A neighbourhood guide to the best areas to stay in Budapest, as chosen by our resident expert, including the best hotels in Downtown (District V), Castle Hill, Theresa Town (District VI) and Elizabeth Town (District VII).
Castle Hill
The Castle District is the city’s historic heartland, home to the former royal palace and site of many an epic battle over the centuries. Today the main battle is avoiding the crowds of visitors flocking to see the National Gallery, the extravagant Matthias Church and the views from the castle walls. Come at the start or end of the day to enjoy quieter strolls around the district’s cobbled alleys.
Where to stay
Buda Castle Fashion Hotel has much to recommend it. The accommodation is large and the 15th-century merchant’s house it occupies has been renovated sensitively so that you never forget you’re staying in the city’s medieval quarter. It lacks a restaurant, but there are good local options. Read expert review From £ 79 This hotel sits on top of Castle Hill, among the pretty burghers’ houses and with the spires of the neo-Gothic Matthias Church alongside and the sweep of the Danube down below – meaning it hogs the juiciest, most heart-thumping spot in the whole of Budapest. Read expert review From £ 151 This small hotel of just 11 rooms is owned by the Zsidai family, who have been leading restaurateurs in the city for more than 30 years. As you’d expect, its restaurant is top drawer, and the hotel has a colour, character and attention to design detail that makes it very special. Read expert review From £ 122• An insider guide to Budapest
Downtown (District V)
District V (generally referred to as downtown) lies along the Pest side of the river, and is where much of the action can be found. It’s not only the country’s political and economic powerhouse – holding the Parliament building and banking quarter – but one of the best places to stay in Budapest for nearby restaurants, bars and cafés. The pedestrianised Váci Street is lined with boutiques selling clothes and jewellery, while the lively Vörösmarty Square and looming St Stephen’s Basilica are tourist favourites.
Where to stay
Unlike some of Budapest’s other luxury hotels housed in 19th-century mansion buildings, the Kempinski is a modern construction of glass and straight-lined stone. You will struggle to find a hotel with a better location and the high-quality service and facilities take some beating. Read expert review From £ 181 From its classical façade – replicating the original 19th-century design even though it was actually entirely rebuilt in the 21st century – to the sleek glass lifts, this is a hotel with confidence and class. It has a good pedigree, its owner also responsible for the well-regarded Continental Budapest. Read expert review From £ 116 This music-themed hotel has four wings dedicated to different genres of music, each with large, fabulously equipped rooms named after different artists. This is complemented by a garden courtyard complete with a space-age piano, an attractive underground spa, a superb restaurant and a rooftop bar. Read expert review From £ 245 The luxurious, centrally located Ritz-Carlton Budapest offers some informality with its elegance. While its décor nods to the grace of a bygone age, there's a comfortable, laid-back atmosphere in its common spaces, and a warmth to the welcome from its staff, which bring it squarely into the 21st century. Read expert review From £ 221• The best budget hotels in Budapest
Terézváros (District VI)
Theresa Town (District VI) straddles the Great Boulevard, and has the city’s grandest road running through its middle. Andrássy Avenue – a Unesco World Heritage Site – is a broad, elegant thoroughfare linking the city centre with Heroes’ Square and City Park. Along its length you’ll find the ornate Budapest State Opera House, the chilling House of Terror (in the former headquarters of the secret police), and the pocket of vibrant café-bars in Liszt Ferenc Square.
Where to stay
Artsy boutique hotels are all the rage in Budapest, but a great many of them are bland. Not Casati Budapest Hotel. The Swiss owner has blended contemporary design – including a classier finish than you might expect from a 3-star-plus hotel – with some of the more interesting features of the 200-year-old building. Read expert review From £ 90 The designer of the Bauhaus building that houses Hotel Andrassy was, quite literally, an Olympian architect – Alfréd Hajós won two gold medals at the Athens Games in 1896, becoming the first modern Olympic swimming champion. An intimate boutique hotel on Andrássy út, it's just a stone's throw from City Park. Read expert review From £ 70 Hotel Moments marries contemporary design with the original spirit of its 19th-century building – look out for the frescoes in the glass-topped atrium lobby. This is certainly a place with character and elegance. There's also an excellent low-lit restaurant that serves creative Hungarian and international dishes. Read expert review From £ 138 Not only is Mystery one of the city's newest hotels it's also one of its most imaginative, with décor playing on the building’s history as a 19th-century freemasons’ hall. It has excellent facilities, including a spa and roof terrace, and is well located for the city’s main tourist sites. Read expert review From £ 136• The best hotels in Budapest
Erzsébetváros (District VII)
Elizabeth Town (District VII) contains the city’s Jewish quarter, its jewel in the crown the Great Synagogue – the second largest synagogue in the world and an architectural masterpiece capped with Moorish minarets. Craftsmen – from goldsmiths to tailors – still work in this area, but increasingly it’s better known as one of the best Budapest districts for trendy nightlife. Gozsdu udvar, a complex of several linked courtyards that once held artisan workshops, is now given over to a lively collection of bars and restaurants.
Where to stay
You couldn't accuse the New York Palace of being shy and retiring. From the columns and turrets of its façade to the frescoed ceilings of the opulent New York Café, this is a hotel of dramatic flourishes. The original building dates back to the late 19th century, constructed for the New York Insurance Company. Read expert review From £ 190 The Corinthia carries itself with an effortless grace that no other five-star in Budapest quite matches. Its wide spaces, light marble colouring and glass-covered atriums give a lovely airy feel to the public spaces, and there’s nothing frilly or overly fussy in the design. Read expert review From £ 142 Today, the Continental’s lobby has leather armchairs and an arching glass roof, but an open-air pool once filled this space – this building was previously home to public baths. Since 2010, however, it has operated as arguably the city’s classiest four-star hotel, with top-quality service and facilities. Read expert review From £ 97• The best hotels for a European city break
Józsefváros (District VIII)
If you want a comprehensive sweep through Hungarian history, head to Joseph Town (District VIII) and the country’s biggest museum – indeed, the frescoed interior of the National Museum is worth the ticket price alone. There’s history too in the Kerepesi Cemetery, its peaceful, chestnut-lined paths winding past mausoleums of the great and good.
Where to stay
Brody House has genuine feel-good factor. With shabby chic communal areas and art-inspired bedrooms, the accommodation is as colourful and quirky as it comes. But the bohemian approach is more than a style choice. Read expert review From £ 113 The four-star Hotel Palazzo Zichy is a consistent favourite with those seeking characterful, refined accommodation at an affordable price. It occupies an elegant palace built in 1899 by Count Nándor Zichy, a devoutly religious nobleman who was once imprisoned for writing a political article critical of Habsburg rule. Read expert review From £ 58ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbHLnp6rmaCde6S7ja6iaKyilsOmuI6dnKysmaOutbXOp6ponaWnvLGxjqGsp5%2BRp8ZwrtSdmKmdo6l8or7TopqlnaNkxKmx0Z5kraddqMGixYyipWaapZmusbHSrWShp6SaubR5wbJknaGjqb%2Bqr9No