Which bath. Széchenyi in the City Park is the one in the photographs: 13,200 Ft on weekdays with a locker, 14,800 Ft on Fridays and weekends, a cabin 1,000 Ft more. Weekends from noon are shoulder to shoulder; go at opening or after 6 p.m., or use the weekday morning ticket (10,500 Ft before 9 a.m.). Rudas, under Gellért Hill, has the Ottoman pool and the rooftop tub: 12,000 Ft on weekdays, 15,000 Ft Friday to Sunday, night bathing on Friday and Saturday sold online only; its Turkish bath is women only on Tuesday and men only on Wednesday. Lukács is the locals’ bath, quieter and cheaper. Gellért closed for renovation on October 1, 2025 and is due back in 2028.
Bath rules. Swimwear everywhere, slippers compulsory, a cap only in the lap pools where the sign shows one. A locker takes a backpack; a cabin takes a suitcase and locks with your wristband.
Forint, not euros. A euro price is converted at the seller’s rate, so ask for the forint price and pay that. Card terminals offer to charge in your currency; press no and let your bank convert. Skip the zero-commission exchange offices on Váci utca and use a bank ATM.
BKK tickets. A one-way ticket is 500 Ft (700 Ft on board) and must be validated as you board or at the metro gate. The 24-hour travelcard (2,750 Ft) and the 72-hour (5,750 Ft) need no validation and pay after six rides; buy them in the BudapestGO app. The airport bus 100E needs its own 2,500 Ft ticket; travelcards are not valid on it.
Parliament. Tours run most days except when the house sits; book on jegymester.hu a week or two ahead in summer and bring the passport you booked with. EEA citizens pay 7,000 Ft, everyone else 14,000 Ft.
Ruin bars. Szimpla Kert on Kazinczy utca is open late every night, free to enter, with a farmers’ market on Sunday morning. The street is residential and the quiet rule after 10 p.m. is enforced, so take the party inside.
Market, tipping, the river. The Great Market Hall opens from 6 a.m. on weekdays until early evening and until mid-afternoon on Saturday; treat Sunday as closed. Check the bill before tipping: most restaurants add 12 to 15 percent, and when it is there nothing more is due; otherwise 10 to 15 percent. One Danube cruise at dusk, the hour-long boat, is enough.
On the day. Carry a few thousand forint in bills for the market and the 100E in case the machine is down. The bath, Parliament and BKK tickets are all QR codes; save them in Waystop’s Documents before you leave the hotel.