Welcome to Budapest, the capital and largest city of Hungary, standing on both banks of the Danube. Its story began with a Celtic settlement that the Romans turned into the town of Aquincum. Buda became a centre of Renaissance culture in the 15th century under King Matthias Corvinus, and after nearly 150 years of Ottoman rule, Buda, Pest and Óbuda were united in 1873. Here is a fun fact: in 1896 Budapest opened the first underground railway on the European continent, and it still runs today. Let's start on the banks of the river.
Hungarian Parliament Building
Photo: Kilyann Le Hen · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsRising from the eastern bank of the Danube is the Hungarian Parliament Building, seat of the National Assembly. Its Hungarian name, Országház, means House of the Country. Designed in neo-Gothic style by the Hungarian architect Imre Steindl, it opened in 1902 and has been the largest building in Hungary ever since. Its architecture was influenced by Vienna's Gothic City Hall, while its great dome took inspiration from a church in Vienna as well. It stands on Kossuth Square, and it is one of the best-known landmarks in Hungary.
Buda Castle
Photo: Varius · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia CommonsHigh on the southern tip of Castle Hill stands Buda Castle, the historic palace of the Hungarian kings. A castle was first completed here in 1265, and the Baroque palace that fills most of the site was built between 1749 and 1769. It was badly damaged in the Second World War and then rebuilt in a simplified Baroque style. Its walls encircle the whole Castle Quarter to the north, a neighbourhood of medieval, Baroque and neoclassical houses and churches. To get up here in style, ride the Castle Hill Funicular from the Chain Bridge.
Széchenyi Chain Bridge
Photo: Wilfredor · CC0 · Wikimedia CommonsHere is the Széchenyi Chain Bridge, linking Buda on the west bank with Pest on the east. Opened in 1849, it was the first permanent bridge across the Danube in Hungary, and in its day it was considered a marvel of modern engineering. It was designed by the English engineer William Tierney Clark and built by the Scottish engineer Adam Clark, whose name is now given to the square at its Buda end. The bridge itself is named after István Széchenyi, a major supporter of its construction.
Fisherman's Bastion
Photo: Brian Adamson · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsClimb up to the Fisherman's Bastion for one of the finest panoramas of Budapest, looking out from its Neo-Romanesque terraces across the Danube. Count the towers: there are seven, symbolising the seven chieftains of the Hungarians who founded the country in 895. The name goes back to the Middle Ages, when, historians agree, this stretch of the castle wall was defended by the guild of fishermen who lived below. The ornate structure you see was built between 1895 and 1902 by the architect Frigyes Schulek.
St. Stephen's Basilica
Photo: Marc Ryckaert ( MJJR ) · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia CommonsBefore you rises St. Stephen's Basilica, the largest church in Budapest and the third largest in Hungary. It is named after Stephen, the first King of Hungary, and it holds a remarkable relic: his right hand, kept in a reliquary. The site has a colourful past. A theatre that staged animal fights once stood here. During a devastating flood in 1838, the high ground gave residents a safe refuge, and in gratitude they donated towards the building of the church.
Matthias Church
Photo: Thaler Tamas · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsIn front of the Fisherman's Bastion stands Matthias Church, built in the florid late Gothic style in the second half of the 14th century. The last two kings of Hungary, Franz Joseph and Charles the Fourth, were crowned within its walls. It is also linked to a famous legend. During the siege of Buda in 1686, when the Ottomans were using the church as a mosque, cannon fire brought down a wall and revealed an old statue of the Virgin Mary hidden behind it. The garrison's morale collapsed, and the city fell that same day.
Széchenyi thermal bath
Photo: Marc Ryckaert ( MJJR ) · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia CommonsTime to relax at the Széchenyi Bath in the City Park, the largest medicinal bath in Europe. Its water comes from two thermal springs, at 74 and 77 degrees, rich in minerals such as calcium, magnesium and fluoride. Between 1865 and 1875 a well was drilled almost a kilometre deep beneath the park to reach this hot water. The grand Neo-Baroque bathhouse opened on 16 June 1913 and was named after István Széchenyi. It was designed by Győző Czigler.
Heroes' Square
Photo: Godot13 · Attribution · Wikimedia CommonsWe end at Heroes' Square, at the far end of Andrássy Avenue beside the City Park. At its centre stands the Millennium Monument, with statues of the seven chieftains of the Magyars and other important Hungarian rulers and national leaders. Some of the statues were replaced several times up to the middle of the 20th century, reflecting the politics of each era. In front lies the Memorial Stone of Heroes, often mistakenly called the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The square is flanked by the Museum of Fine Arts and the Hall of Art.
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