time-consuming, tiring, and challenging- especially during the night. If you spend only 2 or 3 days in Budapest, it’s a better idea to stay in the inner city.
When you stay in an Airbnb, DO respect the neighbours who live in the same building. They don’t like when somebody can’t stop partying. There are plenty of pubs and bars for you to drink, dance, and have a great time.
Luckily you can cross the Danube again on the Chain Bridge as the renovations finished in 2023, but DO check out the other spectacular bridges like the Margaret Bridge, the Elizabeth Bridge, or the Liberty Bridge.
Are you into adventures like hiking, caving? Then DO plan some trips to the nature, for example to the lookout points (Erzsébet –kilátó, Hármashatár-hegy), and you can visit caves like the Szemlő-hegyi, or Pál-völgyi Cave.
Tired of walking? Then DO plan a sightseeing round trip by trams! A daily ticket cost 1650 Hungarian forints, about 4 euros or USD. Look at this map of the tram, metro, and suburban rail lines! If you stay on the Pest side, look for the closest stop of tram line 2, if you begin your round trip on the Buda side, the best choices are tram lines 19 and 41 to enjoy the view of the Danube promenade. Short round trip: tram lines 19/41, 47/49, 2, 4/6 (or you can cross the bridges on foot instead of getting on 47/49 and 4/6 trams). Want to see more of Budapest outside the inner city? Take tram 1 to see Pest, then at the end station change to tram 41! You can easily combine these tram lines (and suburban railways) and you can see most of Budapest. Certainly, not all of the trams are air-conditioned, maybe they will be crowded or slow, but anyway, this is a possibility if you are on a budget.
But there are some routes which I don’t really recommend discovering. DON’T expect too much to see on the 3, 28, 37, 50, 51, and 52 tram lines for example.
If you would like to visit a place outside of Budapest, I’d recommend Szentendre. It’s very easy to go there by suburban railway from the city, there are plenty of restaurants, bars, and souvenir shops. But it’s quite touristy- DON’T think all the Hungarian villages or towns look like that.
Tipping is common in restaurants, bars, taxis, etc., but it’s not mandatory. If you’re satisfied, DO give 10-15 percent of the bill as a tip.
Many Hungarians are polite but not particularly nice to strangers. If you see happy people everywhere, on the streets, in the shops, bars, and museums, and the locals greet you all the time with a big smile, DO check your location because probably you’re not in Hungary.
You will hear about typical Hungarian foods like lángos and kürtős kalács (chimney cake). The lángos is well-known street food, it is especially popular in the summer amongst beach visitors. It’s a salty, deep-fried flatbread, and you can ask for some extra topping (cheese, etc.) on it. The chimney cake is sweet and although you can find it in all the tourist spots, we Hungarians don’t eat that so often. If you’re interested in them, DO taste both and you can decide which one you prefer. (My choice: always the simplest lángos, without any toppings, and the basic chimney cake, no extra flavors or add-ons- but I haven’t eaten chimney cake for years.)
You may be interested in other beautiful views of Budapest. The Gellért Hill is a nice spot, DO visit the Citadella fortress or one of the great viewpoints there.
Budapest (and Hungary) is basically a safe place for tourists. Certainly, there are minor crimes, which can occur in every big city, but until you don’t enter suspicious districts, you DON’T need to worry.
Biking is becoming more and more popular in Budapest. There are many bike routes, and you can rent bikes of the MOL Bubi for a few USD. But whenever, wherever you ride a bike, DO be very careful, there are scooters and tourists on the bike routes, some of the car drivers don’t care about the bikers, etc.
It’s easy to explore the so-called Jewish District. It’s absolutely worth visiting the streets, Europe’s largest synagogue in Dohány Street, the orthodox synagogue in Kazinczy Street, and the memorials. DO spend here a few hours to have a glimpse of this district.
When we talk about the famous thermal baths of Budapest and Hungary, I have to confess I very rarely visit those. Some people like to spend some time in the warm water, while others find it boring. That doesn’t mean you wouldn’t enjoy the experience, so if you’re interested, DO visit one of the baths either on the Buda or the Pest side. You can learn more about them here.
And what about the ruin bars? For me, those are simply pubs. A bit touristy, a bit overpriced, but if you’re in Budapest DO give them a try.
Would you like to see a rarely visited, really unique neighbourhood of Budapest? Then DO visit the Gázgyári Lakótelep in the north of Buda. This is a residential area, you won’t find restaurants or bars here, but it looks exactly the same as it was a century ago. There is a similarly looking district on the other side of the Danube too: the Wekerletelep was built in the first half of the 20th century as well.
Like all huge cities, Budapest has some secret locations which are not open to the public. A good example is the Kőbánya Cellar System, which was a limestone mine and there are about 30 kilometers long passages under the ground. Usually, you can’t visit those spots, but there are occasionally organized tours. I recommend checking the sites of the few tour organizers who regularly go to abandoned places like the cellar system, industrial buildings, etc. – but DON’T try to enter illegally, on your own.
Visiting the Városliget can be a good idea: there are museums, parks, and one of the most famous thermal spas, the Széchenyi Bath. DO start your visit in this area at the monumental Hősök tere (Heroes’ square).
The controversial MOL Campus tower will be the highest office building in Hungary and Budapest. Many people don’t like it because it changes the view near the Danube. If you want to look closer DO take a tram (1 or 41 lines has a stop near by). Do you want to visit the tower and see the panoramic view of the city? Book you ticket here!

Got questions?

You can ask me anytime, just send an email to the walk@spiritofbudapest.com address or you can visit the page of my walks for a contact form. Feel free to ask me if you need any help organizing a visit to the suburbs or Római beach for example, or if you would join me on a special trip to these spots, or hiking routes, etc. Also you can write me if you miss some info about a specific topic!