Budapest, Hungary: Attractions on the Pest Side

Most of the action lies in Pest, east of the Danube, the Jewish Quarter and the Palace District , with fashionable restaurants bars, restaurants and boutiques in neighborhoods like the Inner City , Budapest Pest side is the place to be .

What to see on the Pest side of Budapest: One Day Itinerary

The Pest side is where you’ll spend most of your time. It’s where the main city center is, the Jewish Quarter, as well as trendy bars and majority of the sites. Here are some of the best things to do on Budapest Pest side .

Visit the Hungarian Parliament Building on Budapest Pest side

One of Hungary’s most notable buildings and an iconic symbol of Budapest, the Hungarian Parliament Building is an essential thing to see on a trip to Budapest , it carries Budapest’s imperial grandeur at the turn of the century. This building itself is visually striking from the outdoors, with its neo-Gothic Parliament building, all red velvet upholstery, gold gilding and intricate carvings, but inside it’s filled with 691 rooms with Gothic Revival architecture, ornate statues, and paintings.

See the shoes on the Danube Bank.

This heartbreaking memorial to the 3,500 victims, including 800 Jews, who were killed by fascists during WWII. Here you can see the sculptures of 60 pairs of cast irons shoes dotted along part of the Danube River on the Pest side. The victims were ordered to remove their shoes before being shot in front of the river.

Explore the streets of the Jewish Quarter in Budapest Pest side

The Jewish Quarter offers historic sites, trendy shops, amazing night life and an array of excellent (and cheap) ethnic restaurants. One of the trendiest neighborhoods of Budapest is the Jewish Quarter. This neighborhood is dotted with fantastic boutique shops, superb spots for coffee, and some of the city’s best bars and clubs.

One of the best bars/clubs in Budapest is Szimpla Kert. It’s one the iconic “ruins pubs”. It features music, a beer garden, and eclectically mismatched items and furniture. It’s a perfectspot for a night out in Budapest. Then, next door is street full of food trucks, Street Food Karavan, offering everything from Asian cuisine to vegan burgers.

Walk across the Széchenyi Chain Bridge from Pest to Buda

One of the bridges connecting Buda and Pest, the Széchenyi Chain Bridge is the first permanent bridge across the Danube River in Hungary. The bridge is also iconic for its arches, design, and the mesmerizing way in which it lights up at night.

Take a dip at the Szechenyi Baths.

Budapest has been celebrated for its thermal curative baths since Roman times, when the city was known as Aquincum.

Budapest sits on top of more than 100 thermal springs, which have attracted travelers since Roman times, when the city was known as Aquincum.But it was the Turks, who built magnificent bathhouses and raised bathing to a fine art during their 150-year occupation of Budapest .

It would be a mistake to come to Budapest and not at least attempt a wallow in the Szechenyi Baths , one of the city’s most atmospheric thermal pools . Occupying a grand, neo-Baroque complex from 1913, Szechenyi has 15 pools with temperatures ranging from frigid to steaming.

By day this beautiful and luxurious bath house is a calming oasis of spa treatments, indoor and outdoor bathing pools, and saunas in a stunning 20 th -century yellow Turkish building. By night, however, the Szechenyi Baths turn into a party zone for visitors. Enjoy unlimited drinks, live electronic music, and partying poolside as night falls into morning.

Be sure to bring a swimsuit: unlike many segregated baths in town, Szechenyi is co-ed and has a G-rated family atmosphere.

How to get there : Szechenyi baths sit atop a metro station (Szechenyi furdo) in the middle of City Park. Read this post for more tips on Budapest travel .