Is it your first time in the city and you do not know where to start? Budapest is A big city which is full of with amazing sights that you should not miss
First of all, you should check our stunning Parliament building. It is a beautiful Eclectic building, most probably the most iconic building of the city. It has 691 rooms and 29 staircases, and still, nowadays it’s functioning as our Parliament. If you would like to take a tour inside, then you have to book the ticket in advance, online.
St. Stephen’s Basilica (map) is the largest Roman Catholic Church in the capital. Please do not miss the interior, there is no entrance fee, only a donation fee and it’s definitely worth entering. We keep the Holy Right hand inside, which is the mummified hand of the first king of the Hungarians. You can go up to the dome of the building and take some nice pics there.
If you take a walk in the city centre, you should check the Danube Promenade as well. The view is really amazing to the Buda side next to tram line number 2, and you can clearly see the Gellért Hill with the Liberty Statue on the top.
If you go out during the night, then you should visit the ruin bars. Basically these are buildings, which were damaged during WW2 and they were turned into bars, and there was a special kind of retro furniture placed inside. Most probably the best one in the city is the oldest one, the so-called Szimpla (map).
Unfortunately, the Chain Bridge which is the oldest Bridge in Budapest is under renovation right now, but it is worth going as close as you can to check it. In the last couple of years the bridge was not in its nicest condition, so a renovation was needed indeed. According to the plans the renovation work will be finished in 2023.
Still, nowadays Budapest has the largest Jewish community in Central Europe, so no wonder that you can find a Synagogue Triangle in the centre of the city. It means that there are 3 main Synagogues located within walking distance from each other. All of them are beautiful, the Rumbach Synagogue was recently renovated, the Kazinczy Synagogue belongs to the Orthodox Community but it can be visited as well, and the third one is the Grand Synagogue which is the 2nd largest Synagogue of the world after the Temple of Emanuel in New York City.
For the 1000th anniversary of the Hungarian landtaking there was a huge exhibition organized in the City Park. For this occasion, Heroes Square (map) was built, which shows you the Hungarian history from the Conquest till the 1000th anniversary of the Hungarian landtaking.
Of course, if you would like to warm up a bit then there are no better places for that than the thermal spas. The most popular one is the Széchenyi Spa (map) which has 18 pools, (both indoor and outdoor) and with these, it is the largest thermal spa in the city.
Do not forget to take a nice walk in the Castle District. That is one of the oldest parts of the city, it used to be the Renaissance centre back in the Middle Ages. If you are there, check the Matthias Church, which was built in Neo-Gothic style, and the interior is also beautiful and richly decorated.
I think the nicest view from Buda to Pest is from the Fishermen’s Bastion (map). It was built as a lookout tower, and still, nowadays this is its only function of it. You can see the Pest side from the towers of it, with the main buildings of the city. You can go up to the towers of the Fishermen’s Bastion, from where the view is even more amazing!
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