Budapest is the capital city of Hungary and it is also the most populous city of Hungary. Budapest is a popular holiday destination during summer months. After spending 1 week in Norway and hiking different parts of Norway I wanted to visit Budapest. I had a very hectic schedule in Norway and I wanted to relax a little bit during my stay at Budapest. I will strongly recommend to spend around 3 days during your trip to Budapest. The city is divided into two parts Buda and Pest. Danube river flows in between and divides the city into two different segment. I will strongly recommend to book your stay at Buda side of the city because you will get amazing views of Budapest from this side. Budapest is much less expensive compared to other European cities. Budapest is also famous for its great dining experience. I tried some authentic Hungarian dishes during my visit to Budapest.
St Stephen Basilica
St Stephen Basilica is situated on the Pest side of the city. After arriving at Budapest airport I took bus 100E to Deak Ferenc Ter M. St Stephen Basilica is 10-minutes walk from the bus stop. St Stephen Basilica is a religious building in Hungary. The entrance fee for the observation deck is 2 EURO. There was long queue for the lift and I decided to take the stairs. It stairs towards the observation deck was very narrow and you have to literally come back to the junction point in order to let other people come down. People feeling claustrophobic shouldn’t attempt to climb the stairs. It will take about 30 minutes to reach the observation deck. There was hardly any space at the top of the observation deck. Everyone was trying to take picture of the surroundings but there was no space to properly hold your cameras. It was summer time and castle was packed with tourists. The architecture of the Basilica was excellent and the view was stunning. It was again a big pain taking the stairs back to the ground floor. I had to come up and down multiple times in order to let people come up. There is a great open space located at the front of the Basilica. Most popular restaurants of Budapest are situated here. The basilica looks absolutely stunning from the front and it’s a great place to take some nice pictures. I was little disappointed after taking the stairs but I strongly admit that the authority has done their best in order to allow everyone to access the place. It will be too difficult to construct proper staircase at this place because the architecture of the Basilica is just too old.
Hungarian state opera
Hungarian State Opera is located about 10-minutes walk from St Stephen Basilica. The opera house has seating capacity of more than 1000 guest at a time. Unfortunately, during my visit, the Opera house was closed for renovation. The Opera season starts from September till June. I visited Budapest in the month of July and the Opera house was closed. The construction was going on towards the front part of the Opera house so I couldn’t take any picture of the beautiful architecture of the Opera House. The opera has played host to world class ballets and concerts.
Heroes Square
Heroes Square is the main square of Budapest. I took Budapest metro from Opera station to Hosok Tere station. In Hungarian language Heroes Square is termed as Hosok Tere. Heroes Square is famous for statue of Seven Chieftains of the Magyars. You will also spot statues of Hungarian leaders and the tomb. Heroes Square is surrounded by Museum of fine Arts and Palace of Art. The square is situated in a vast area with lot of open spaces. There were lot of tourists at the Square at that time but it never felt like crowded. The central tower features the statue of Archangel Gabriel holding Hungarian crown. Prominent Hungarian figures are situated at both sides of the central column. Heroes Square is a great place to enjoy free space and understand history of Budapest. If you have more spare time, then I will strongly recommend to visit city park situated just next to Heroes Park.
Parliament Building
Parliament building is the symbol of Budapest city. The building is situated on the pest side of the city. The Building dominates the skyline of Budapest and it is featured in number of photographs. You must take guided tour and visit inside the Parliament Building if you are planning to know more about history of Hungary. The building looks absolutely beautiful and the best views of the building is from the Buda side of the city. The architecture of the building resembles Gothic style and it is one of the largest buildings in Hungary. I missed the guard changing ceremony at the Parliament Building. If you are visiting the city, then you should take a note of guard changing ceremony so that you can plan your travel accordingly. The Parliament building is the third largest building in the world. The building was constructed in the early years of the 20th century. I will strongly recommend to walk along the promenade on the Buda side so that you will get best views of the Parliament Building. Parliament building looks beautiful at night because of nice lighting.
Danube Promenade
Danube river Promenade on the Pest side is a great place to enjoy evening walk. I walked from the Parliament building towards the Chain Bridge. The promenade is famous for bronze shoes. It’s a great place to take some nice photographs. The shoes are memorial of jews people who were murdered along the Danube banks during the world war II. The victims were allowed to remove their shoes before being shot. The shoes memorial is situated very close to the iconic chain bridge. The promenade situated on the Pest side of the city extends from Elizabeth Bridge to Margaret island. You will get to see amazing views of Buda Castle, Liberty Statue on Gellert Hill and Fisherman’s Bastion from the Promenade. You can finish your walk at Szechenyi Istvan Square and walk along the chain bridge or you can walk upto Elizabeth Bridge.
The promenade situated on the Buda side of the city gives great views of Budapest Parliament building. I walked all the way from Elizabeth bridge till the Margaret island on the promenade situated on the Buda side. The view of the chain bridge and parliament building was exceptional from the promenade. The promenade was crowded because number of cyclists and skate boarders are allowed to use the Promenade. They should make the promenade separate for walking and cycling. I feel quite annoying because you can’t walk properly on the promenade and you have to always make ways for cyclists, joggers and skate boarders.
Buda Castle
Buda Castle is situated on the Buda side of the city. Buda castle and the castle hill is situated in a vast area and you can easily spend a day at the Buda Castle hill. The castle hill is situated just next to the infamous Chain bridge of Budapest. Buda Castle is famous for funicular ride. The funicular was first opened in the year 1870 and it is the second oldest funicular in the world. Funicular is the fastest way to reach Buda Castle but it was very crowded during my visit. The waiting time for the Funicular ride was 2 hours and the ticket price was also quite expensive. I decided to skip the Funicular and took the trail to reach Buda Castle. It took me about 30 minutes to reach the castle from the main road. Buda Castle, National Gallery and Budapest History Museum are situated at the top of the castle. Buda Castle is a world heritage site and it was constructed in the 13th century. The grounds of the Castle is open 24 hours but you can only enter the gallery, museum and the castle from 10 am till 6pm. Buda Castle is a great place to take beautiful photos of Parliament building, Chain bridge and Danube river. Around the hill there are so many lookout points to capture the best photos of Budapest city. I didn’t go inside the Buda castle, National Gallery and the museum. I spent most of my time around the castle. The weather was perfect and I took some perfect shot from the castle. If you are interested in history and art, then you can easily spend a day at the complex. The complex has great mixture of stunning architecture, beautiful art and history.
Szechenyi Chain Bridge
Danube river separates Buda region of Budapest from the Pest region. There are number of bridges which connect Buda and Pest region. Out of all the bridges the chain bridge is the most famous bridge. The bridge was built in the year 1849. I visited the bridge during afternoon time and it was very crowded. It was very difficult to take perfect shot of the bridge because of the presence of heavy crowd. Traffic on the bridge was also very crazy. The next day I went in the morning to take some nice photographs of the bridge. The bridge looks absolutely beautiful if you take the photo standing at the center of the bridge but you must do this early morning in order to avoid traffic. The view of Budapest Parliament Building was absolutely fantastic from the Bridge. The bridge has different charm during night time. It looks absolutely incredible during night because of the presence of special lighting. Chain Bridge is undoubtedly the center of Budapest and your trip to Budapest will be incomplete without visit to Chain Bridge.
Gellert Hill Liberty Statue
Gellert Hill is situated on the Buda side of the city. If you are coming from the Pest side, then you can cross Elizabeth bridge. The hill is located just next to Elizabeth bridge. You can see the Gerard of Csanad monument on your way up to the Gellert hill. The path to the top of the hill is clearly defined and it takes about 30 minutes to reach the top of the hill. You will also encounter number of street vendors selling handicraft items on the way up. Gellert hill is one of the best places to take incredible pictures of the city. The hill is situated on the same side of Buda hill but the view is very different. Gellert hill is much less touristy compared to Buda hill. The citadel situated at the top of the hill was built as a strategic fortress. There is also a statue of Bishop at the top of the hill. The Liberty statue was constructed in the year 1947 in the memory of people who lost their life for the independence, freedom and prosperity of Hungary. Gellert hill is perfect place to watch sunset on the background of Parliament building and Danube river. During the summer time you have to wait till 9 pm to watch sunset from the hill. During night time the lighting of Parliament building, Buda Castle and Chain bridge is spectacular from Gellert hill.
Matthias Church
Matthias church is situated near Fisherman’s Bastion. The church can be spotted easily because of its colorful tiled roof and unique architecture. The church was built in the 13th century. Matthias church is actually a Roman catholic church and it is built with Gothic style. Concerts and wedding events are usually organized at this church. You have to purchase ticket if you are planning to go inside the church. The entrance to the church is closed at around 5pm. The architecture of the church is very beautiful with high ceilings and it is completely worth spending money for visiting inside the church.
Fisherman’s Bastion
Fisherman’s Bastion was my favorite spot during my trip to Budapest. It is located on the Buda side of the city just next to Mathias church. You can walk from Fisherman’s Bastion to the Buda castle and it takes about 20 minutes. Fisherman’s Bastion is actually a terrace having 7 towers. Fisherman’s Bastion provides great views of Parliament Building and Danube river. You will find number of restaurants and bars near the fisherman’s Bastion. The restaurant at the fisherman’s Bastion provides great view of Budapest Parliament but you might have to pre-book for the seating and it might be pricey also. The façade of the tower provides great opportunity to take some nice photos of the Parliament building. The recent trend in social media shows people taking picture of them sitting on the façade on the background of Parliament building. Fisherman’s Bastion looks like a castle and it has lot of lookout points to take nice pictures of Budapest city. The place was very crowded during my visit and I had to queue for sometimes in order to take some specific shots.
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