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Sightseeing Overview
The Chain Bridge (Széchenyi lánchíd) is the central point of Budapest. From here, hilly Buda is to the west and the plains of commercial Pest are to the east. A steep climb in the Sikló, the 19th-century funicular, leads to Buda’s Castle Hill, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where many attractions are clustered. Trinity Square is at the heart of the district and usually thronging with tourists. Nearby is the mosaic-roofed Matthias Church, fronted by King Stephen’s statue and the fairytale Fishermen’s Bastion, with the best views of Pest - particularly of the Houses of Parliament.

First built by Béla III following the Mongol invasion in the 13th century, and reconstructed over the following centuries, the Buda Castle Palace now houses several museums. South of the Chain Bridge lies Gellért Hill, named after Bishop Gellért, who was (as legend has it) rolled off the hillside in a barrel for converting the Magyars to Christianity. At the summit are the Liberation Monument and Citadella, a Hapsburg fortress built to subdue the Magyars after the 1848-9 revolution.

From here, Independence Bridge (Szabadság híd) leads to Pest, which extends out from the Belváros (inner city). The busiest spots here are the shop-lined Váci utca and the square, Vörösmarty tér, marked by a statue of the poet, Mihály Vörösmarty (1800-1855), and the Gerbeaud pâtisserie. The most grandiose monument in Pest, Hosök tér (Heroes’ Square), is reached via Andrássy út, home to the Opera House and House of Terror. The Museum of Fine Arts and Palace of Art border the monument and City Park is just behind it.

Warm vapors rising from underground hot springs swirl up into the square, which is much favored by teenage skateboarders. Moving closer to the River Danube lies the Dohány Synagogue, the second largest in Europe, as well as the small Jewish quarter (district VII). Further south is the Hungarian National Museum and Applied Arts Museum.

Tourist Information
Budapest Tourism Office
1056 Budapest Marcius 15 tér 7
Tel: (01) 266 0479.
Website: www.budapestinfo.hu
Opening hours: Daily 0800-2000.

IBUSZ tourist office, V Ferenciek tere 10 (website: www.ibusz.hu), open Monday to Friday 0900 to 1700 and Tourinform, Sütő utca 2, (tel: (01) 438 8080; website: www.tourinform.hu), open daily 0800 to 2000 also provide tourist information.

The main information office of the Budapest Tourism Office is located in Liszt Ferenc tér 9-11 (tel: (01) 322 4098), open Monday to Friday 1000 to 1800 (October to May); daily 1000 to 1800 (June to September).

Other offices can be found in the main hall of Nyugati station, at the airport, and the Castle District.

Passes
The Budapest Card (website: www.budapestinfo.hu) is simple to use and excellent value. It provides free travel on public transport, entrance to 60 museums and attractions (such as the Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest Zoo and the Museum of Fine Art), half-price city sightseeing programs, reductions on cultural and folklore programs and further discounts at spas, shops, restaurants, airport minibus and car hire services, sports facilities and flights.

The card is valid for one adult and one child under 14 years for two or three days. You can buy the cards at tourist information offices, hotels and at main underground ticket booths. Budapest Tourism Office provides online details of the discounts available at each location.

Key Attractions:

Széchenyi Lánchíd (Chain Bridge)
Nine bridges link Buda to Pest but the Chain Bridge is the first and most famous, with its solid arches and lion statues. Completed in 1848, the bridge was inaugurated in 1849, allowing for the integration of Buda, Pest and Óbuda in 1872. After suffering considerable damage at the hands of the Nazis, the bridge was repaired and re-inaugurated in 1949.

1 Clark Ádám tér
Opening hours: Daily 24 hours.
Free admission.

Budavári Palota (Buda Royal Palace)
King Béla IV laid the foundations of the Royal Palace in the 13th century but it had its heyday during King Mátyás’s reign (1458-90). In the late 18th century, Empress Maria Theresa rebuilt and enlarged the palace. The Royal Palace has survived many wars - the Turkish siege (1541) and invasion (1686), the 1848-49 War of Independence and the latter stages of WWII. Within the palace’s partially reconstructed walls lies a vast museum complex which includes two museums, the Budapesti Történeti Múzeum (Budapest History Museum) and Magyar Nemzeti Galéria (Hungarian National Gallery), as well as the National Széchenyi Library.

The Budapest History Museum, in the southern part of the palace, traces the city’s history from Buda’s liberation from the Turks in 1686 to the 1970s. The Hungarian National Gallery is situated at the core of the palace. The encyclopaedic collection of Hungarian art from the 10th century to the present day portrays battles, both victorious and disastrous, romantic rural scenes and religious medieval altar paintings, providing a valuable insight into the Hungarian national identity. The National Library, established in 1802, overlooks the palace’s Lion Courtyard and houses over 7 million works, mostly in Hungarian.

Budapesti Történeti Múzeum (Budapest History Museum)
I Budavári Palota (Wing E), Szent György tér 2
Tel: (01) 487 8800.
Website: www.btm.hu
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1800 (mid Mar-mid Sep); Wed-Mon 1000-1800 (mid Sep-Oct); Wed-Mon 1000-1600 (Nov-mid Mar).
Admission charge.
 
Magyar Nemzeti Galéria (Hungarian National Gallery)
I Budavári Palota (Wings B, C, D), Szent Gyorgy ter 2
Tel: (01) 439 7325.
Website: www.mng.hu
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1800.
Admission charge.

National Széchenyi Library
I Budavári Palota (Wing F), Dísz tér or Palota utca
Tel: (01) 224 3700.
Website: www.oszk.hu
Opening hours: Tues-Sat 1000-2000.
Free admission; charge for special exhibitions.

Mátyás Templom (Matthias Church)
The Zsolnay pyrogranite tiles of Matthias Church are as colorful and richly patterned as snakeskin. Inside is a melange of styles from the 13th to the 19th centuries. It is thought that a church was first built on this site in 1015, by King István. When the Turks occupied the Castle District in 1541, the church was turned into a mosque and the walls painted with extracts from the Koran. In the 20th century, the church was used as a kitchen by occupying German forces, and later as stables by the Russians. Mass takes place on Sunday at 1000, when it is free to enter the church. There are frequent concerts throughout the year.

I Szentháromság tér 2
Tel: (01) 355 5657.
Website: www.matyas-templom.hu
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1700, Sat 0900-1300, Sun 1300-1700.
Admission charge.

Fishermen’s Bastion
Behind the sanctuary of the Matthias Church, the Fishermen’s Bastion offers a splendid view of the Danube and Pest. At the end of the 19th century, Frigyes Schulek designed a graceful system of stairs running from the Danube to the hilltop, and the current structure, which has been embellished with turrets, scrolls, arcades, curved stairs and statues, was intended to be the end point. Schulek imagined the bastion section defended by the fishermen’s guild, hence the name. Many felt his vision was of a more austere, defensible and less decorated piece of architecture, but his original plans were later altered to the delight of today’s visitors.

I Szentháromság tér
Opening hours: Daily 24 hours.
Free admission.

Hotel Gellért and Thermal Baths
Many regard the thermal baths attached to Hotel Gellért as the finest in the city. A bathhouse has stood on the site since the 1500s, when its waters were valued for their medicinal qualities by the Turks, but the current art nouveau building dates from the turn of last century. Bathing in its soothing waters, surrounded by flower motifs, columns, and delicate wall designs, is one of Budapest’s highlights, but even if you’re not up for a dip, stop by to drink in the glorious foyer. A huge array of treatments and massages are offered, so read the display board carefully before approaching the normally grumpy staff.

XI Szent Gellért tér 2-6
Tel: (01) 889 5500.
Website: www.danubiusgroup.com/danubius/gellert
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0600-1900, Sat and Sun 0600-1700.
Admission charge.

Országház (Parliament)
Imre Steindl’s design for Budapest’s parliament, inspired by London’s Houses of Parliament, won first prize in a competition to celebrate the 1,000th year of the Hungarian nation. Work commenced in 1885 and was finally completed in 1902. The edifice, with its elegant neo-Renaissance dome, topped by a pointy neo-gothic spire, stretches for over 250m (820ft) along the River Danube. It was here that the crowds assembled on 23 October 1989, when Mátyás Szurös declared the Hungarian People’s Republic from the balcony on Kossuth Lajos tér.

V Kossuth Lajos tér 1-3
Tel: (01) 441 4904.
Website: www.mkogy.hu
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0800-1800, Sat 0800-1600, Sun 0800-1400. Guided tours in English 1000, 1200, 1400.
Admission charge.

Szent István Bazilika (St Stephen’s Basilica)
St Stephen’s Basilica, Budapest’s largest church, was designed by József Hild and begun in 1851, although not consecrated until 1905. A storm destroyed the original dome in 1868 and much of the building required rebuilding. The Basilica also suffered damage during WWII. The building seats 8,500 and is currently undergoing restoration, which began in 1980 and is set to continue for the foreseeable future. Inside, Gyula Benczúr’s painting of Szent István offering the Hungarian crown to the Virgin Mary symbolises the alliance between Hungary and Western Europe. The basilica’s tower offers excellent views of the city.

V Szent István tér 1
Tel: (01) 403 5370.
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1900, Sat 0900-1300, Sun 1300-1700. Opening times for Stzent Jobb Chapel and for the cupola vary, phone ahead. Tower: daily 1000-1800.
Free admission; charge for the tower.

Dohány Zsinagóga (Central Synagogue)
Europe’s largest synagogue (and the world’s second largest) was designed by Lajos Föster, in a Byzantine-Moorish style, and completed in 1859. Desecrated by German and Hungarian Nazis, its two Moorish domes gleam afresh after a 10-year restoration project financed by the Hungarian government and Tony Curtis’ Emmanuel Foundation. Some 724,000 Hungarian Jews were murdered in the Holocaust and their lives are remembered in the Jewish History Museum, annexed to the synagogue, and at Imre Varga’s memorial to the side of the synagogue.

VII Dohány utca 2
Tel: (01) 342 8949.
Opening hours: Sun-Thurs 1000-1700, Fri 1000-1400 (mid Apr-Oct); Sun-Thurs 1000-1500, Fri 1000-1400 (Nov-mid Apr); closed Jewish holidays.
Admission charge.

Jewish Museum
VII Dohány utca 2
Tel: (01) 342 8949.
Opening hours: Same hours as synagogue.
Admission charge.

Hősök Tere (Heroes’ Square) and Millenniumi Emlékmű (Millennium Monument)
Heroes’ Square was built in 1896, to celebrate the millennial anniversary of the Magyar conquest. Here, the Archangel Gabriel, at the top of a 36m (118ft) column (winner of the Grand Prix at the Paris World Exhibition in 1900), is half-encircled by statues of the seven victorious Magyar tribal chiefs on horseback and Hungary’s most honored rulers, from King Stephen to Kossuth.

VI Andrássy út, corner of Dózsa Dyörgy utca
Opening hours: Daily 24 hours.
Free admission.

Further Distractions:

Margitsziget (Margaret Island)
Wedged in a loop of the River Danube and linked by Árpád híd and Margit híd to Buda and Pest, the 2km (1.5-mile) Margaret Island is one of the calmest and greenest spots in Budapest. No cars are allowed or needed - the island from Margit híd to Árpád híd can be crossed on foot in 20 minutes. The island is named after the devout daughter of King Béla IV, who lived here in a Dominican convent in the 13th century. In summer, Margaret Island is bursting with people heading for a swim at the Hajós Alfréd swimming pool or Palatinus pool.

Margaret Island
Free admission.

Szobor Park (Memento Park)
Just as Lenin Boulevard and Marx Square no longer exist in Budapest, so their statues and monuments have been sent into exile in Memento Park. Buses leave from Deák Square for the short ride to this eerie and increasingly popular outdoor attraction.

XXII Balatoni utca, corner of Szabadkai utca
Tel: (01) 424 7500.
Website: www.mementopark.hu
Admission charge.

House of Terror Museum
For an insight into Hungary’s turbulent recent history, pay a visit to the House of Terror Museum. Featuring the grim decades of Nazi and Communist repression, this museum is housed in the former headquarters for the secret police of both the Nazi and Communist governments, an address that filled the heart of the average Hungarian with dread for the best part of 50 years.

Andrassy út 60
Tel: (01) 374 2600.
Website: www.terrorhaza.hu
Admission charge.

Iparművészeti Múzeum (Applied Arts Museum)
Budapest is filled with fine examples of art nouveau architecture, but the Applied Arts Museum is arguably the city’s finest example of the style. The roof is tiled in green and gold Zsolany ceramics and decorated with Hungarian folk-art and oriental motifs, while the collection housed inside is a breath-taking array of furniture, metalwork, ceramics, and glassware, much of which was purchased at Vienna’s World Exhibition in 1873.

IX Úllői út 33-37
Tel: (01) 456 5107.
Website: www.imm.hu
Admission charge.

Művészetek Palotája and Ludwig Múzeum Budapest (Palace of Arts and Ludwig Museum)
The Palace of Arts, in the southern reaches of the city on the banks of the Danube, is Budapest’s latest offering to the arts. The modern building is of little interest to most, but the performance halls inside are of the highest standard. The Ludwig, housed within the complex, showcases the city’s contemporary art collection which includes works by Picasso, Warhol and Lichenstein.

Palace of Arts
IX Komor Marcell utca 1
Tel: (01) 555 3001.
Website: www.mupa.hu
Free admission.

Ludwig Museum
IX Komor Marcell utca 1
Tel: (01) 555 3444.
Website: http://www.ludwigmuseum.hu/
Permanent collection free admission; temporary exhibitions admission charge.

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Buda Castle Palace (Budavari Palota) Budapest Central Synagogue (Nagy Zsinagoga) Caves of Aggtelek	Fisherman's Bastion (Halaszbastya) Gellert Baths
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