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Budapest in a day
Budapest is a great city to explore. To help you get started we’ve put together a tour for you. All you’ll need is a comfortable pair of walking shoes, a 1-day travel cared and a camera to record the wonderful sights you will see.
Our first stop is Deák tér (tér means square) which is a great meeting place in the heart of t`he transport system where the 3 metro lines meet.
From here, we visit anywhere.
For example, to the North, the inspiring St. Stephen’s Basilica and chic Andrassy avenue are a stone’s throw away, to the South, the Synagogue. But on this trip, we’re going to resist these temptations and take tram 47 or 49 to go to Gellért tér, Buda side of the Szabadság bridge.
Gellért Hill
Step off the tram opposite the Art Nouveau Gellért Hotel behind which you’ll see the hill. Convenient lanes lead up and around the hill to the summit. You can also take a bus 27 from Villányi road to the top of the hill, though you will mess a nice walk and some gorgeous sights of Pest through the trees.
On your way up, you’ll pass the Gellért Monument, an 11m high bronze statue erected in memory to an 11th Century Benedictine Abbot who was rolled down the hill in a barrel by pagans for his beliefs.
Standing tall on the top of the hill is the striking Liberation Monument – nicknamed „God’s crown-cork bottle opener” due to its special shape by the locals. Take some time to wander round the Citadel – a fortress built by the Austrians in the 19th century before wandering back down the hill towards the Gellért Hotel through the trees. From Gellért tér take tram 19 to Clark Ádám tér.
Chain Bridge
The oldest and most magnificent bridge in Budapest – especially by night when it is floodlit.
Anglophiles will note a resemblance to the Hammersmith Bridge in London, which was designed by the same English engineer, William Tierney Clark. But the man who took the blue prints and made the first bridge in Budapest a reality was another Clark, the Scottish engineer Adam Clark.
Clark was so taken with Hungary he stayed here as a naturalised Hungarian until his death. The Hungarian’s, for their part, named the square on the Buda side of the bridge after the great Scot. Right on Clark Ádám tér runs the funicular railway, which gives you a short but breathtaking ride up to
The Castle District
The original castle built in the 13th century lies deep under the Royal Palace. The remains can be seen in the lower floors of the Budapest History Museum which shares the former palace of Queen Maria Teresa with the Hungarian National Gallery. Taking a walk in the Castle District offers you a snapshot of how Buda must have looked around the 18th century. Be sure not to miss Szentháromság tér, with one of the most magnificent churches in Hungary, the Matthias Church. Right on the other side of the square lies the Fishermen’s Bastion offering a great view over the Danube and the Parliament.
This district has it’s own bus line, the Várbusz ( castle bus). It takes you down to Moszkva tér. From there, take the subway 2 (M2, the red line) to Kossuth tér.
Parliament
Home to Hungary’s Parliament, this splendid building can only be visited by guided tours in different languages. It’s well worth the visit.
After the tour, head south along the Pest bank of the Danube which offers a shady promenade with coffee houses on the way. If you are feeling tired of walking, no problem, trams 2 and 2A go the same way.
Get off on Március 15. tér, on the east side of Erzsébet bridge. Walk about 100 meters away from the bridge, and you’ll find Váci street on you left.
Váci street
This is Budapest’s traditional shopping promenade, the place to be for true shopaholics. This buzzing pedestrianized street links to the beautiful Vörösmarty tér, the favourite hangout of street musicians and artists.
Along the way you can browse some smart shops bearing all the famous names, take a look at some of Budapest’s most beautifully renovated architecture or just sit in one of the elegant coffee houses soaking in the atmosphere.
At Vörösmarty tér, take the chance to ride on the Millennium Underground (M1, the yellow line) to Heroes’ square.
Heroes’ square
Marking the end of Andrássy Avenue, the Millennary Monument dominates the square. From here is it the short walk to the Budapest Zoo, the Pleasure Park and the City Park, which is the largest park in Budapest.
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