Budapest, booked properly.

A sightseeing cruise, a spa day and a basilica ticket carry more travellers than anything else in Hungary. Here they are in order, with what each costs.

1

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.6 · 43,981 reviews

City Highlights Sightseeing Cruise

One-hour Danube cruise in Budapest with a welcome drink, great photo decks, and killer night views of Parliament and castle lights.

From · $18

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2 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.3 · 23,911 reviews Széchenyi Spa Day Ticket with Optional Upgrades from $51 3 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.2 · 21,062 reviews Nighttime or Daytime Sightseeing Cruise from $14 4 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.3 · 15,533 reviews By Night Sightseeing Cruise with Welcome Drink from $15 5 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.6 · 12,322 reviews St. Stephen’s Basilica Entry with Options from $12 6 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 9,421 reviews 1-Hour Evening Sightseeing Cruise with Drink from $29 7 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 7,428 reviews Budapest Danube Cruise and Dinner Options, Live Music and Dance from $54 8 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.2 · 6,896 reviews Evening Cruise including Drink Options from $21

The river after dark, a morning in the hot water, the castle ridge on foot, the wine, the ruin bars, dinner with a folk band going past the Parliament. Six ways in, and the best booking for each.

Every tour on the site, grouped by price. This is one of the few capitals in Europe where a good evening still starts under fifty dollars.

Under $50

366 tours

Cruise tickets, bath entry, walking tours and the ruin-bar crawls — most of the city, most nights of the week.

• 1City Highlights Sightseeing Cruisefrom $18
• 2Unlimited Prosecco, Beer and Aperol Spritz Cruisefrom $29
• 3Nighttime or Daytime Sightseeing Cruisefrom $14

$50–150

519 tours

Dinner cruises with live music, cooking classes that start at the market hall, half-days out to the wine country.

• 1Széchenyi Spa Day Ticket with Optional Upgradesfrom $51
• 2Budapest Danube Cruise and Dinner Options, Live Music and Dancefrom $54
• 3Danube River Cruise with Dinner and Proseccofrom $53

$150 and up

405 tours

Private guides, a car and driver to Eger or Hollókő, and the long countryside days with lunch included.

• 1Budapest Private Tuk Tuk Half-Day Tourfrom $178
• 2Budapest Private Luxury Sightseeing Tour with Guide and Transportfrom $483
• 3Private Budapest City tour with Classic Russian Jeep or G-Wagon!from $256

Every European city has a river cruise and a food tour. The bathhouses, the ruin bars and the caves under the hill belong to this one.

Since the Ottomans

The Bathhouse Day

The city sits on a fault line that pushes up mineral water hot enough to bathe in, and it has been used that way since the Turks built the octagonal pools in the sixteenth century. Széchenyi is the grand one — outdoor pools steaming in January, old men playing chess in the water. Rudas keeps the Ottoman dome and adds a rooftop tub looking down the Danube. One ticket covers the whole day.

1. 1Széchenyi Spa Day Ticket with Optional Upgrades★★★★★★★★★★ 4.3 · 23,911 reviews
2. 2Mandala Day Spa & Luxury Pool Experience★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 2,604 reviews
3. 3Budapest Széchenyi Thermal Spa Ticket★★★★★★★★★★ 4.0 · 2,178 reviews

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District VII

The Ruin Bar

The old Jewish quarter emptied of residents and landlords, and its tenement courtyards sat derelict for decades. In 2002 a group took over one on Kazinczy Street, filled it with junk-shop furniture and a bathtub sofa, and called it Szimpla. The formula spread across the district: no design budget, mismatched rooms, a courtyard open to the sky. Crawls start around ten and use the side doors.

1. 1Guided Pub Tour to Ruin Bars with Games & 6 Shots★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 1,641 reviews
2. 2Ruin Bar Pub Crawl with Entry Tickets★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 1,028 reviews
3. 3Budapest Original Ruin Pub Crawl Including 5 Shots★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 519 reviews

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Under the hill

The Caves Below

The same thermal water that fills the baths hollowed out kilometres of cave under Buda. Part of it is a lit walkway beneath the castle; part of it is a boiler suit, a head torch and a squeeze that guides call the Sandwich. Both hold a steady eleven degrees all year, which makes the caves the dependable answer to a wet afternoon.

1. 1Buda Castle Cave Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 5,677 reviews
2. 2Adventure Caving Tour with Guide★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 1,331 reviews
3. 3Adventure Caving Experience in Budapest★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 339 reviews

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