Budapest, Prague's cousin

Many people visiting Prague continue their trip to Budapest, the capital of Hungary. While sharing some history with Prague, it is in many ways different and offers its own unique charms. Whether the marvellous spas or the urban grandiosity inspired by Vienna or Paris – Budapest is worth a visit. Foremost during the colder seasons, its hot springs and grand cafés stand out.

Budapest is located 500 km southeast of Prague and 250 km east of Vienna. From Prague, one can travel by a 7-hour train ride or a bus that is half an hour faster. Hungary, similarly to Czechia, has not adopted the Euro yet, although it is also a member of the European Union. I am happy to recommend the Wise app/credit card, which allows you to hold various currencies and offers great exchange rates.

Budapest, the capital of Hungary placed on the Danube river (Photo: WallpaperCrafter)

In case you are interested in history and want to understand why Prague and Budapest can be called cousins, read the chapter at the end of this blog post. Otherwise, let’s start with my top 10 things to do and see in Budapest!

 

Budapest is about a 7-hour journey by train or bus from Prague. The two cities share many cultural aspects, as they were part of the Habsburg monarchy (1526-1918) ruled mostly from Vienna (Photo: Britannica).

My top 10 things to see and do in Budapest

1) Spas and bath houses

Budapest is truly one of a kind when it comes to thermal baths – few big cities in the world offer such a rich spa culture. My favourite is the centuries-old Rudas Baths, originally built in the 16th century during the Ottoman era. Its historic Turkish dome pool has a mystical atmosphere. On the other hand, the modern rooftop jacuzzi offers a lovely panoramic view over the Danube and the city.

Also unmissable is the grand Széchenyi Baths, a neo-Baroque palace of wellness where you can soak outdoors even in winter, surrounded by steam and elegant architecture. The smaller Gellért Baths, offer stunning Art Nouveau interiors, while Lukács Baths are less spectuacular and more popular by the locals. Just bare in mind that the spa company is still partly state owned. It has a tocuh of a communist state-owned company that sometimes is not that customer oriented as one would expect from a touristic highlight.

My favourite bath is the centuries-old Rudas Baths, originally built in the 16th century during the Ottoman era. (Photo: BudapestFlow.com)

 

2) The Parliament and Danube quay

The most iconic building of Budapest is its Parliament located on the quay of the Danube river, on the Pest side of the city.

Definitely the most striking building in Budapest is the Neo-gothic parliament building from 1902 inspired by the British Parliament. The building signifies the regained political power inside of the dual Austro-Hungarian monarchy at the end of 19th century. Currently, it hosts a museum influenced by the government propaganda and feels like it is stuck in nationalism of the 19th century. Yet the building is still impressive and nice to visit. Furthermore a stroll along the Danube river is worthy with a great view of the Castle hill. An insider tip is to relax or do sports at the Margaret's island (Margit-sziget) in the middle of Danube. That is also the epicenter of the renown open-air summer festival called Sziget (island).

 

3) Buda's Castle Hill

Similar to Prague and other historic cities, the castle district is strategically located on a hill, offering better protection from the many attacks it faced over the centuries. Walking among the churches, palaces, and narrow, winding streets creates a distinctive historical atmosphere.

If you look closely at the Royal Palace, you may notice something unusual. The entire area was heavily damaged during World War II, when the Red Army fought against the Nazis and their Hungarian allies. The palace was rebuilt during the communist period, but not with the materials or level of detail that would have been needed to restore its original appearance. At the same time, the Buda side reflects an even longer history — parts of Roman ruins can still be visited on Castle Hill.

Buda also hosts some of the city’s oldest spas, including Rudas Bath, mentioned earlier. It is easy to combine a visit to the castle district with a relaxing stop at one of these historic baths.

 

Buda Castle sits majestically above the Danube river on the Buda part of the city. (Photo: Dennis Jarvis. Flickr)

 

 

4) Traditional Cafés: Central Café and New York Café

For a taste of old‑world elegance, don’t miss Budapest’s traditional cafés. Central Café, located in the heart of the city, offers a quieter and more authentic atmosphere, with high ceilings, wood paneling, and live piano music — a great place to try classic Hungarian desserts. In the summer of 2025, I found it completely full for the first time, and visiting without a reservation wasn’t possible. Instead, I went to Café Astoria, located at a busy traffic junction, which still features grand interiors and very good desserts.

For a more glamorous experience, visit the iconic New York Café. It is one of the most photographed places in Budapest, known for its frescoes, marble columns, and golden chandeliers. Despite the crowds, the food and coffee are consistently good. Booking a table in advance is recommended, as it is extremely popular with both tourists and locals.

 

5) Pest's centre's main squares

The eastern part of the city was historically the independent city of Pest, which merged with Buda at the end of the 19th century. Walking from the Parliament toward the city center, you pass a sequence of important squares: first the regular, park‑like Szabadság tér (Freedom Square), followed by Szent István tér (St. Stephen’s Square), the symbolic center of Pest and home to St. Stephen’s Basilica.

Continuing onward, you reach Erzsébet tér (Elisabeth Square), a pleasant green space with a ferris wheel. Right next to it is Deák Ferenc tér, the city’s main transport hub where three metro lines intersect. Budapest’s metro is the second oldest in the world after London’s Underground. If you want to experience the line opened in 1896, take a ride on the historic yellow Line 1.

Erzsébet tér (Elisabeth Square) sits next to Deák Ferenc tér, Budapest’s central metro interchange. (Photo: VinceB, Wikipedia)

 

6) Main Shopping Street and the Great Market

From Erzsébet Square, you can walk toward Vörösmarty Square (Vörösmarty was a poet). Along the way, you’ll notice several contemporary buildings that form a fitting gateway to the city’s main shopping street, Váci utca. This pedestrian street is lined with numerous shops and cafés, making it a lively place for a stroll. Váci utca leads directly to the Great Market Hall (Nagycsarnok), the most famous of Budapest’s historic markets. Here you can pick up typical Hungarian products such as paprika, sausages, goose liver, and a variety of local souvenirs.

The Great Market Hall (Nagycsarnok) is the most famous of Budapest’s many markets. (Photo: Thaler Tamas, Wiki)

 

7) The High Street: Andrássy Avenue

If you want to soak up more of the Old World’s charm, stroll from Deák Ferenc Square or Erzsébet tér toward Andrássy út, Budapest’s elegant high street. This grand boulevard, lined with old trees and richly decorated façades, may remind you of Vienna or Paris—though a little less polished. Along the avenue you’ll find flagship stores of major international brands as well as the iconic Hungarian Herend hand‑painted porcelain shop. A highlight not to be missed is the Hungarian State Opera House, designed by the renowned Austro‑Hungarian duo Fellner & Helmer, the star architects of their era who created opera houses across Central Europe.

Andrasy Street is the high end street of Budapest for more than 150 years, it is also home of the renowed Opera House. (Photo: Wikipedia)

 

8) The City Park

Andrássy Avenue stretches for about 2 km and ends at Heroes’ Square (Hősök tere), a monumental plaza that marks the entrance to City Park (Városliget). The square is flanked by the Museum of Fine Arts and the Hall of Art, creating an impressive gateway to one of Budapest’s largest green spaces. Within the park you’ll find not only the famous Széchenyi Baths, but also several striking modern buildings — discover them in the section below.

Városliget, Budapest’s City Park, hosts an array of cultural and leisure experiences. (Photo: Themightyquill)

 

9) Modern architecture: Temples of Culture and the new metro line

While Budapest was largely built at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the city also features several remarkable contemporary buildings. One of them is MÜPA (Palace of Arts), located next to the postmodern National Theatre. The newest Metro Line 4 adds another layer of design innovation, with stations that feel like underground art installations. In City Park, the House of Music, designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, stands out as a striking new landmark. The new Museum of Ethnography is another spectacular contemporary building, set at the edge of the City Park.

The House of Music, designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto stnads out in the City Forrest. (Photo: © Iwan Baan)

 

10) Food

Budapest’s and Hungary’s culinary scene reflects the shared heritage of the former Austro‑Hungarian Empire, where dishes like goulash, schnitzel, and dumplings appear in many successor states. Yet it’s worth noting that gulyás in Hungary is actually a soup, while the thicker stew known elsewhere as “goulash” is called pörkölt or paprikás in Hungarian. The region’s love of sweets also runs deep: the popular Prague street treat trdelník exists in Hungary as kürtőskalács (chimney cake), originally from a region that once belonged to the historical Hungarian Kingdom. What truly sets Hungarian cuisine apart is its generous use of paprika, giving local dishes — including sausages — a distinctly spicier character. And while the 1990s brought the rise of iconic ruin bars, turning abandoned buildings into atmospheric nightlife spots, today Budapest offers a wide and sophisticated range of restaurants, cafés, and contemporary dining experiences.

Prague and Budapest - cousin cities?

So what has Budapest and Prague in common? They are both capitals, that have been part of Soviet occupied Eastern Europe for 40 years. The Hungarians revolted again Soviet occupation in 1956, the Czechoslovaks in 1968 - both revolutons were bloodily crushed by Soviet army. Both countries were happy to shed off communism and Soviet dominance in non-violent revolutions of 1989 (if you are interested in this part of history, you may visit the Museum of terror in Budapest). Both countries embarked in the 1990's on their journey to rejoin the European family, Czechia and Hungary joined NATO in 1999 and the EU in 2004. Although Hungary is not anymore a real democracy nowadays, it is still a very popular tourist destination.

Yet the shared history between Prague and Budapest goes much deeper. Already in the early 15th century, Sigismund — the son of Emperor Charles IV (after whom Prague’s Charles Bridge, Charles University, and Charles Square are named) — ruled both kingdoms. At that time, Czechia (known in English as the Kingdom of Bohemia) was torn by the Hussite civil wars, a major precursor to the Reformation.

In 1526, both the Bohemian and Hungarian kingdoms came under Habsburg rule, and the capital of the monarchy shifted from Prague to Vienna. Bohemia and Hungary then became parts of what was first the Habsburg Monarchy, later the Austrian Empire, and finally, after 1867, the Austro‑Hungarian Empire.

 

Budapest experienced steep growth, becoming the eighth‑largest city in Europe around 1900. The map shows Budapest around 1750 on the left side and around 1850 on the right side. (Photo: Pinterest)

 

Budapest becoming a European metropolis

The very name “Austro‑Hungarian Empire” shows how the destinies of Prague and Budapest diverged. Hungarians regained a significant degree of political autonomy and became one of the two constituent parts of the empire. Budapest once again became a capital. Prague, on the other hand, remained fully integrated into the Austrian part. This historical difference is reflected in the urban development and architecture of both cities.

As a capital, Budapest transformed dramatically at the end of the 19th century, with grand new buildings and boulevards modeled on Vienna and Paris. Prague, by contrast, remained a smaller provincial city without the financial means for such large‑scale projects. Yet precisely because of this lack of political and economic power, its extensive medieval cityscape has been preserved. In the 14th century, Prague was one of the largest cities in Europe — by some estimates comparable in size to London. Hungary, on the other hand, had been under Ottoman occupation for centuries and had only around 125,000 inhabitants in 1850 (similar to Prague). But by 1900, Budapest had grown into the 8th largest city in Europe with around one million inhabitants, while Prague had only about 200,000.

Two buildings in the two cities highlight this distinction. Budapest built its impressive Parliament on the banks of the Danube, modeled on the British Parliament. The Czechs, by contrast, were able to build only the National Theatre on the banks of the Vltava. While Hungarians demonstrated their regained political power after 1867, the Czechs at least demonstrated cultural and economic strength through the construction of the National Theatre.

While Budapest preserves remains of its Roman settlement, it is primarily a Belle Époque city. Prague, on the other hand, is above all a medieval city, with later additions.