Budapest Things to Do Tips by acemj

The Labyrinth of the Buda... Labyrinth - Labirintus Review

Every house inside the walls of Castle Hill has cellars that run deep into the depths of the hill itself. You can take a tour of some of the sections of this underground network of corridors that were used for strategic military purposes back in the Middle Ages.

Address: Castle Hill.

Vajdahunyad Castle Vajdahunyad Castle - Vajdahunyad-vár Review

This castle in City Park was constructed for Budapest's Millennium exhibition of 1896. Its purpose was to display many Hungarian architectural styles in one structure.

Phone: (+36) 1/343-3198

Royal Palace Buda Castle - Budavar Review

The Royal Palace on the Buda side of the Danube, has been destroyed and rebuilt multiple times, but the present structure was built in both the 18th and early 20th-centuries. Here you'll find the National Gallery (which has a huge section devoted to Hungarian art), the National Library and the Budapest History Museum.

Address: Castle District (Varhegy), Buda

Directions: Can be reached by the Castle bus (Varbuz) from Moszkva ter or by the Gellert Funicular from Clark Ádam ter near the Chain Bridge.

City Park City Park - Varosliget Review

In the middle of the park is the lake, which becomes a picturesque setting for ice-skating in the winter and is a great place to rent a boat and enjoy a fine summer day.

Directions: Behind the Heroes Square

Citadel, Gellert Hill Gellert Hill - Gellert Hegy - Citadella Review

Gellert Hill offers more great views of the Danube. Crowning the hill is the Citadel, which was built by the Hapsburgs after the revolution of the mid 19th century. Today it houses a restaurant and a hotel.
Just below the Citadel (and from everywhere else in Budapest) you'll see the Liberation Monument which was erected by the Soviets as a reminder that they 'saved' Budapest from the Germans. Most locals hate it.

Address: Buda riverside

Heroes Square and City Park City Park - Varosliget Review

Andrassy ut ends in a flourish at Heroes Square, a collection of monuments that pompously celebrate some of Hungary's famous sons.
The square is a huge space flanked by the Museum of Fine Arts and the Palace of Arts (I didn't go to either).
Heroes Square is the end of Andrassy ut, but it is the entryway to the City Park, a huge open space (kind of like New York's Central Park) where you can walk barefoot through the grass, jog on quiet trails or rent a boat.
There is an enormous Baroque complex called the Szechenyi Baths, a zoo and the Castle of Vajdahunyad (a reproduction of a Transylvanian castle that was constructed for the Millenary Exhibition).

Address: end of Andrussy ut

Directions: Behind the Heroes Square

Castle Hill Buda Castle - Budavar Review

Also known as Varhegy, Castle Hill is a glimpse into the medieval past. It is worth it to join a tour group. You'll find a tourist center right when you enter the castle and I would encourage you to join a tour. Almost every structure within the castle has a plaque that tells a rich story of its history (but all of the plaques are in Hungarian, so if you can't read it, join a tour).
Castle Hill will provide you with the best views in the city as it towers over Buda and overlooks the Danube's slow curve through the city.
Matthias Church is the centerpiece of the castle. It was originally built in the 13th century, was converted into a mosque by the Turks, damaged in the 1600s when Budapest was recaptured and rebuilt in the late 19th century in its current Baroque style.
Adjacent to the church is the Fisherman's Bastion, probably the most photographed monument in Budapest. While the walls of the bastion appear to be straight out of an ancient fairy tale, they were actually built around the turn of the century purely as a fantastic monument to the fishermen who defended the area in the 18th century.
Also, don't miss Fortuna utca, which is a beautiful street within the castle lined by pastel-colored houses.
You'll also find the Royal Palace, the Museum of Budapest History, the National Library and the Hungarian National Gallery in the Castle Hill area.

Directions: Buda. Kind of hard to miss. Just look up. Best way to get there is by the funicular which you can get on at the Buda end of the Chain Bridge.

Liberty Bridge (Szabadság híd) & baths . . . Liberty Bridge - Szabadsag Hid Review

The Liberty Bridge opened in 1896 and was originally called the Franz Joseph Bridge after the Habsburg Emperor. Along the top of the bridge's pillars you'll notice iron Turul birds, a symbol in Magyar history.

At the far end of the bridge (Buda side) in this picture, you can see the Gellért Hotel, an Art Nouveau palace which is as famous for its Turkish style thermal baths that are open to the public.

Andrassy ut Andrássy Road - Andrássy út Review

This fashionable, tree-lined avenue is Budapest's version of Paris' Champs-Elysees. City planners really did model it after the famous Parisian avenue and it is the site of some of the best architecture in the city.

Address: From the inner city to the City Park

Other Contact: The subway runs underground alon

The Chain Bridge Chain Bridge -Szecheny Lanchid Review

Budapest's most famous bridge was completed in 1849 and has since become one of the symbols of the city. Prior to its completion there was no permanent bridge joining Buda and Pest and making it a truly united city. You can walk across from Pest toward Castle Hill or just enjoy the views from the middle. At night, the bridge is lit up like a Christmas tree and looks great!

Directions: Erszebet bridge