10 Best Things to Do for Couples in Budapest

The iconic Széchenyi Chain Bridge is among Budapest's most famous landmarks and offers an incredibly romantic view and experience, especially at night when the city lights spring to life. The brilliant whites, yellows, oranges, pinks and purples reflect off the water in a brilliant and peaceful rainbow of colour. This historic bridge opened in 1859 following the Hungarian Revolution and was the first permanent bridge in the city. This bridge still stands today and is widely considered one of the most romantic spots.

Not only is this a spot to enjoy beautiful views with the person you love the most, but it's also good for gorgeous social media photos. It's located right in the city centre.

Fisherman's Bastion is an iconic, historic castle in the heart of the Budapest city centre that offers stunning, romantic views of the entire city and great social media photo ops. This is the iconic spot in the city where couples come to enjoy the ancient history of this sprawling capital while also memorializing their trip with selfies galore. The best time to capture fantastic views is early in the morning.

At sunrise, not only is the sky stunning with its pink and red panorama, but the crowds are still sparse. Later in the day, the area gets packed with folks, so grab a cup of coffee and snuggle up to watch the sun come up before they arrive.

The Budapest Eye is a gigantic Ferris wheel in the heart of the city that offers an iconically romantic ride with unparalleled panoramic views of the city centre. The wheel is among the largest on the continent, rising 65 metres tall, and offers the chance to enjoy one of the most popular romantic experiences, sitting at the top of the world when the wheel rests for a few moments. While you steal away a few moments together, you can marvel at some of the city's most famed landmarks from a vantage point that can't be matched elsewhere.

A pro tip: head to the wheel when the crowds are thin. At these times you might also get a car all to yourselves.

The Budapest thermal baths offer a unique spa treatment where you can spend hours together getting pampered and treated like royalty in a fairy tale setting. The city offers several baths, with the Szechenyi and Gellert Baths among the most popular. Szechenyi offers the largest natural hot spring baths in Europe, with 18 thermal pools indoors and outdoors, and a full spa onsite with massages and other pampering treatments.

Gellert offers truly opulent surroundings with stunning mosaic tiles along the walls and floors in an authentic Art Nouveau architectural style setting. If you want to take your date night experience further, you can book a private thermal pool experience.

The Buda Castle Labyrinth in the city centre offers you the chance to learn about Budapest's darker history, particularly its relationship to Vlad the Impaler, the real-life Dracula. You'll cling to your partner while you wander through pitch-black corridors to get your pulse pounding, your blood pumping and your heart racing. The castle itself is surrounded by quaint, walkable cobbled streets and includes a Castle Museum, plus a wide range of streetside cafes and restaurants where you can take in history as you watch the people go by.

Whether you're in it for horror movie thrills or genuine history, you'll find worlds of fun here. You can even choose to take a guided tour with a local historian.

Danube River cruises offer a classically romantic experience viewing the city from the Danube River, spotting the many castles, bridges and the mix of medieval and modern that gives Budapest its character. You'll see the Fisherman's Bastion, the Parliament building and even Dracula's castle while you snuggle up to your beloved. You can go on cruises with just about any budget or timeframe, including affordable and quick trips as well as fully luxurious outings with music and dinner.

You can enjoy a quick hour-long cruise or a full-day trip over 8 hours or more. Cruises depart from several places all along the Danube in the city centre.

Gellért Hill offers a wide range of experiences to enjoy on your romantic trip, from tranquil historic buildings to capturing sunrise or sunset views. One popular pastime involves packing a blanket and a picnic and heading up the hill to enjoy a simple breakfast or supper and watch as the sky explodes into brilliant shades of blues, purples, pinks, reds and oranges. At the same time, you snuggle up together and maybe take a few photos.

At dawn, you can watch as the city comes to life, and at dusk, you can see the lights twinkle to life in the buildings below. While here, be sure to visit Budapest Cave Church for a simple, tranquil escape from the hustle and bustle.

Budapest's rooftop bars offer outstanding views of a city filled with World Heritage sites and have a vibrant nightlife and cultural scene, combined with exceptional food, drink and romance. Rooftop bars here range from casual beer breweries where you can raise a glass to the city to speakeasy-type cocktail lounges right out of the 1920s to elegant affairs where it's just the two of you in upscale romantic surroundings.

If those aren't enough, many of the area's terrace bars feature live music or DJs spinning the latest hits where you can dance the night away. No matter your style, from wine bars to cocktail lounges to disco party houses, it's all here.

The New York Café is a wildly popular restaurant located in an old, historical building featuring a lavish interior with soaring ceilings trimmed in ivory and gold. This cafe is inside the historic New York Palace Hotel and boasts an experience like having lunch or high tea inside an Italian Renaissance palace. It is one of the oldest cafes in the city, over 125 years old, and getting in usually means waiting in line, which can stretch down the street but moves very quickly.

Once you're in, you'll be ushered to a table where you can order coffee and cakes and just take in the angels, frescoes and columns. It's just 9 minutes from the city centre across the Danube.

The Hungarian State Opera is one of the city and country's leading cultural institutions and is world-famous for its ballets, theatre, orchestral and music performances. The opera house is a fine example of the Neo-Renaissance architectural style. Inside, the décor and architecture are astonishing, with luxurious touches everywhere you look. It was built by architect Milós Ybl and is considered among his masterpieces with paintings and sculptures by such acclaimed artists as Mór Than, Károly Lotz and Bertalan Székely.

This opera house has hosted some of the most important conductors, musicians and performers in history. It's also just 10 minutes east of the city centre, right across the Danube.