Dan Nolan

Rooftop bars have developed a reputation for being a bit naff. And sometimes rightfully so – a glimmering view can add a costly tax to your drink, and if it’s a mediocre drink at that, it ain’t worth it. That’s for sure.  But in a city as beautiful as Budapest, if you’re not soaking up those glorious views one way or another, you’re sorely missing out. And we’re pleased to confirm that a ton of Budapest’s rooftop bars are actually great places to drink, up there with our favourite nightlife spots in the city. For cracking cocktails and even better skylines, here are the absolute best bars in Budapest. RECOMMENDED:📍 The best things to do in Budapest😋 The best restaurants in Budapest🍻 The best ruin bars in Budapest🏡 The best Airbnbs in Budapest Dan Nolan is a writer based in Budapest. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

Like escape rooms, ruin bars are a successful Budapest invention. So successful, in fact, that weekend nights see the streets completely mobbed in the party zone between Dob and Dohány utca near Klauzál tér. Ruin bar mugs are even sold in souvenir shops. The concept was originally a simple one. District VII, the Jewish Quarter, was dotted with neglected courtyards, surrounded by empty flats. Enterprising locals decked out the spaces with fairy lights and mismatching, skip-found furniture, chucked in a few incongruous artefacts, limbless mannequins, abandoned cars from the Socialist era, put up a bar counter and – ta-da! – the ruin bar was invented. Add some light projections, maybe a bare firewall for films, and a DJ booth, keep opening hours dauntingly extensive, and there you have it: the ruin bar as we know it today. Here are our picks of the best.  RECOMMENDED:📍 The best things to do in Budapest🪩 The best Budapest nightlife spots🛏 The best hotels in Budapest🍴 The best restaurants in Budapest This article was updated by Peterjon Cresswell, a writer based in Budapest. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

Budapest is a seriously cool city, and the Jewish Quarter might just be its coolest bit. The neighbourhood is basically a microcosm of all the great things there are to do in Budapest, from wacky cafés and restaurants to independent art galleries.  So whether you’re looking for a full-on night out, some casual drinks or just to explore what the city has to offer, the Jewish Quarter is a great place to start. We’ve rounded up its very best things to do, from its best food offerings to where to go shopping. Here’s everything you should do in the Jewish Quarter.  RECOMMENDED:🚋 How to spend a weekend in Budapest🪩 The best Budapest nightlife spots📍 The best things to do in Budapest Dan Nolan is a writer based in Budapest. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. 

The Hungarian capital has plenty of fabulous quick-eat options, but our list of the best street food spots in Budapest is all about quality over quantity. Come to think of it, the entire gastronomic scene in Budapest is a delight, but there is something about picking up some informal bites between ruin bars that really hits the spot. Sustenance, style and substance? Where do we sign?Gone are the days when street food in Budapest meant cardboard pizza and soulless service. Today, the streets of Buda and Pest are lined with delicious options from all over the globe, from Middle Eastern magic to a joyously broad selection of vegetarian and vegan spots. Budapest is packed with things to do, and the street food scene is right there.  

Whether you’re an escape room devotee or simply looking for something fun and adventurous to do while you’re here, Budapest offers a wealth of choice. ‘There are so many empty cellars in Budapest, and there are already a million bars, so it’s natural that escape rooms took off here,’ says Tünde Máté, an escape game enthusiast who works at E-Exit. So where should you start? Many of the more established escape rooms in Budapest are based on prison breaks, bank robberies or pirate sorties. However, as the games have gone global – Scavenger also operate rooms in Doha and Mumbai, and PaniQ-Room has launched in the US and even Iran – a ‘new generation’ of more sophisticated rooms is emerging. These increasingly high-tech games often drop players into sci-fi or sword-and-sandals scenarios, while others are historical, transporting visitors to ancient Egypt, Victorian London or Chernobyl. Best of all, all the venues listed here offer games for non-Hungarian speakers. ‘People get hooked,’ Tünde told us. ‘Loads of people come for a weekend and play seven or eight a day – the escape rooms here are better quality and much cheaper.’ And what’s more, the more friends you bring, the cheaper it gets. RECOMMENDED: Full guide to the best things to do in Budapest