Budapest city break - top sights
Holiday travel guide to top sights on a Budapest city break
There's much to see in Budapest on both sides of the Danube. Most of the important sights are located close to each other and even the outlying attractions are easily reached by public transport.
Visiting both Buda and Pest will mean crossing the impressive river on one of four bridges, including the famous Chain Bridge. Further south, the Liberation Bridge is equally as attractive.
Most first-time visitors to Budapest will head to Buda's Castle District (Varnegyed) sitting high above the Danube, and reached by the quaint but expensive funicular from the Chain Bridge.
Buda Castle is one of the most most visited sights of Budapest, a Unesco World Heritage location, with plenty of interesting attractions, museums, quaint streets and squares, restaurants and shops.
Near the top of the funicular, the National Dance Theatre sits next to the Hungarian President's residence; then it's Disz ter, once the heart of the district before Tarnok utca, or Treasurer's Street, which is lined with beautiful houses, many now converted to souvenir shops.
The main square is Szentharomsag ter featuring Matthias Church, largely built in the 15th century and used as a mosque during the Turkish occupation. It's full of art and worth the modest entry fee. Nearby are the Hungarian Wine Centre and the Hilton Hotel.
To the right, is the Fisherman's Bastion, a series of ramparts offering sweeping views of the Danube and Pest beyond and a wonderful spot for photography. Do look back too from the Bastion at the magnificent coloured roof of Matthias Church.
Wander to the northern end of the District before returning along Uri utca, a long and quaint road with its Baroque houses and also the entrance to the Labyrinth under the Castle District - see Offbeat sights.
Similar in style and scale to the British Houses of Parliament, the Budapest neo-Gothic legislature was built from 1885 to 1902. The Hungarian crown is displayed in the central lobby beneath the massive dome.
Statues of historical figures in Hungarian history surround this impressive space. The two debating chambers lead off and can be visited on organised tours. Queue for tickets outside the main entrance. It's well worth the wait.
This relatively modern building (1851 -1906) in Pest is colossal and richly decorated. Laid out like a Greek cross, it contains the Chapel of the Sacred Right housing what's said to be St Stephen's right hand.
In Pest's Jewish quarter, this is the largest synagogue in Europe, built in the 19th century. The design is Byzantine with rich decorations and two wooden galleries.
Next door is the Jewish Museum with a moving display of photographs and exhibits from the wartime ghetto as well as many religious and historic artifacts.
Behind is the cemetery and the remarkable Weeping Willow monument dedicated to Hungarian Jews who died in the war. It's located in the Raul Wallenberg Memorial Park that commemorates the Swedish diplomat who saved many Jews and was later killed, for reasons unknown, by the Soviets.
Based on Paris' Champs Elysee, this 2.5km avenue took 20 years to complete from 1872. It's lined with fine mansions, luxury shops and cultural attractions like the Opera House. Some buildings still show damage from the 1956 Uprising when the street was called Stalin Avenue.
Many photographs of the victims of the 1956 Uprising are displayed around the exterior walls of the Museum of Terror - the building's awning has the word TERROR cut out of it.
At the northern end of Andrassy Avenue is the vast Heroes' Square with an imposing column and statues of Arpad and the Magyar chiefs that founded Hungary over 1000 years ago. This is city architecture on a grand scale.
To the left of Heroes' Square is the Museum of Fine Arts (Szepuveszeti Muzeum) and to the right, the Museum of Contemporary Art. Beyond the Square is the City Park with large ornamental lakes, the zoo and the famous Szechenyi Baths.
Budapest medicinal baths produce 70 million litres of water daily
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