Exploring Budapest, Hungary: Where to eat, what to see, where to stay

From its modest Celtic and Roman origins, Budapest has grown into a beautiful Old World metropolis, thanks to its enviable location on the Danube River and a dynamic local population, which currently hovers around 1.7 million. The extremely walkable Hungarian capital is a vibrant, progressive and relatively diverse island in an otherwise rightward-tilting country, making it a popular destination for gourmets, designers, writers and artists, many of whom come here to sample — or help build — one of the best restaurant scenes in Central Europe. New museums, galleries and spruced-up parks counterbalance the city’s classic (and sometimes beautifully decrepit) architecture, thermal baths and other attractions, artfully blending its two halves: Reserved, hilly, residential Buda, west of the Danube, and urbane, mostly level Pest, stretching out on the eastern side.

FRIDAY

4.30pm | Learn about a local hero here

One of Hungary’s most famous sons, Robert Capa (born Endre Erno Friedmann) grew up in the local Jewish community before becoming one of the greatest war photographers of all time and, eventually, an American citizen and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Housed in a renewed art nouveau building not far from the opera house, just off Andrássy Avenue, the excellent Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center features compelling temporary shows, though most visitors come to learn about Capa, a celebrated co-founder of Magnum Photos and committed anti-fascist, thanks to the permanent exhibit that opened here in 2023 (entry, 4,000 forints, or about US$11). Afterward, gather your thoughts at the laid-back museum cafe.

6.30pm | Dine on updated classics

If you’re intimidated by the eight-course, 89,500-forint tasting menu at what is arguably the city’s highest-profile fine dining restaurant, Stand, try Stand 25, a less expensive and less formal bistro from the same celebrity chefs, Szabina Szullo and Tamas Szell, on a quiet corner in Buda. Despite the bistro’s slightly lower profile, reservations are essential. Classics like rich and slightly smoky goulash, duck foie gras terrine with fruit, glazed venison steak and Brasov-style pork all pair perfectly with an elder-blossom mocktail, while Hungarian wine fans will appreciate the list of mostly domestic bottles. Dinner for two: about 65,000 forints, including drinks and service.

9pm | Drink in a palace

For years, Hungarian mixologists have been returning home to Budapest after stints in London and other big cities, using the know-how they’ve gained to start a cool cocktail scene of their own. Among the best bars of the moment is Muzsa, inside the Gresham Palace, close to the Danube in Pest. A palatial art nouveau construction built in 1906 as the local headquarters for Britain’s Gresham Life Assurance Co., the palace is now home to the Four Seasons Hotel. After admiring the architecture on your evening stroll, head inside to find a cosy table or a spot at the bar, order an alcohol-free cocktail like the Twirl (4,400 forints) or a bourbon-based Shadow (7,900 forints) and take in an atmosphere that feels like you slipped into a classic James Bond movie.

SATURDAY

10am | Explore a Roman Settlement

How often do visitors to Hungary think about the Roman Empire? At the Aquincum Museum and Archaeological Park in the Obuda district, the history of the imperial outpost on the Danube takes centre stage (adult entry, 3,000 forints). Grab a flat white (1,990 forints) and a Korean-style egg drop sandwich (2,390 forints) at a cool cafe like Relative Pozsonyi in Pest and then time your easy, 40-minute journey on public transportation to arrive at Aquincum when it opens. The 130-year-old museum displays Roman-era glassware, statues, grave stelae, pottery and weapons. The sprawling site includes the Aquincum Mithraeum, a temple dedicated to the Roman god Mithras, founded by a local official, Marcus Antonius Victorinus, in the third century.

11.45am | Dress for vintage success

Local fashion takes a lot of inspiration from vintage clothing and streetwear. Search for chic new fits at longtime favourite Retrock, just off Deak Ferenc ter in Pest, which stocks everything from Japanese kimono-style blouses (around 35,000 forints) to screen-printed T-shirts from local brands such as Derszu and Mama Tried (12,000 forints). A boutique, ReClaim Vintage, opened just a few blocks away in late 2023, selling a well-curated collection of 1970s shearling coats (35,000 forints) and beautifully worn Levi’s trucker jackets (19,000 forints). Another five minutes on foot will get you to Komondors, a three-year-old boutique and cafe where you can try on old-school Hungarian military dress jackets (12,000 forints) and cycling jerseys (8,000 forints) before plopping on the couch with an Aperol spritz (2,800 forints). If Komondors doesn’t fit your schedule, it might work as an after-hours option: Fashion shows, DJ sets and other special events sometimes kick off around 9.30pm, running until quite late.

1.30pm | Sample delicious textures

Ask Hungarian winemakers for an insider’s restaurant recommendation and they just might pick the airy Pest brasserie Textura, younger sibling to the celebrated Borkhonya Winekitchen across the street. True to its name, various textures are apparent in the casual but stylish decor, which includes a wall covered with living moss and slick ceramic tiles, as well as on the plate, where crunchy sage leaves contrast with a creamy celeriac puree and crispy, well-battered fried sturgeon plays against a side of seared Caesar salad. The extensive wine list includes Hungarian gems, such as the elegantly dry white Harslevelu Tarczal made by Stephanie Berecz at the Tokaj region’s excellent Kikelet winery. Lunch for two: About 50,000 forints, including drinks and service charge.

3.30pm | Go for a walk - or swim - in the park

Pest’s Varosliget, or City Park, was spruced up and given a pair of new attractions in 2022, starting with the House of Music, a beautiful concert hall designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto. Nearby, you’ll find the impressive Museum of Ethnography from a leading Hungarian architect, Marcel Ferencz. The main collection at the museum includes more than 3,600 artifacts representing Hungarian and global cultures: Folk costumes, furniture, tools, musical instruments and much more (entry fee, 4,900 forints). Unfortunately, many of the descriptions are only in Hungarian, with English translations requiring the use of a QR code. Afterward, take photos of Hosok tere, or Heroes’ Square, the enormous, UNESCO-listed monument at the park’s main entrance, then take the waters and a few selfies at the Szechenyi thermal bath and swimming pool (weekend entry fee, with locker, 12,500 forints), an ornate, 19th-century spa complex that perfectly illustrates the logic behind a basic rule of travel: Always pack a swimsuit.

5.30pm | Connect with literary greats

Refuel and find your next read at Massolit, a charming English-language bookstore and cafe in central Pest’s party zone. Options include the historic photo book Forgotten Budapest (5,250 forints) and great Hungarian literature in translation, from Antal Szerb’s A Martian’s Guide to Budapest (2,990 forints), to Satantango (5,500 forints) and The Melancholy of Resistance”(5,850 forints), both by Laszlo Krasznahorkai, and both of which were made into acclaimed films. Afterward, peek through the windows into Kahan Art Space, a small art gallery down the block that closes at 6, or read a few more chapters on a bench at the charmingly rundown neighborhood park, Klauzal Square.

7.30pm | Eat your vegetables

Although it’s just a block from St Stephen’s Basilica, a soaring Pest landmark, the self-described “fire-hearted kitchen” Goli feels like a busy market restaurant in Tel Aviv, Israel, where chef Harel Zakaim previously worked. The restaurant’s flame-kissed vegetables, including smoked cauliflower and roasted oyster mushrooms, play main roles, and the outrageously delicious, za’atar-topped vegan labneh is made from soy, not dairy, but meat-eaters will also find plenty to love, from aged beef entrecote to lemon-chicken shawarma and lamb with grapes, almost all prepared over open flames and served for sharing. Making reservations is highly recommended. Dinner for two: About 40,000 forints, including drinks and service charge.

9.30pm | Savour local flavours

Budapest’s burgeoning craft beer scene includes several excellent producers, including Horizont, Feher Nyul and Reketye, as well as an uncountable number of beer bars, mostly in Pest. One of the newest is Beer People, co-founded by American novelist Duncan Robertson, where you can sample brews including the 10.8% imperial stout from Gravity Brewing (200 milliliters, about 7 ounces, for 1,900 forints) under artwork that depicts praying hands and a rosary with a bottle opener. If you like your crowd louder and less beer-focused, you can’t go wrong with a classic “ruin bar” like Csendes Letterem, a high-ceilinged 19th-century space decorated with old hubcaps and graffiti. Find a table, order a glass of kekfrankos rosé from the Gal winery just south of Budapest (1,090 forints) and enjoy the show.

SUNDAY

9.30am | Sample coffeehouse history

The old coffeehouse culture of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is mostly long gone, but you can occasionally catch a glimpse. After a lengthy closure during the pandemic, the former Central Cafe from 1887 reopened in 2022 with a brightened interior, a fresh menu and an updated name: Central Grand Cafe & Bar. An important location for writers and artists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the 138-year-old destination today plays up its intellectual and artistic history with literary gatherings, poetry workshops and live music. Order eggs Benedict (3,990 forints), a slice of Esterhazy cake, a nutty, buttercream-layered delicacy (2,590 forints), and a hot chocolate (2,190 forints) and imagine yourself stepping into what the great Austrian writer Stefan Zweig once called “the world of yesterday.”

11am | Step into a centre of Jewish culture

Catch a glimpse of Pest’s rich Jewish history with a tour of the Dohany Street Synagogue, completed in 1859 as a masterpiece of Moorish Revival architecture (entry, 13,000 forints). Also known as the Great Synagogue and said to be the largest in Europe, the building has room for some 3,000 worshippers and contains a number of unusual features, including a huge pipe organ that is technically located outside the synagogue walls. The English-language tour lasts about 45 minutes, covering the history of the building and the local Jewish community, as well as the open, integration-minded society that inspired Neolog Judaism, a type of Reform Judaism, in Hungary. Don’t miss the upstairs museum, which displays priceless menorahs, prayer books, shofars and other historic artifacts, with windows that overlook the grave markers in the courtyard, a remnant of the old Budapest ghetto, where more than 2,000 victims of fascism were buried.

Evan Rail © The New York Times.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.