Budapest "Must See" Sights

[malibuca]

My husband and I are planning a trip to Paris, Prague, Budapest and Vienna. Since the only city that I have researched in depth so far is Budapest, that is what I am asking about here. We are spending 4 nights in Budapest -- 3 full days of sightseeing, and we have arranged for morning tours with private guides 2 of our 3 days. With the guides we will be visiting:

1) Buda for the Castle District with Matthias Church and Fisherman's Bastion
2) Gellert Hill (Citadel) for the most spectacular view of Budapest
3) Heroes' Square (City Park)
4) Hungarian Parliament
5) Dohany Street Synagogue and Jewish Museum
6) Central (Great) Market Hall

On Our Own, we plan to visit the following:

1) Walk Andrassy Ut between Deak Ter and Heroes' Square
2) Opera House
3) House of Terror
4) Heroes' Square (more extensively)
5) Museum of Fine Arts (if time allows)
6) Walk along the Danube embankment in Pest
7) St. Istvan's (Stephen's) Basilica
8) Cross the Chain Bridge on foot and take the funicular up to Buda to again enjoy the view and wander around the Royal Palace (if time permits)
9) Walk Vaci Ucta and nearby streets
10) Central (Great) Market Hall (if we want to see more than time permits with the guide)

What other "must sees" are we missing?

I would also be interested in seeing anything highly worthwhile that is "off the beaten path."

I have read about Statue Park (within Memento Park.) Is that worth visiting? Where should I try and put it in this itinerary? Is it a place where I should have our guide take us?

Is there anything on my itinerary that you would eliminate?

Thanks for the advice!

[Eagle]

malibuca,

First of all, welcome to the Boards!

Depending on your interests and your budget, one possibility you might consider would be to tour some of the main sights via a Segway Transporter. It's quite a unique way to travel around, but it's possible that at least some of the sights would have already been covered on the tours with local Guides. Have a look at citysegwaytours.com/budapest for details and costs.

With only four nights in Budapest and the number of sights you've already listed, I'm not sure you'll have time for visiting too many "off the beaten path" locations.

Hopefully some of the others in the group will have some ideas.

Happy travels!

[pkpled]

I recommend some time relaxing in one or more of the many thermal baths. We did the Szechenyi Thermal Baths in March and loved it. It's in the city park amidst other attractions, has amazing architecture and is a wonderful way to relax local style. I know there are some other nice baths with different style and pros so I think it is something very unique to Budapest that you should check out.