Budapest in 3 days

Széchenyi Gyógyfürdő (the Széchenyi Thermal Bath — the largest thermal bath complex in Europe (18 pools), in the yellow neo-Baroque palace in the Városliget (City Park), built 1913: the thermal water (76°C at the source, cooled to 37–40°C in the outdoor pools) comes from 2 deep boreholes (1,246m and 1,302m) into the geological formation of the Buda Hills thermal karst system. The signature experience: the outdoor pools in winter, with steam rising from the 38°C pool in the −5°C winter air, and the chess players sitting at the boards in the shallow section of the outdoor pool (the Széchenyi chess players: the Hungarian tradition of playing chess in the thermal baths dates to the early 20th century and has been photographed more than any other single image of Budapest). Three outdoor pools and 15 indoor pools at different temperatures (28°C–40°C).

Dohány Street Synagogue (Dohány utcai zsinagóga — the Moorish Revival synagogue built in 1854–1859 by Ludwig Förster: the largest synagogue in Europe and the second-largest in the world (3,000 seats): the neo-Byzantine twin onion towers, the rose window and the ornate interior (the painted ceiling, the gilded organ, the marble pillars). In the synagogue garden: the Holocaust memorial (the "Weeping Willow" — the metal weeping willow sculpture by Imre Varga (1991) whose 400,000 leaves each bear a name of a Hungarian Jewish victim of the Holocaust (550,000 Hungarian Jews were deported to Auschwitz in 1944 — the largest and most rapid deportation of the war: 437,000 in 56 days)). The Jewish Quarter (Erzsébetváros — the 7th district): the most vibrant neighborhood in Budapest.

Szimpla Kert (Kazinczy utca 14 — the first ruin bar of Budapest (opened 2002 in an abandoned flat, relocated to the current site in 2004): the romkocsmák movement (ruin bars — the bars established in the abandoned buildings and courtyards of the Jewish Quarter from 2001, in the years immediately after communism when the abandoned apartment buildings were cheap and available): the Szimpla Kert is now a cultural institution with 7 bars, a cinema, a gallery, a flea market on Sundays and the most eclectic interior design in Hungary (the car turned into a bar, the bathtub seating, the mismatched furniture and the exposed brick walls). The most visited bar in Eastern Europe with 4 million visitors/year.

Országház (the Hungarian Parliament Building — the Gothic Revival building by Imre Steindl, built 1885–1902: the largest building in Hungary (268m long, 96m high — the height of 96m is symbolic: 896 is the year of the Hungarian Conquest, the founding date of the Hungarian state) and the most beautiful parliament building in the world: at night, the 365 towers and the Gothic pinnacles are illuminated in white, reflected in the Danube — the most photographed nocturnal image in Hungary. The guided interior tour (the Crown of St Stephen — the thousand-year-old Hungarian royal crown, displayed in the domed central hall, the most important national symbol in Hungary)).

Gellért Gyógyfürdő (the Gellért Baths — the thermal bath and hotel complex (1918) at the foot of the Gellért Hill: the most beautiful thermal bath building in Budapest (the Art Nouveau interior: the ornate ceramic tile pools, the glass and iron roof of the main hall, and the wave pool (the artificial wave machine in the outdoor pool, the first in Europe, installed in 1927)): the thermal water comes from the same geological system as Széchenyi (the Buda Hills thermal karst), at 44°C at the source (cooled to 36–38°C for the indoor pools). The indoor Art Nouveau pool (the most photographed interior of the baths) and the outdoor sun terrace pool. More formal and elegant than Széchenyi.

Gellért-hegy (Gellért Hill — the 235m dolomite cliff rising from the Danube bank on the Buda side: the Liberty Statue (Szabadság-szobor — the 14m bronze figure of the female personification of Liberty holding a palm branch aloft, erected in 1947 by the Soviet-installed Hungarian government to commemorate Soviet soldiers who died liberating Hungary from the Germans (the original inscription named Soviet soldiers): the inscription was changed after 1989 to commemorate "those who gave their lives for Hungary's freedom"). The Citadella (the 19th-century Austrian military fortification on the summit, built in 1851 after the failed Hungarian Revolution of 1848–1849 as a surveillance position overlooking the city). The panoramic view: the finest in Budapest.

Magyar Állami Operaház (Hungarian State Opera House — Andrássy út 22: the neo-Renaissance opera house built by Miklós Ybl (1875–1884): the opening program noted that it was "the third most beautiful opera house in Europe after Paris and Vienna": the gilded interior (the horseshoe auditorium with the 4-tier balconies and the 2,400-seat capacity), the frescoed ceiling (the painting of the nine Muses by Bertalan Székely and Mór Than) and the promenade (the Andrássy út facade with the statues of Liszt and Erkel flanking the entrance). The guided tour includes the gold-leaf stage, the royal box and the backstage. Tickets for performances from HUF 1,500 (the cheapest opera performance in Europe).

Lángos (the Hungarian street food — the large disc of deep-fried dough (leavened with yeast), served hot from the frying oil and topped with tejföl (sour cream) and reszelt sajt (grated hard cheese), optionally also with garlic butter and ketchup: the most beloved and ubiquitous Hungarian street food, sold at the Great Market Hall (first floor), at thermal bath entrances and at markets and fairs throughout Hungary. The lángos is to Hungary what the fish and chips is to England or the crêpe to France: the archetypal national street food. HUF 600–900 (€1.50–2.50) — the best value food in Budapest.