Where to stay in Budapest

Best for: nightlife

Also referred as District VII or Erzsébetváros, this busy quarter behind the Great Synagogue is the nightlife hub and home of Budapest’s ruin bars. Streets around the pioneering Szimpla Kert and party-focused Instant-Fogas pack solid after dark, diners attracted to Mediterranean delights at Mazel Tov and Dobrumba. As you wander, look out for murals illustrating local culture – Rubik’s Cube, revered Habsburg Empress Elisabeth – as well as sights related to the district’s dark past as the Jewish Ghetto. Walking tours are available for both. For a cool souvenir, head to Printa, imaginative and eco-friendly.

Stay here: while sleeping may not be your priority, you can recline in style at the Continental Hotel Budapest and amid popular culture at the Soho Boutique Hotel.

Best for: shopping, dining and sightseeing

For many years, District V or the Belváros (‘Inner City’) was all that foreigners saw of Budapest, shopping along pedestrianised Váci utca, sleeping and dining at higher-class hotels. North, between the tourist sights of the Basilica and Parliament, is still District V but officially Llpótváros, a business quarter and gastro hub containing Michelin-starred Borkonyha and Essência. Fashion brands line Deák Ferenc utca, though you’ll find edgier outfits at design-forward Nanushka. After dark, catch a band or DJ at Akvárium.

Stay here: While landmark lodgings such as the Kempinski, InterContinental and Marriott have long upped the ante in the dining and spa stakes, they face stiff competition from the Párisi Udvar, Gresham and Matild Palace, each a historic landmark overlooking a major bridge. 

Best for: culture, nightlife

The grandiose properties here provided noblemen with a pied-à-terre in Budapest, away from their country estate but close to Parliament convening at the National Museum. But this is now the Palace District, which we named one of the world’s coolest neighbourhoods for 2024, and its name acknowledges its illustrious past but ignores decades of neglect and notoriety. Budapest’s influential alternative music venue, the Tilos, once thrived on Mikszáth Kálmán tér, a cobbled square now awash with terrace cafés, including its contemporary iteration, Tilos a Tilos. Arty types prefer to gather at both Lumens, and photography-focused Főfotó. By day, they browse for vinyl at Kalóz and shop for retro clothes at Typo Showroom.

Stay here: out-of-town artists, writers and film crew lodge at funky but discreet Brody House, now complemented by its Garden Café.

Best for: art, cafés, spas

The main artery running through Újbuda (‘New Buda’), Bartók Béla út, climbing up from the Gellért Hotel, is the reason for the newly found fashionable status of Buda’s District XI. Lining it are more than enough galleries to host the art-inspired Eleven festival twice a year, though you can always explore the Godot, the KAS and the B32, among others, at your leisure. Art also features at bars such as Kelet and Szatyor, whose adjoining Café Hadik honours its literary heritage with regular events. For relaxation, the Gellért Baths still operate despite the reconstruction of the adjoining hotel, while the Rudas spa is a tram stop away.

Stay here: behind the Gellért, the affordable Kalmár Pánzió offers old-school hospitality.

Best for: culture, dining, spas

The transformation of City Park into a cultural zone akin to its role model, Vienna’s MuseumsQuartier, has changed the nature of staying nearby. Don’t worry, you can still soak at the Széchenyi Baths, splash out at the legendary Gundel restaurant, and take in an exhibition at facing institutions, the Museum of Fine Arts and the Műcsarnok on Heroes’ Square – but now there’s much more to do here in District XIV. The House of Hungarian Music is not only a wonder of contemporary architecture but a prominent concert venue, and even if the exhibits at the Museum of Ethnography are somewhat niche, the revolutionary building offers prime rooftop views.

Stay here: nearby Mamaison provides stylish stays on Budapest’s Champs-Elysées, Andrássy út.