Keeping warm and having fun: what to do in Budapest in winter with kids in tow

Where we live, it seems like some vacation destinations become, for lack of a better word, “trendy.” For a while, everyone we know is going to the same place. Earlier this year it was Slovenia. In recent months, it was Budapest. Unsurprisingly then, after months of seeing people’s gorgeous photos of their own family trips to the Hungarian capital, Budapest started climbing toward the top of our priority list. And when a deal popped up for 40 euro Wizz Air flights there over Martin Luther King Day weekend, we knew we were ready to give a weekend in Budapest a try — even if we knew it was likely to be a cold and snowy Budapest in January!

So as it turns out, there’s a ton to do in Budapest with kids. Even — especially? — in winter. In fact, I’d say the fact that it does typically get quite cold there makes it a excellent destination for a winter trip, just because cold-temperature climates are used to dealing with it. (Of course, if the goal is to escape your own frigid temperatures … well, you’re out of luck here.)

So, I’m going to get into our own trip in a minute but just off the bat I want to make a few recommendations for visiting Budapest in winter for anyone considering a trip.

What to do in Budapest in winter (with kids)

1. Visit the Flippermúzeum, the Budapest Pinball Museum. (DON’T MISS!)
2. Marvel at the Capital Circus of Budapest (and check out Hero’s Square en route)
3. Hop aboard a Danube river cruise (preferably in the evening)
4. Tour the Hungarian Parliament
5. Visit the Miniversum, a kid-friendly museum with scale models of Budapest and more
6. Ice skate at City Park 
7. Pop into St. Stephen’s Basilica 
8. Warm up at the thermal baths or, better yet, kid-friendly Aqua World
9. Visit Buda Castle and the Fisherman’s Bastion
10. Ride the Budapest Eye 
11. EAT! 

If you are not headed to Budapest with kids in tow, of course, there are even more options to choose from. My recommendations would be hitting the Thermal Beer Spa and trying out one or more of the 10 best ruin bars in Budapest!

Given that we arrived on Saturday just after noon and left at 4 a.m. on Tuesday morning, we unsurprisingly didn’t make it to every single one of these. But — perhaps helped by the fact that crowds are probably at their lowest in Budapest in January — we did a ton and honestly could have fit in more if we wanted to do more running.

As for that last one bullet point … oh man. Guys. Everyone told me that the thing to do in Budapest was to eat, and I was interested but a smidge skeptical since I previously couldn’t pick Hungarian food out of a lineup. HOLY COW IT WAS SO GOOD. If you are just here for recommendations on what to eat in Budapest, please head to the bottom of this post for a list of places you MUST consider. But I really doubt you’ll get a bad meal anywhere because seriously — EVERYTHING WAS SO GOOD.*

*Worth noting: this isn’t just the pregnancy talking, Chris totally agreed with me. And even our kids ate! A trip where both kids ate their meal every damn time is seriously a minor miracle for us, especially when it comes to Owen.

Budapest in January: our experience

1. Flippermúzeum. One of the first recommendations we received from friends who’ve been to Budapest with kids was to visit the Budapest Pinball Museum. The name is a touch misleading, as while I guess you could call it a “museum” in the sense that they have machines that date back decades, unlike other museums you go there specifically to play on them! For a flat fee of 3000 Hungarian forints for adults and 2000 for kids (about 9.5 and 6.3 euro, respectively), you get admission and can play as long as you want. Some of the machines are a little tall for younger kids, but they do helpfully have a bunch of stools hanging around that you can snag. I’d suggest going right after opening like we did, as it wasn’t very crowded.

   

   Owen has been talking about this place nonstop ever since we got back, particularly a video game where he got to shoot at skeletons. We were there for a few hours and I think he would have happily stayed there for the rest of the day (if his parents weren’t driven out by hunger, ha). I seriously could not recommend this place more highly if you are headed to Budapest with kids, or with adults who want to indulge in some nostalgia. NOTE: Be aware that the Flippermúzeum is closed on Monday and Tuesday.

2. Capital Circus of Budapest. This was a last-minute addition to our Budapest itinerary after Chris heard a rave review from a coworker who’d recently taken his young kids to Budapest. We bought tickets for the 7 p.m. Saturday evening show on Friday night online, and while tickets were limited (particularly for the Sunday afternoon show) they still had some available. Another low-season perk! I’m not sure I’ve ever been to a circus so I didn’t really know what to expect, but the kids loved it. It was heavy on aerial acrobatics, fire and magic, with some clowning in there as well that the kids found funny even if they couldn’t understand it.

   

   We bought tickets pretty close to the front, but honestly I’d say you could safely save some money and sit higher up without sacrificing the experience, as the ring isn’t huge. Plus it will save you some embarrassment when your kid inevitably insists she needs to pee 10 seconds before the show is supposed to start and you have to push through the acrobats gathered in the doorway to make their dramatic entrance. Kids, man. NOTE: The circus is closed on Monday and Tuesday. 

   

   The Capital Circus is within City Park in Budapest, which is also right next to Hero’s Square. As such, we were able to lump those two together on our first day in Budapest.

   Hero’s Square, one of the major square in Budapest, is known for this statue complex that features the seven chieftains of the Magyars (the tribes that arrived in Hungary in 895) and some other important Hungarian figures, as well as the Memorial Stone of Heroes.

   

   3. Danube River Cruise. This was actually one of my favorite activities of the trip, and honestly it is perfect for any Budapest in winter itinerary because the boats are enclosed by glass and perfectly warm. I recommend going after sunset because seeing the buildings lit up were just absolutely stunning.

   

   There are tons of options for companies that do Danube River boat rides, but we went with Legenda’s Danube Legend boat for the 5 p.m. cruise. It was 5,900 forint per adult (about 18.50 euro) and free for kids 9 and younger, and included a drink for everyone.

   

   4. Hungarian Parliament. Funny story: this is one of the things I absolutely recommend you tour, but the actual experience was kind of miserable for us. Our kids are usually reasonably well behaved, but I will freely admit they were whiny little jerks during our tour. Part of the problem was the timing though, so that one is on me. Without thinking about the fact that we’d be marching them around all morning, I signed us up for the last English tour of the day at 3:30 p.m. Sunday. So, this happened:

   

   THAT SAID … I do honestly believe that this is a great option if you are visiting Budapest with kids, especially in winter (since again, warm! and indoors!). The tour is only 45 minutes long, and the Hungarian Parliament is stunning inside and out. If our kids weren’t so tired and in such foul moods, I really think they would have loved it — especially since we got to see the Holy Crown of Hungary, which dates back to the 1070s. AND because of the timing of our visit, we got to see the guards with their swords march off. Unfortunately, you can’t take pictures in that particular area.

   Chamber of Deputies.

   If you are at the Parliament building, you may also want to pop by Shoes on the Danube before or after. It commemorates the 3,500 people murdered by the Hungarian fascist Arrow Cross militiamen at the end of WWII. The victims were ordered to take off their shoes and then shot into the river. Keep a tight grip on the kids though: there are no barriers to keep them from tumbling into the river.

   

   5. Miniversum. We had our doubts about this one, but it really ended up being cute. It is an interactive museum that has scale models of Budapest, Vienna and some other German cities, complete with little figures doing things like marching in the streets. Plus a few random surprises, like an Imperial Walker hanging out in Pest.

   

   There are a ton of buttons the kids can press that will trigger lights, trains, helicopters and more, which is super fun! For the adults, there is information to read about Budapest — like that a hot spring underneath the Hero’s Square supplies the thermal baths in City Park and the hippos’ pond at the Budapest Zoo (also in City Park). 

   6. Ice skating at City Park. This is actually one we didn’t do, as we didn’t know about it ahead of time and thus weren’t prepared. But if you are heading to Budapest in winter and want to really lean into the winter experience, this seems like the thing to do!

   

   In the background, you can see the Vajdahunyad Castle, which was built in 1896 as part of the Millennial Exhibition. Inside is home to the Hungarian Agricultural Museum, and I guess various events are held there as well. We briefly walked through it, but the biggest highlight for Fi was seeing a couple taking what I’m guessing were engagement photos (based on the very frilly pink dress and the poses) because she kept talking about seeing a “princess.”

   7. St. Stephen’s Basilica. Completed in 1905, this church is tied with Hungarian Parliament building as the tallest in Budapest. It also is home to the right arm of St. Stephen, the first king of Hungary.

   

   We meant to stop by at some point while we were in Budapest, but happened to run into it as we were en route to our lunch restaurant. It is a donation-based entrance fee, and worth popping into for sure. 

    

   8. Thermal baths. Visiting Budapest’s famous thermal baths was high on my list for this trip, but ended up not working out. I wanted to go to the famous Széchenyi Thermal Bath — which seems perfect for Budapest in winter because WARM — but while kids aren’t specifically barred, they are “not recommended” for children until 14. I would have gone anyway, but while my OB said I could definitely go in, she didn’t recommend staying too long in the hot water. So, going on my own seemed a bit pointless. That said, if you a heading to Budapest with kids and want the thermal bath experience, I’d suggest looking into AquaWorld, which was recommended highly by some friends of ours. It is basically a combination of a thermal bath and an indoor water park, with slides and other fun stuff (but be aware most slides require kids to be at least 140 cm tall). You can stay there overnight at the hotel, or just get a day pass to visit. Next time we go, it will definitely be on our list!

9. Buda Castle and Fisherman’s Bastion. This is another one we didn’t make it to, unfortunately. We had time Monday, but after Sunday’s late afternoon fiasco we decided it would be best to have the kids take a nap. (They fell asleep instantly, as did Chris and I, so it was a good call all around). Nevertheless, I’d definitely like to visit there on our next trip to Budapest.

Buda Castle has a funicular up to the top, then inside there are seven museums, including the Hungarian National Gallery and House of Houdini. NOTE: Most of these museums are closed on Mondays. 

Fisherman’s Bastion,a Game-of-Thrones-looking terrace with seven towers to represent the seven tribes who settled in Hungary in 895, was another place we considered visiting, along with the opulent Matthias Church nearby. Apparently the panoramic views up there are spectacular. Next visit!

10. Budapest Eye. We walked right past this, but didn’t stop to ride because it was late and, uh, I was hungry again. I’m basically always hungry.So our last bullet point was eating, but since I’ve made it abundantly clear that was an important facet of this trip (#31weeks) we’ll do a whole separate section for that…

Where to eat in Budapest with kids

We did not have a bad meal the entire time we were in Budapest, which is basically amazing! (That includes the McDonald’s we ate Saturday night because it was 250 meters from our apartment and the circus went way later than we expected, ha!)We tried some traditional favorites like chicken paprikash and goulash, but my absolute favorite were these little dumpling-like noodles that came as a side dish with a lot of the food. It’s been days and I’m still dreaming of them.

One thing we noticed about restaurants in Budapest was that they were extremely family friendly. We never ask restaurants to bring the kids’ food out first these days as they’ve learned to wait and eat at the same time as us, but it seemed to be standard operating procedure in Budapest. They also didn’t seem to mind at all that we split the meals for the kids, and brought it pre-portioned out on separate plates. Seems small, but it was just nice.

Also? Prices in Budapest were fantastic.

Our favorites: 

1. Frici Papa. This was the first place we went, and one of the best! It was also crazy cheap — we had appetizers, a meal and drinks and it came out to about 25 euro.
2. Kandallo Pub. This one was recommended by friends, and it was AWESOME! Craft beer and excellent burgers.

   

   3. Menza. This was probably the fanciest restaurant we went to, but we didn’t feel out of place with the kids (or the million layers of clothes we wearing because, again, Budapest in winter). Big milestone: Owen ordered a chicken salad and actually ate it.

   4. Porc & Prezli. This is the restaurant that was right next to the St. Stephen’s Basilica, and it was fantastic. The servers here were especially kind to the kids.

   

Where we stayed in Budapest

We were very impressed with the reasonable prices for apartments (no doubt because January is the low season) when we started looking for a place to stay. We ended up with this excellent 2-bedroom apartment in a great area, right near a ton of great restaurants, for $56/night. We chose to stay on the Pest side the river, as it is the more touristy area and close to the things we wanted to see.

If you haven’t tried AirBnB yet, I’d suggest giving it a try and taking $40 off your first booking by using my referral link! AirBnB can be a mixed bag (definitely read reviews carefully, guys!) but we definitely prefer apartments vs. hotels when traveling with kids.

Final advice for visiting Budapest in winter:

1. This should go without saying, but definitely dress warmly. I’d suggest layers. For our kids, we ended up having them wear several shirts, plus leggings or pajama pants under their jeans.
2. Know ahead of time what you want to do — if you are going ice skating, for example, you probably want to consider having snow pants with you. Planning your day ahead of time means you can group activities in a logical order based on proximity: Heroes Square and City Park, for example.
3. Pay attention to closure days — quite a lot of activities are closed on Mondays, for example.
4. Download the Taxify app. We usually like to walk everywhere (and still do that even in winter because it is a good way to keep warm!) but cold weather had us jumping into more taxis. You do NOT want to hail a cab off the street, so you need to call one of the official agencies or use an app like Taxify (operates just like Uber, but Uber isn’t allowed in Budapest).

So, I guess that about does it for this recap! Overall, Budapest was a great winter weekend destination for us — and it lived up to the hype!