Sightseeing Tours in Budapest

Ivan is a great guide - hugely knowledgable on the subject and has some fascinating stories to bring to life the cold war era as you walk around beautiful Budapest.

From the beginning, Ivan had us hooked with tales of the people involved on both sides and how the various move and counter-move activities between the East and West played out - honey-traps, bribery and general coercion tactics.

If you are interested in a unique way to explore the city, absorb the history of the cold war and how it affected Budapest whilst having genuinely interesting conversations about people and politics (including the current state of European affairs (Brexit, Orban, popularism etc.) - you'll be in good hands with Ivan.

I grew up in Hungary and have lived in Budapest for almost 10 years now, however, I could learn a lot of interesting facts about architecture and gastronomy. The two ladies who held the tour were absolutely prepared and chose very good stops for tasting where not the most popular bites could be tasted (e.g. sausage) but unique specialties of Hungary. If you would like to get know, what they are, join the tour, I'm pretty sure you won't mind it! ;)

Ferenc is a charismatic and eloquent and hugely knowledgeable guide. He is great at answering specific questions and offers rich personal insights into Hungarian life. The retro cafe was a highlight! I did the trip as a research project but I would recommend it warmly to anyone who really wants to get to know Budapest.

We were picked up at our hotel by Alex, a very courteous and informative tour guide. He answered all our questions and didn't overwhelm us with info and we learned so Much!!! Interesting was the fact his grandparents had lived thru the Holocaust, some in the ghetto and some in hiding. We visited the synagogue and gardens, the ghetto, parliament and also the Shoes on the Danube monument. I would highly recommend this tour as part of your Budapest trip.

What an incredible tour with a fabulous tour guide, Patricia. The information provided was outstanding. We extended our tour with Patricia for an extra hour and a half, and saw the Jewish Quarter in depth. Patricia went above and beyond, pointing out places of interest in a knowledgeable and humorous way.
I would highly recommend this tour.

Although it took some time to locate the group who were joining our walking tour, once we got going it was very good, with Borsca a knowledgeable guide. First the museum, with a good outline of Jewish traditions and holidays, and then the Great Synagogue. The cemetery and gardens are a reminder of a dark period of history which must never be forgotten. As part of the Grand Tour, we then walked through the Jewish Quarter, now home to many trendy cafes and bars, a beautiful Art Nouveau Synagogue, finishing up with cake. Highly recommended.

We did the Jewish Grand Tour with Petra. She was fabulous, and the tour was great. I was initially concerned as Petra is not Jewish (although her great-grandfather (I think) was), but she was very knowledgeable about the area and the history of the Jews in Budapest and Hungary. Petra was engaging and had a good sense of humor (only when appropriate). I am very glad I had the opportunity to see the Dohany Synagogue and the other parts of the complex.. I was particularly moved by the Weeping Willow (Holocaust) memorial. The Museum was interesting -note that Petra was not our guide on this part of the tour but turned us over to a Museum guide who was quite good. We also went to an Orthodox synagogue, which was beautiful and interesting. In addition to being a great guide, Petra gave us advice about what else to see in Budapest, which was quite helpful. I highly recommend the Grand Tour and Petra.

We booked this tour and were disappointed that the tour guide finished early after 1 1/2 hrs. We also felt we didn’t get as much food as expected - one shared main, one pastry, one pickle and one flatbread to share. The guide was lovely, had perfect English & was very chatty/friendly but we didn’t feel this was value for money.

I would recommend this tour to everyone that is interested in Hungarian cuisine and the Great Market Hall. The tour is super interesting and you will be able to taste traditional Hungarian food at the same time you will learn about them. The girls are very knowledgeable and passionate. I had a great experience!

Reka was a fabulous tour guide! She knows Budapest inside and out. She showed us sights we had read about and many that we hadn't heard of. She has a through understanding of Budapest history and the ability to make it come alive. Touring the city with her was very enjoyable. Even her dinner recommendations were spot on.

My husband, and me booked two tours with Urban walks -Ruins and Bars, and Budapest Urban Walk. By coincidence we were the only ones taking the group tours on that day so it was like a private tour! We really appreciate that Urban Walks did not charge us extra and still gave us a great time. The pick ups, the drop off, schedules, etc went so smoothly.These walks were definitely the highlight of our trip!
Reka was our guide for the Budapest Urban Walk. She is so passionate about her city. She gave us a wonderful insight into the history of Budapest, also told us a lot of fun titbits. We had an amazing coffee and pastry stop in between the tour We went back there twice!). Before we knew it 4 hours were up! We were sad to see her go! Also Reka gave us recommendations to superb restaurants, cafes, even baths (we did gellert) and cruises (legenda evening cruise). It's like she had our back throughout the trip.
Our guide for the Ruins and Bars tour was Andrew. He was so much fun and easy to be with. He took us to unique bars that only a local would know. We had amazing crafted beers, liquors, food (must try Langos) and conversation! Egeszegedre!
If anyone is looking for these kind of activities in Budapest just go with Urban Walks blindly, they are simply the best!

We arrived in Budapest a couple of days before our river cruise ship would pick us up and so we had some time to book a walking food tour of Budapest. Daniel of Budapest Urban Walks arranged to have Andrew give us a couple hours introducing us to Hungarian wines and foods. Andrew gave an excellent tour and he was clearly knowledgeable about the local food scene. I'm not much of a wine drinker but I did appreciate the wine tasting we had at a local restaurant; we tasted three Hungarian wines (I really like the Tokaj wine). As an additional treat (although time was limited), this particular restaurant had a nice little museum in the basement! We tried the street food "langos" which we saw many folks eating as they were walking about. Finally, we had a sampler lunch at a restaurant which had excellent food; my favorite was this cold fruit soup which was absolutely delicious! By the end of this experience, we were stuffed! So make sure to properly time this tour (keep this in mind if you have already planned for a big lunch or dinner). Overall, I would highly recommend Budapest Urban Walks. Their tour guides are so friendly, caring and helpful. They are quite knowledgeable about their city and its history and they are clearly proud to be part of it!

Decided to take the Hoppy Hours tour to kick off our three nights in Budapest and it was a GREAT way to start our time in the city. We lucked out and had the tour to ourselves along with Ferenc our guide who could not have been better! Basically, it was like having a local friend for the night to show us the best spots to grab locally crafted beer, street food spots, pubs and ruin bars. The conversation drifted from history to the local beer/culinary scene, tourism, politics and where to spend time during the rest of our trip. Ferenc was super friendly, knowledgeable and made the whole experience a five star night. Definitely recommend the tour and would likely do it again if we return. There was lots of food to go along with the tour too!

We booked 3 walking tours with Budapest Urban Walks.

Our 3 guides (Reka, Ferenc & Raymond) were excellent and had their individual strengths which suited each tour.

The Street Food tour was some fun with a wide variety of dishes from different nationalities. Ferenc knew his local food haunts and he took us to some of his favourite places, which included trying some Hungarian favourite dishes.

Raymond (Budapest Urban Walk) was young, enthusiastic and knew his history well, and told us some interesting information and stories about various historical characters.

Reka (on the Fools & Kings tour) took us around the castle area of Buda. We enjoyed her company and found her to be very friendly and personable. She asked us what sort of things we are interested in (history, architecture, culture etc) and aimed our tour at our interests. Reka is a delight.

Most of my correspondence was with Reka and she could not have been any more helpful, offering their help with anything during our stay. I felt like they “had our back” while we were in Budapest.

Reka also made an anniversary dinner reservation for us, as well as providing a welcomed list of other suggestions.

What I really appreciated was that they accepted our bookings on the small group tours, and only charged these prices even though we ended up having private tours (as no one else had booked the same tours on the same days). Not all companies do this!

I recommend this company for their excellent customer service and great local knowledge.

This was a wonderful tour and information! The level of detail was phenomenal and gave us a rich background of Budapest and its past. It was the top tour of our trip, thanks to the individual attention provided by and and lovely personality of our fabulous guide, Reka!

Anita our guide arrived on time to start our Born Under the Red Star Tour. Anita was extremely engaging and personable. Armed with some picture reference books we were thoroughly engaged. We saw and learnt so much in those 3 hours with Anita’s expert knowledge. Travelling on the old metro train, coffee at a traditional Budapest cafe, discovering old Communist buildings and enjoying another drink later on at the retro Trabant Lounge- which was great fun. It was a great tour, well paced for weary legs and very interesting. Great job Anita !

This area is full of bars with many different themes. All are decorated in wild decor, too unusual to describe. There are different rooms with different bars, a wine bar, outdoor area...lots of fun.

We visited Budapest in late March and decided that we would book a tour with Budapest Urban walks on the recommendation of a friend. I cannot speak highly enough of our tour, We combined a gastronomy& wine tour with the history tour. it was amazing. Ferenc was really helpful when we emailed to book and also with general information about Budapest. He even arranged pickup from the airport. Reka our guide was extremely knowledgeable and no matter what question we asked about the history and culture of Budapest she was able to answer. Her love of and pride in her native city shines through. No script required!! I would urge every visitor to Budapest to make a trip with Budapest Urban Walks their first priority. It will enhance every else they do in this beautiful vibrant city. Thanks guys.

Go as a client, leave as a friend: book a tour! Budapest Urban Walks was very responsive in scheduling, and they will make any of the tours just what you want. You will get lots of interesting insights about Budapest and great tips on where to go after yours tour.

I had the privilege of doing 3 private tours with 'Budapest Urban Walks'. I contacted them even before starting the trip stating my preferences and Réka prepared me a set of tours fully adjusted to what I wanted and my availability.
During the exchange of emails I realized at once that 'Budapest Urban Walks' was different, and it really is.
I did The Bright Lights of Budapest (with Christmas Markets) in the company of Gabriela; Then, next day morning, with Anita, Fools and Kings and, in the third morning, Ferenc took me to visit The Jewish Quarter (including Ruin Bars and Urban Art).
All tours far exceeded my best expectations. Budapest is a unique city and 'Budapest Urban Walks' is unique too! . It would be impossible to discover by myself so many hidden gems as impossible would also be to learn, just by reading, as much as each and every one of them taught me. This wonderful team has an immense knowledge about Budapest and deeply love their city. I started each tour with a guide who in the end was already a friend.
I have not yet mentioned it, but I think it's important - they always came to pick me up at my hotel and it was at the hotel that the tour ended.
Thank you very much for everything, Réka, Gabi, Anita and Ferenc. I hope to welcome you in Lisbon as you promised me.