Budapest rains are quite tolerable, they rarely last for hours in a row, usually coming in bouts. Quite predictably for Europe, autumn is the rainiest time in Budapest.
Nevertheless, we don’t know many people who like to walk around with their feet wet, and to help you enjoy your trip despite the weather we have compiled this list of suggestions for a rainy day in Budapest.
Baths: There are plenty thermal baths to choose from, both in Buda and in Pest. Go to the biggest and the most popular Szechenyi with outdoor pools (3400 Ft, 12 Eur per person), or soak in the Buda water in the smaller Lukács (2400 Ft, 9 Eur per person). See the list of baths in Budapest with description and prices.
Shopping: Whether you are thinking about getting yourself nice wellies for the weather, or checking the offers of local and international brands, shopping mall is a dry and safe option. And just like baths, Budapest has plenty of those too. The biggest one is Arena Plaza with over 200 shops and many services, from dry cleaning to hairdressers. Naturally, there is abundance of fastfoods, cafes and restaurants.
And if you prefer Buda side, go to Alee, smaller shopping center with the most popular brands and a cinema.
Cinema: If by the time you are done with shopping and eating it is still wet outside, go to the movies. All shopping malls have cinemas with latest Hollywood flicks, and the one in Arena Plaza is the largest 23-screen cinema complex in Hungary and Eastern Europe with huge IMAX 3D screens.
If you rather prefer art-house and independent films, go to an art cinema, say Toldi Mozi (1054 Budapest Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 36-38) with a cafe loved by hipsters or Puskin (1053 Budapest Kossuth Lajos utca 18).
Another good alternative will be the national movie theater Urania (Budapest, VIII. kerület, Rákóczi út 21) — if not for the films, then for the spectacular building of 1890s.
Museum: Another dry and warm place would be a museum. Budapest has its share of museums, although nothing extraordinary or surprising for an experienced traveller. Budapest museums are classical ones, in their collections and approach. So if you don’t mind such classical, cultural entertainment, drop by the Hungarian National Museum with decent selection of ancient and modern objects (Socialist propaganda placards are quite interesting) or Ludwig Museum of contemporary art with a nice cafe and a bookstore in modern building.
Eat and drink: When hungry and thirsty from spending so much time indoors, hit the restaurant street and go pub crawling/wine tasting: there is Ráday utca in the 9 district, or Liszt Ferenc square in the 6th with enough cafes and bars to hide from the rain for hours if not days.
