The centrally located Aria is a fun place to stay on a quiet cobbled street in District V, within walking distance of a number of Budapest’s big-hitting sights, including St Stephen’s Basilica.

This art nouveau beauty sits close to the Danube, overlooking the Szechenyi Chain Bridge, and has the stately self-assurance of a hotel that’s been a fixture in the city for decades — in fact, the Four Seasons only converted the building into a five-star hotel in 2004.

The ornate façade of the Anantara New York Palace hints at the opulence to come in the grand social spaces of the belle époque building, best summed up in the marble-and-frescoed wonder of its New York Café, stuccoed breakfast room and gilded restaurant.

One of Budapest’s first boutique hotels, and still one of its best, Brody House is among the most characterful places to stay in the city.

This pad, 15 minutes’ walk from the National Museum and the Central Market Hall, opened in 2019 and is already a firm favourite with visitors.

You’ll likely spend a few minutes staring at the exterior of the Kozmo before venturing in — the red-brick building, once housing a telecommunications centre, is a whimsical and unexpected blend of turrets, sculptures and angled roofs.

The Corvinus is an absolute beast of a hotel, with more than 350 rooms and suites, five restaurants and bars, a spa and fitness centre.

The five-star Matild opened in 2021 after a five-year renovation, and has already established itself as a destination hotel in the city.

Situated in a prime position near the funicular railway taking people up the hill to the Castle District, adult-only Hotel Clark is a great bet for a stay on the Buda side of the river.

You might struggle to move beyond the foyer of the Hyatt-owned Parisi Udvar. Reconfigured from a 19th-century, Parisian-style shopping arcade, it’s a proper spectacle, with a domed glass ceiling, majolica-tiled floor and delicate carvings.