Private Guided Tours of Budapest with Attila!
A Budapest resident for the past 23 years, Attila is still in love with his city and he takes every opportunity to explore a new corner of it and discover new hidden gems.
On every tour that he leads, Attila focuses on showing travelers an authentic, local side of Budapest, which goes beyond the sights in the guidebooks and takes you far from the crowds.
The founder of an alternative sightseeing company, Attila leads walking tours that focus on street art, off-the-beaten-path neighborhoods, and authentic Budapest. If you want to explore the local side of Budapest - culture, history, street art, and the city’s secret places - then you've come to the right person!
Check out a few of Attila’s most popular tours below.
Highlights and Hidden Gems of Budapest
Duration: 3 hours
Cost: $300 USD (per group)
Price includes: Your guide, one drink (coffee, wine, beer) per person
Max participants: 8
Note: All tours are private (only you and your group)
Cancellation Policy: Read our full terms here
The perfect introduction to Budapest for any first time visitor, this tour combines a mix of the city’s most iconic sights and landmarks with lesser-known spots that only the locals know about.
While exploring the city center, we’ll discuss Budapest’s history from the times of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (and before!) through to the modern day, we’ll admire its fabulous architecture and grand squares and boulevards, and will venture a bit off the beaten path to get a taste for what makes this one of the cultural hubs of central Europe.
We’ll meet in the heart of downtown Budapest, undoubtedly the liveliest district in the city, and will make our way over to the iconic St. Stephen's Basilica before heading to the city’s most iconic sight: the ornate and breathtaking neo-Gothic Hungarian Parliament.
From there, we’ll move on to the monumental Liberty Square, which has its own significant history and is lined by grand buildings in a variety of architectural styles.
Next up is the dynamic Jewish Quarter, where we’ll see the Dohány Street Synagogue (the largest in Europe), a mix of well-preserved and crumbling Austro-Hungarian era buildings, and more trendy ruin bars than you can count. Here, we’ll delve into Budapest’s WWII and communist history, some of which is quite dark, and will learn how the neighborhood has evolved and the heavy gentrification that it’s experiencing today.
Now, having just seen some of the city’s main sights, it’s time to experience a more local side of Budapest. To that end, we’ll stop by a downtown courtyard that has some great local art to check out and a really interesting design collective, and will explore boutiques and workshops run by local designers.
We’ll also hunt down a collection of really interesting mini statues that were designed by a guerilla sculptor and which are hidden in plain sight all around the downtown.
We’re going to be walking a fair deal on this tour, so along the way we’ll pop in to one of my favorite local coffeehouses to grab a coffee and refuel our energy.
The Jewish Quarter - Past and Present
Duration: 3 hours
Cost: $300 USD (per group)
Price includes: Your guide, one drink (coffee, wine, beer) per person
Max participants: 8
Note: All tours are private (only you and your group)
Cancellation Policy: Read our full terms here
The Jewish Quarter (District VII) is the place that everyone talks about when they visit Budapest, and that’s with good reason: this is probably the city’s most intriguing district, an area with a dark history but a lively, vibrant, and energetic present.
This was the center of Jewish life in Budapest for centuries, and it was a thriving community until World War II, when the area was turned into a ghetto, hollowing out the neighborhood and an entire community. Following the war, the neighborhood was heavily neglected and it fell into serious disrepair.
But then, in the 2000’s, something changed: underground bars, now called “ruin bars”, started popping up, repurposing abandoned old buildings and turning them into eclectic bars, often spanning multiple floors. From this point on, the area rapidly evolved into the nightlife hub and center for alternative arts and culture that it is today.
During our tour, we’ll discuss all of this as we wander the neighborhood’s streets, touring its most important landmarks, buildings, and sights, hunting down its coolest street art, and visiting unique local businesses. Of course, any visit to the Jewish Quarter must include a stop in at one of its iconic ruin bars, as these are the places that turned the district into the hotspot it is today.
By the end of the tour, you’ll have a much better understanding of the neighborhood’s history, the impacts of gentrification, and Budapest’s unique underground culture and how the party got started here.
Undiscovered Budapest - District VIII
Duration: 3 hours
Cost: $300 USD (per group)
Price includes: Your guide, one drink (coffee, wine, beer) per person
Max participants: 8
Note: All tours are private (only you and your group)
Cancellation Policy: Read our full terms here
Right on the eastern edge of the the Jewish Quarter and only a few minutes’ walk from all the big sights, Budapest’s District VIII feels a world away.
Once a posh quarter filled with striking palatial buildings, this area fell on hard times following World War II and devolved into a rather run-down part of town. It continued this way for decades, but in recent years the Palace District has come alive again, blossoming with quirky arts venues, cultural centers, and attractive cafes and restaurants popping up all the time.
The term “gentrification” often carries a negative connotation, but in District VIII, where an entire neighborhood’s rebirth is currently underway, it’s unquestionably a good thing, as the renovation has even left the quarter’s colorful charm intact.
This tour will introduce you to District VIII’s rapidly growing creative side, with visits to locally-run galleries, shops, cafes, and bars, giving you a look at authentic Budapest. Of course, we’ll also see our fair share of crumbling old buildings, some still bearing bullet holes from the 1956 revolution, as well as other historic sites.
This is one of my favorite areas of the city, and I love giving this tour. District VIII is a place where old and new beautifully collide, and a visit here is a chance to see local life and neighborhood revitalization happening in real time.
So, if you want to get a way from the crowds, have seen enough of Ruin Bars and partying in District VII (the Jewish Quarter), come explore the Palace District with me!
Discover Budapest’s Highlights Via the 7 Hidden Statues
Duration: 3 hours
Cost: $300 USD (per group)
Price includes: Your guide, public transport tickets, a coffee (per person)
Max participants: 8
Note: All tours are private (only you and your group)
Cancellation Policy: Read our full terms here
If you’re a fan of quirkier sightseeing tours and have an interest in art and history, I think this is the tour for you. This is essentially a tour of central Budapest, and while we’ll visit many of the city’s major attractions during our walk, we’ll do so with a very particular objective in mind: discovering the 7 mini statues built by the contemporary Ukranian-Hungarian sculptor Mykhailo Kolodko.
These statues, miniature in size and dwarfed by the iconic and towering monuments they’re “hidden” beside, present a fairly ironic contrast to their more famous counterparts’ huge scale. Some of them really are tiny (!) and they’re well-concealed in the urban environment, so it’s a real challenge and a lot of fun to find them.
Each artwork has its own meaning and background, and some of them represent important figures in Hungarian history, so our “scavenger hunt” to find them also presents an opportunity to learn about Budapest’s history, architecture, politics, and society.
And since the statues are located quite close to many of the most popular sights in Budapest, we’ll stop by those landmarks and monuments along the way and will learn more about them.
So let’s set off on a tour around the city to find the 7 statues!
Contemporary Budapest Through the Lens of Street Art
Duration: 3 hours
Cost: $300 USD (per group)
Price includes: Your guide, one drink (coffee, wine, beer) per person
Max participants: 8
Note: All tours are private (only you and your group)
Cancellation Policy: Read our full terms here
Contemporary Budapest is a wonderful thing to behold, and nothing gives you a better insight into this side of the city than its street art – a scene that’s been boldly growing and constantly pushing creative boundaries over the last few years.
On this tour, we’re going to give you an insider look at the history, the culture, and the creative context. Of course, the bulk of this tour will be spent looking at murals, graffitis and other forms of street art.
The more you explore, the more you’ll find, dotted around the otherwise bare walls of the city’s Jewish Quarter.
But, we’re not just here to take photos. We’ll discuss each piece, the themes and their socio-political background, themes and the artists behind them.
With local artists dominating the scene – and using their work to celebrate ideas and items that locals hold precious – you’ll find yourself getting an accidental lesson in history and culture.
And, to wrap things up, we’ll stop at a local coffee shop. Budapest’s café scene has transformed in the last few years – they are now vibrant hubs, serving artisanal coffee to the city’s young and creative – and this will be the perfect setting for us to sit and chat about what we’ve seen on the tour.
Custom Tours
Looking for something a bit different?
All of Attila’s tours can be fully customized to you, your interests, and travel style. If you’d like something totally unique, you can work one-on-one with Attila to co-create a one of a kind tour.
To get started, request a custom tour below and provide us some initial ideas about what you’re looking for. Attila will then reach out to you directly to start planning your tour together.