Budapest is rolling out a packed 2026 calendar of themed city walks on both banks of the Danube, with expert guides leading you through grand monuments, hidden courtyards, fin-de-siècle lobbies, synagogue-lined lanes, and legendary bathhouses. Families, friends, and team-building groups can jump in on guaranteed tours across Buda and Pest, where iconic architecture and street-level lore come alive from morning to late evening.
The program launches on February 28 and runs into March with dense daily lineups. Many tours repeat across times and dates, so you can lock in a slot that fits. Highlights include multiple entries into 17 Szabadság Square (Szabadság tér 17) — once the Stock Exchange Palace, later the state television HQ — plus intimate organ tours with a mini concert, lavish hotel walkthroughs, and neighborhood stories from the Jewish Quarter to Angyalföld.
The first Saturday starts strong with a string of “From Stock Exchange Palace to TV Headquarters” (Tőzsdepalotából tévészékház) — the guided entry to 17 Szabadság Square (Szabadság tér 17) — at 09:00, 09:45, 10:30, 12:00, 12:45, and 13:30. Also at 10:00, “Rendezvous with the Queen of Instruments” (Randevú a hangszerek királynőjével) takes you inside a downtown organ tour capped by a mini concert. Running at the same time: “Adria Palace: Atlantis Above Ground” (Adria-palota: Atlantisz a föld felett), exploring the revived Adria Palace, and “Word on the Street…” (Azt beszélik a városban…), a crime-and-gossip walk through Budapest’s juiciest urban legends. At 15:00, “Párisi Udvar: A Luxury Dream” (A Párisi Udvar álom luxuskivitelben) opens the doors of the opulent Párisi Udvar Hotel’s crystal-and-Zsolnay fantasy interior.
Sunday repeats the 17 Szabadság Square (Szabadság tér 17) entries at 09:00, 09:45, 12:00, 12:45, and 14:15. At 10:00, “Stories from the Synagogue Triangle” (Történetek a zsinagóga háromszögből) leads you through the synagogue triangle of the Pest Jewish Quarter. Adria Palace returns at 14:00, while Párisi Udvar tours run at 11:00 and 15:00. Night owls can plan ahead for the week: March 2 brings “Budapest Quiz Station” (BUDAPEST KVÍZÁLLOMÁS), a city-themed quiz night at 18:00.
On March 5, Párisi Udvar returns at 17:30, followed by “The Great Gundel Story” (A nagy Gundel-sztori) at 18:00, a deep dive into Budapest’s first family of hospitality and what makes legendary service tick. March 7 layers the choices: “Literary Walk in the Palace District” (Irodalmi séta a Palotanegyedben) at 10:00 maps literature onto the Palace District; “Sweet Life” (Édes élet) at 10:30 chases the city’s sweet-tooth history; Adria Palace and Párisi Udvar both at 11:00; and a run of 17 Szabadság Square (Szabadság tér 17) entries at 13:00, 14:00, and 15:00, plus a 15:00 return to Párisi Udvar.
March 8 stacks the day: the Jewish Quarter walk at 10:00; multiple 17 Szabadság Square (Szabadság tér 17) entries at 10:00, 11:00, 13:00, 14:00, and 15:00; Adria Palace at 14:00; Párisi Udvar at 15:00 and 16:30; and “B as in Ballet, W as in W Budapest” (B, mint balett, W, mint W Budapest) at 12:30, charting the rebirth of an iconic building now housing W Budapest and spotlighting its ballet-era stories. March 9 zooms in on women’s lives a century ago with “Intimate Secrets at the Turn of the Century” (Intim titkok a századfordulón) at 18:00. March 10 serves “A Taste of Italy” (Kóstoló Olaszországból) at 17:30 with tastes from Pomo D’Oro and tales from the past, the Gellért’s grand saga at 18:00, and an after-hours exclusive building tour of Matthias Church (Mátyás-templom exkluzív épületbejárás) at 19:00 for a rare, closed-door church visit.
Párisi Udvar repeats March 12 at 17:30, followed by another after-hours Matthias Church tour at 19:00. On March 13, raise a glass to “Once Upon a Millennium” (Volt egyszer egy Millennium) with historian Csaba Katona (Katona Csaba). The March 14–15 weekend is stacked: rolling entries to 17 Szabadság Square (Szabadság tér 17), Párisi Udvar slots at 11:00, 15:00, and 16:30, Adria Palace at 14:00, and repeat runs of the W Budapest–ballet story tour at 12:30. March 16 unlocks “Tales of a Turkish Bath” (Egy törökfürdő meséje), a rare walkthrough of the closed Király Thermal Bath, and a deep history of the former national psychiatric institute in “Once There Was a Yellow House” (Volt egyszer egy Sárga Ház) at 18:00.
March 17 revisits “Intimate Secrets” and an after-hours Matthias Church tour. March 18 asks “Diva and Nightingale: What Is a Woman Worth If…?” (Díva és csalogány: Mennyi az ára a nőnek, ha…?). On March 19, pair Párisi Udvar with another Millennium evening and a late church tour. March 20 returns to the Gundel story. March 21 is a festival of choices: 17 Szabadság Square (Szabadság tér 17) slots from morning to late afternoon; “Sercli,” a flour-to-bakery gastro-walk; “B as in Ballet” in multiple time slots; “From Synagogue to Fencing Hall” (Zsinagógából vívóterem) in Angyalföld on a forgotten Jewish quarter turned fencing hall; “Secret Gardens and Courtyards” (Titkos kertek és terek) unveiling hidden downtown courtyards; “Urban Codebreaking” (Városi kódfejtés) decoding Andrássy Avenue’s (Andrássy út) palatial facades; Párisi Udvar at 11:00, 13:00, and 15:00; and Adria Palace at 14:00. On March 22, step into “Nyugati Railway Station” (Nyugati pályaudvar) at 09:30 with a foray into the Royal Waiting Room, then choose among Adria Palace, the synagogue triangle, 17 Szabadság Square (Szabadság tér 17), and another W Budapest–ballet session at 10:00.
Hundreds of dates are on the books — 310 listings and counting — and many tours recur with different start times. That means you can mix a morning palace entry, a midday café stop, and an afternoon deep dive into hidden green pockets, then cap it with an evening church tour or a quiz night. Programs may change, and times can shift, so check your chosen slot before you go. Pack good shoes, bring your curiosity, and get ready to see both Pest and Buda from the ground up.
The organizers reserve the right to change programs and schedules.