London to Budapest flight path: LHR to BUD

Sit on the Left side of the plane for the best views on flights from London to Budapest. The left side wins because it captures the two most identifiable landmarks of the entire route — London's skyline during the departure turn and Budapest's Danube/Castle Hill skyline on arrival — while the right side's main asset, distant Alpine foothills glimpsed over Austria, is farther away and only briefly framed during cruise.

During takeoff from Heathrow (LHR), sit on the Left side for the best views. Eastbound departures from Heathrow typically loop south of the city before turning east, which keeps London tucked against the left-side windows during the climb. Passengers on that side get a brief but genuine skyline view — Thames bends, Canary Wharf towers, and the City cluster — before the aircraft settles onto its easterly track toward the Continent. Notable sights include: River Thames, Canary Wharf skyline, The Shard/City of London cluster, Windsor Castle glimpse just after rotation.

When landing at Ferihegy (BUD), sit on the Left side for the best views. On the common northwest-into-wind approach to runway 31, arrival routings curve around the north side of Budapest before turning onto final, briefly exposing the left side to the Danube's course through the city and the Castle Hill skyline. It's a short window, but it's the only urban highlight either side gets on this otherwise flat approach. Notable sights include: Danube River bend, Buda Castle Hill, Hungarian Parliament Building, Budapest city skyline.

The flight from Heathrow (LHR) to Ferihegy (BUD) takes 2h 35m.

Flat Belgian and German lowlands give way to the rolling Bavarian countryside, with the northern foothills of the Alps visible as a distant ridge to the south near Salzburg and Linz. The route then crosses the Danube basin near Vienna before flattening out over the Great Hungarian Plain on the run into Budapest.