As they say even a life-time might be too short to explore all the beauties and spectacles of Budapest being highly ranked among the most beautiful cities of the world!
Still we would like to give you a few hints what are the must-be-seen places if you stay in Budapest!
Budapest
successfully blends the centuries-old architecture and cultural
heritage with today’s modernism -the treasured monuments are
continuously restored in their original beauty depending on the
availability of funds.
The Buda Castle, the Danube shore and the Andrássy Avenue are UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites so those beauties must be seen. The Castle District has several museums, such as the Castle Museum, War History Museum and the Hungarian National Gallery. The façade of the Royal Palace looking over the Danube gives a magnificent panorama of Budapest. The Fishermen’s bastion with its white limestones gives a spectacular framing to the St. Matthias Church which is neighboring the Hilton that received the ’Hotel of the Year’ award in the year of its construction. Its café and terrace are popular places in the summer season.
The
spectacular Danube banks can be seen during the sightseeing tours. The
famous route of the tram line Nr. 2 goes along the Danube banks where
the beautiful buildings can be seen during a retour route: starting
from the Jászai Mari square, the tram travels around the Parliament’s
building than gives an excellent view of the St.Matthias Church, the
Fishermen’s bastion and the Royal Castle on the opposite side, followed
by the Danube bridges, with the Chain Bridge being the eldest. After
the Elizabeth bridge, the panorama of the opposite Buda side is
characterized by the Gellért-Hill and the Art Nouveau building of the
Gellért Hotel and Spa located at the foothill and the bridgehead. Please visit the Gellért Spa, take a massage and taste the Cuisine of Gellért Hotel Brewery using the Budapest Card discounts.
The Budapest Citadel (former fortress, today museum) on the Gellért-hill is the most important viewpoint in Budapest from where the Castle Panorama and the Danube banks constituting the World Heritage site can be admired in their full glory.
At the end of the route, the modern buildings of the New National Theatre and the Palace of Arts appear when closing in to the Lágymányos bridge. The Palace of Arts is the centre of musical and cultural life of Budapest. Buy a ticket and enjoy this great cultural experience or visit the Ludwig Museum in the building, exploring the worlds of contemporary artists.
On the way back, the majestic building of the Budapest Corvinus University and the exotic Market Hall can be viewed on the right side, later the row of the Pest Hotels follow with the Vigadó Concert Hall, which has also a spectacular lobby and concert hall. The Gresham Palace which is currently owned by the Four Seasons Hotel and the Neo-Renaissance building of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences are located on the Roosevelt square.
More about Sightseeing from tram no. 2 >>
The Andrássy Avenue is a characteristic place of Budapest, with the Millennium Underground Train,
being the first of its kind on the European continent. Its stations
preserved the original layout from 130 years ago, with each station
presenting the most important buildings of the Era. The Avenue ends at
the Hero’s Square, where the Museum of Fine Arts offers the world-famous Spanish collection and the opposite building of the Arts Hall featuring temporary exhibitions of contemporary arts.
The Andrássy Avenue and its surroundings bear the uniform character of the late 19th century architecture, despite the distinguished sequencing of the functionality along the avenue. Andrássy Avenue is named after the Prime Minister of the Era who has merits in developing Budapest to a metropolis. The Avenue features the cream de la crème of eclectic Belle Époque architecture with the Opera House of shining beauty which can be visited during guided tours outside the performances. There are other interesting highlights besides these buildings to be visited such as the surroundings of the well-designed Avenue. The Andrássy road of almost 2,5 km has been originally inspired by the French boulevards with a service road designed for gentlemen riders.
Following the Octagon square one gray sinister building awaits its visitors, the „House of Terror” the former Headquarter of the ÁVH Secret Service with its permanent exhibition presenting the horrors of Nazi Arrow Cross and Communist state terror.
The palaces of the villa-row are named after their original owners or architects. The East-Asian Art Museum can be found in the palace of its original owner Ferenc Hopp, who donated his collection for the State. There are several Embassies located in the magnificent villas. The elegant and renovated Bauhaus building on the corner of the Munkácsy Mihály street was designed by the architect Alfréd Hajós, the winner of the Gold medal at the 1896 Athens Olympic games in swimming. The neo-renaissance building of the Hungarian Fine Arts University ornaments the Andrássy Boulevard and the nearby Kodály circus hosts the Zoltán Kodály Memorial Museum in the home of the great 20th century Hungarian composer.
The Avenue finishes with the Millennium Monumental of the Hungarian conquest. The statue of the Archangel Gabriel is watching over the monument with the sculptures of the seven Hungarian tribe chieftains. Under the arcades of the Hungarian Pantheon the statues of the Hungarian Kings, Princes, Warlords and Statesmen are exhibited. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier can be found in front of the Memorial where each President and Prime Minister visiting Hungary lays wreaths. The square is surrounded on the one side by the Museum of Fine Arts with it world famous Spanish collection and by the Arts Hall on the other side hosting temporary exhibitions.
The picturesque City Park Pond located directly behind the Hero’s square, invites for boat paddling in the summer season and for ice-skating during winter. The amusement and cultural institutes of the City Park (Budapest Zoo, Budapest Amusement Park, Széchenyi Thermal Bath, the Vajdahunyad castle built on a small artificial island and the Museum of Agriculture and the Transport Museum of Budapest) are the favorite touristic destinations of Budapest.
More about the Cultural Avenue >>
After having seen the sights in the Castle District and along the
Danube embankments and Andrássy út as described above, might like to
take their pick from the following. The neo-Gothic Parliament has a
beautiful interior, containing amongst other things the Hungarian Crown
Jewels. It’s not far from there to Saint Stephen’s Basilica, where the
Holy Right Hand of the founder of Hungary, King Saint Stephen is on
display. It’s also well worth taking the lift up to the top of the
tower, from where there is a superb view over the rooftops. One of the
jewels of Andrássy út is the Opera House, and one of the many
attractions in City Park is the Transport Museum, complete with model
railway system. To see real locomotives at close quarters head for the
(separate) Hungarian Railway Museum. There are Roman remains at the
Aquincum Museum, and historic furniture at the Nagytétény Castle
Museum. The Statue Park contains an amazing display of gargantuan
Communist era statues. The imposing Dohány utca Synagogue is as
outstanding a building as its small garden, including metallic weeping
willow tree dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust, is
moving. In between the sightseeing, but in truth an integral part of
the Budapest scene, you cannot leave out the various bastions to
Hungarian cuisine and café culture: for example, Gerbeaud Café, and the
Százéves, Biarritz, Fortuna, Alabárdos, Arany Szarvas, Kárpátia and the
world famous Mátyás Pince Restaurants.
More about the alternate routes >>
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