Planning a flight to Hungary and looking for information on what to see in Budapest? Be sure that this city will give you many pleasant minutes and true pleasures - aesthetic, musical and gastronomic. Budapest is famous for its ancient baroque palaces and bridges that encircle the Danube, green patina on the copper domes and baths, where it is so easy to warm the body and soul on a cold day, aromatic goulash, the secret of which is different for each hostess, and exquisite Tokay wines that donated to people by the generous Hungarian sun.
Tours to Budapest are best timed to coincide with the New Year, when the capital of Hungary is decorated with festive illumination, Christmas markets are noisy in its streets and give guests a good mood and expectation of a miracle.
TOP 10 attractions of Budapest
Hungarian parliament building
The Parliament of Budapest is called the main attraction of the city and its hallmark. The famous dome, floating over the Danube and reflected in the waters of the river, is present in all advertising tours to Hungary in avenues and magazines.
The Hungarian Parliament sits in its own residence, built at the end of the 19th century by the architect Imre Steindl. Having the fame of a neo-Gothic enthusiast, the architect skillfully entered into the project a dome and spiers, turrets and wings, resulting in a beautiful structure that never ceases to amaze the guests of the Hungarian capital:
- Parliament is the largest building in the country. It has 691 rooms, about three dozen staircases and ten courtyards.
- The central dome is 27 m high and 20 m in diameter.
- The domed hall is decorated with 16 sculptures depicting the kings and rulers of Hungary.
- A particularly valuable relic kept in the parliament in Budapest is the crown of St. Stephen.
Every hour, the sacred regalia changes the guard of honor in historical uniform.
Buda fortress
For centuries the residence of Hungarian monarchs, Buda Castle rises majestically on the banks of the Danube.
For the first time, the residence of kings appeared on the site of a modern castle in the 13th century, but did not last long. In its place in the XIV century, the Duke of Slavonia ordered the erection of a castle, part of which has survived in the Buda fortress to this day. The heyday and major reconstruction of the fortress falls on the late Middle Ages.
The Ottoman Empire took over Budapest in the 16th century and the castle was used by the military as a barracks. The further fate of the Buda fortress turned out to be completely tragic - it was almost completely destroyed during the Great Turkish War.
The famous landmark of Budapest acquired its modern look at the beginning of the twentieth century, when the construction of a new residence for the kings was completed. After the Second World War, the building again required a global restoration and the builders managed to restore the castle to its original form. Today, the Buda Fortress is on the UNESCO heritage lists along with the embankment on which it is located.
The fortress houses the Museum of the History of Budapest and the National Gallery. The richly decorated gates and fountains are worth the attention of baroque lovers.
To get there: buses N 16, 96 and tram N19, 41 to the stop. “Palace Street”, then - the Budavári Sikló funicular.
Fisherman's Bastion
A magnificent view of the Danube and Pest opens from the Fisherman's Bastion Square. Surrounded by a 140-meter gallery with seven conical hipped-roof towers, the square was built at the beginning of the 20th century as an architectural setting for the Matyash Church located nearby. Since then, the Fisherman's Bastion has been called the most beautiful landmark of Budapest.
The word "bastion" in the name is conditional, because the structure did not perform defensive tasks. A fish market used to be located in its place. The architecture of the Fisherman's Bastion has a special meaning. For example, the seven towers symbolize the seven tribes that once founded the Hungarian state, and the gallery recalls the fortress wall that protected fishermen from a possible military attack in the Middle Ages.
Heroes Square
In the famous square in Budapest, Andrássy Avenue, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, ends and the Varosliget Park begins. Work on the project of the square began at the end of the 19th century, when celebrations were planned to mark the 1000th anniversary of Hungary.
Budapest Heroes' Square can accommodate at least 50 thousand people. It is decorated with monuments and monuments, each of which is dedicated to heroic events in the life of the Hungarian people:
- The column with the figure of the Archangel Gabriel at the top symbolizes the passage of the Magyars through the Carpathians. The pillar took 40 years to build. Legend has it that the archangel Gabriel ordered Saint Stephen to convert the Magyars to Christianity. At the foot of the column there are seven figures of the leaders of those same tribes.
- Semicircular colonnades behind the pillar were erected in honor of the heroes of Hungary. Figures of representatives of the ruling dynasties are placed between the columns.
- The stone slab next to the column is reminiscent of the heroes who fell on the battlefields in the world wars.
The façades of the Fine Arts Museum and the Mucharnok Exhibition Hall overlook the square. The buildings were built at the end of the 19th century and are magnificent examples of neoclassicism in architecture.
To get there: Budapest metro, line L1, st. Hősök tere.
Basilica of St. Stephen
The largest temple in Budapest, St. Stephen's Basilica was erected on St. Stephen's Square at the end of the 19th century. The author of the project was the renowned architect Jozsef Hild. A particularly revered relic kept in the church is the relics of St. Stephen.
The height of the cathedral reaches 96 m, and it shares the palm among the tallest historical buildings in Budapest with the parliament. The temple is also one of the top three largest religious buildings in Hungary.
The cathedral, built in the neo-Renaissance style, has the shape of a cross on the plan. On the sides of the main facade there are two bell towers, one of which has a 9-ton bell. The interior is decorated with fine marble, mosaics, bas-reliefs and stained-glass windows.
Matyash Cathedral
The Gothic-style Catholic temple was built in the 13th century on the site of a pre-existing church in honor of the Virgin Mary, burned during the Mongol invasion.
The fate of the Matyash temple also turned out to be difficult. During the rule of the Ottomans, it served as a mosque until the city was conquered from the Turks in 1686.
The coronation ceremonies of the last Hungarian monarchs took place in the temple. The interior of the cathedral is decorated with stained glass windows and wall paintings, and along the northern wall there are sarcophagi of representatives of the Habsburg dynasty buried in the cathedral.
Széchenyi Bath
The construction of the largest bath complex began in the first third of the 20th century. Then it consisted of individual steam rooms, male and female branches and baths. The public bath quickly became popular with both local residents and guests of the Hungarian capital. In the 1930s, a second artesian well was drilled near the baths, the water in which reached a temperature of 77 ° C. This made it possible to reduce heating costs and use additional power. Since 1963, the Szechenyi Bath has been open both in summer and winter.
The building of the bathhouse occupies a worthy place in the list of architectural masterpieces of Budapest. It was built in the style of classicism, but the decoration techniques are for the most part borrowed from the neo-Renaissance. Motives associated with water are present everywhere: mermaids on candelabra, seashells on tiles, stone fish on the sides. Mosaic paintings can be viewed on the inner ceiling of the domed vault. Their author is the famous Budapest artist Zsigmond Wajda.
Varoshliget Park
This park of the Hungarian capital is called the cultural center of Budapest. In winter and summer, the Varosliget Park in Pest is full of guests who prefer outdoor activities to all other activities.
In the famous Budapest park, you can visit the Botanical Garden and observe the inhabitants of the zoo, recognized by world experts as ideal for keeping animals in captivity. The amusement park with its many and varied attractions attracts children and parents to Varoshliget who decide to spend the whole day together. The Museum of Fine Arts, located in the park, boasts a collection of paintings from the 12th to 17th centuries.
You can refresh yourself in the "Gundel" restaurant. One of the most famous in the capital of Hungary, "Gundel" offers visitors the famous goulash prepared according to the classic recipe. You will be offered to relax body and soul in the Széchenyi bath, which is open in the park.
Andrássy Avenue
This street of Budapest is called the ceremonial avenue of the Hungarian capital and even the local Champs Elysees. It connects Heroes' Square with Ferenc Deak Square and bears the name of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria-Hungary. The street appeared on the map in honor of the millennium of the acquisition of the homeland by the Hungarians. The branch of the oldest metro in Europe runs under the avenue.
On Andrássy Avenue, the buildings that have become the landmarks of Budapest are noteworthy. The Hungarian Opera House, built at the end of the 19th century in the neo-Renaissance style, is richly decorated with Baroque ornaments and sculptures and is almost as acoustic as the La Scala in Milan. The facade of the Music Academy founded by Franz Liszt is decorated with a bronze statue of the composer. On Andrássy Avenue, there are museums of mail, terror and the Liszt Memorial Museum.
Gellert
From the height of the Gellert Hill on the banks of the Danube, panoramic views of the capital of Hungary open up, and at its top there is an old citadel. It was built by the Habsburgs in the second half of the 19th century. The citadel was to become a strategic outpost in case of an uprising.
The mountain is named in honor of Gerard of Hungary, an enlightener and saint who was martyred by pagans in the 11th century.
