What to see in Buda?

Most of what remains of medieval Budapest is on Castle Hill (Várhegy) perched above the Danube. The easiest way to get there is to take the metro to Moszkva tér, cross the bridge above the square and continue straight up Várfok utca to the Vienna Gate. A minibus marked ‘Budavári Sikló’ follows this same route from the bridge, shuttling every few minutes from Moszkva tér to the funicular near Buda Castle. Or you could take the sikló itself, the funicular that whisks passengers up from Clark Ádám tér to Szent György tér in two minutes between 7.30 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily. 

Once through Vienna Gate, take a sharp right on Petermann bíró utca past the NationalArchives, with its majolica-tiled roof, to Kapisztrán tér. The Magdalen Tower is all that’s left of a Gothic church destroyed here in WWII. The white neoclassical building facing the square is the Museum of Military History, which you enter from the ramparts side on Tóth Árpád sétány. Walk south-east along Tóth Árpád sétány, the ramparts promenade, enjoying the views of the Buda Hills. The long white building below you is Déli train station. Half way along the ramparts you’ll catch a glimpse of the neo-Gothic tower of MatthiasChurch and Szentháromság utca. The church (rebuilt in 1896) has a colourful tiled roof, murals inside and the Museum of Ecclesiastical Art, which you enter through the crypt.

Franz Liszt wrote the Hungarian Coronation Mass for the coronation of Franz Joseph and Elizabeth here in 1867. Behind the church is an equestrian statue of St Stephen (9771038), Hungary’s first king. Behind that is the Fisherman’s Bastion, a late 19th-century structure offering great views of Pest, the Parliament building and the Danube.

If you take a little detour north-west up Fortuna utca to No 4, you’ll come to the charming Commerce & Catering Museum, where an entire 19^th-century cake shop has been relocated, complete with pastry kitchen and all the old equipment.

From the Holy Trinity Statue in the centre of Szentháromság tér, Tárnok utca runs Southeast to the gate of the Royal Palace. The palace enjoyed its greatest splendour under King Matthias in the second half of the 15^th century but has been destroyed and rebuilt many times since then.

Today the palace contains two important museums. The National Gallery (Wing D) has a huge collection of Hungarian works of art from Gothic to contemporary. The historical paintings by Mihály Munkácsy are worth seeing.

The Budapest History Museum, can be found at the Royal Palace on the Castle Hill, in Wing E to the south traces the city’s 2000 years of history with three floors of exhibits, including objects found during the recent reconstruction of the palace.

Chain Bridge

From the castle terrace take the funicular railway or walk down the steps to Clark Ádám tér at the Buda end of Chain Bridge, which was opened in 1849 and was the first bridge to span the Danube in Hungary. In the park in front of the lower funicular station is the Zero Kilometre Stone, from which all highway distances in Hungary are measured.

Go through the small pedestrian tunnel under the end of the Chain Bridge and take tram No 19 south along the right bank of the Danube. Get off at Móricz Zsigmond körtér, the second stop after the Gellért Hotel (1918). Walk back a little, round the corner to the left and board bus No 27 on Villányi út. This bus will take you right up to the Citadella on Gellért Hill, but it’s just as easy to walk from the Gellért Hotel up Kelenhegyi út.

The commanding fortress on top, the Citadella, was built by the Habsburgs after the 1848-49 Revolution to `defend’ the city from further insurrection. By the time it was ready the political climate had changed and the Citadella had become obsolete.

The Independence Monument, the lovely lady with the palm proclaiming freedom throughout the city at the southern end of the Citadella, was erected in tribute to the Soviet soldiers who died liberating Hungary in 1945. But many Hungarians choose not to remember that anymore and both the victims’ names in Cyrillic letters on the plinth and the statues of the soldiers have been removed. You’ll see your most memorable views of Budapest and the Danube from this hill. At night with the city a11 lit up below you the views are rather spectacular.