Budapest Routes. Day Two

See also Day One published earlier.

The route starts in the Castle Hill.

Budapest Routes. Day Two

You can reach the area by funiculair, by várbusz (bus) that goes from Moszkva tér to Dísz tér in the Castle District or on foot. If you choose the last option, just turn to the slope on the right side of the tunnel.

Buda Castle

The Castle Hill is named so because of the the Royal Palace which houses today Hungarian National Gallery and Budapest History Museum. The equestrian statue you'll see in the courtyard of the palace is the statue of Jenő Savoyai who freed Buda from Turks.

The Royal Palace

The huge bronze bird with outstretched wings that overlooks the city is Turul, mythical Hungarian eagle that is believed to have helped the people to find the land of Hungary in the 9th century.

Turul

On this photo you can see how badly was the Palace damaged during World War II.

Royal Palace

The other attraction of Buda Castle is Matthias Church built in 1245, and named officially the Church of Our Lady.

The Buda Castle Labyrinth located on Úri utca is a system of caves that was used during WWII as bunker.

The other side of the hill facing the Buda side is also spectacular. There is a quiet shady alley (the part of bastion system) with benches and a statue, which will lead you to the Mária Magdolna church.

Facing the Buda side

Lánc Híd (Chain Bridge) in the foot of Castle Hill will lead you to Roosevelt tér on the Pest side. Here stands the Gresham Palace, a luxury palace built in 1906 for wealthy British aristocrats. In 2004 it became a hotel of Four Seasons chain.

Lanc Hid (Chain Bridge)

Budapest. Gresham Palace

From Roosevelt tér you may walk to St. Stephen's Basilica (Szent Istvan Bazilika) named so after King St. Spehen, the founder of Hungarian State and its Christian Church. Basilica’s cupola offers another magnificent view of the Pest side and Parliament located nearby.

St. Stephen's Basilica

After such a long, you may want to have a dinner, and of the nearby places we recommend Iguana Mexican Bar and Grill.

By Sosna on 23 May 2006. Updated on 23 May 2006