We arrived in Budapest in the morning from Brastilava and its castle was the first thing we wanted to see in Budapest. Since we were by car we decided before arriving at the hotel to visit Buda.
Buda is not a separate city but until 1873 Budapest was divided into 3 independent cities. Buddha, Obuda and Pest. Today this name is still used to refer to each area and to be able to locate it more easily. Basically and speaking in terms of tourism, Buda is divided from Pest by the Danube River and joined by the famous Chain Bridge.
Where should you stay in Budapest? Is it better near Buda Castle or in Pest?
The truth is that both areas have their attractions and are beautiful to look at, and obviously you should visit both. However, I consider that Pest offers more tourist places both to explore and to go out at night, which is why it is the area that I recommend to stay. . At the same time, along Andrassy Avenue, the main one, subway line 1 runs from end to end, making it very easy to get around.
If you ask me exactly where to stay I would recommend the closest to this avenue and from the Danube to the Opera, since from this point you will be able to get almost everywhere on foot.
Arriving by car and crossing that imposing bridge made us fall in love with this city from the beginning and that is very difficult when you come from places like Prague or Vienna where you can’t believe everything you see. Budapest is also a city with imposing buildings and striking architecture.
What to see in Budapest Castle
Our tour of Buda began at the castle, the main attraction in this part of the city. It is located on a hill so to get to it you have to make physical effort, but nothing that money can’t solve, there are also cable car.
Unless it really poses a problem for you, even if you are tired, I recommend going up on foot, since as you go up you will have beautiful views of the city either to take photos or just to stare. The reality is that the climb is very calm and there are no steps.
If you don’t put the batteries in, the funicular runs from 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and the price is approximately 5 dollars. Plus point is that you don’t have to pay to enter the castle, so if you don’t use the funicular they are not spent a coin…
To know the castle interior If you have to pay entry something like 10 dollars. Inside you can find a library, museum and national gallery. Since we weren’t very interested, we didn’t know him.
As I said before, Buda Castle is located on a hill, and on it you can find other places to visit besides the castle.
What to see around Budapest Castle
Walking from the castle I recommend taking the street Uri utca , to enjoy the medieval style of its buildings. On this street and if you go with kids you will find the labyrinth that they say is very fun.
You can walk down that street for a couple of blocks. Also the main Tamok utca ,which takes almost all people have interesting places. It is striking to see that many live on these streets and leave their cars on the sidewalks in a point that one sees as fully touristy. Going up and down from this place every day and constantly seeing people must be tiring.
Once you finish the tour through the streets, go to see the Matthias Church which is the most famous in Budapest, striking for its neo-Gothic style. Something that I did not like and that seems horrible to me with any religious temple, is charging for admission. I don’t know if this is always the case at all times but they informed us of that.
A few meters away is the Fisherman’s Bastion from where you have excellent views, as well as from the Castle, of the entire city and the best of Parliament. The seven towers that make it up commemorate the 7 founding tribes of Budapest. To go up to this viewpoint it is not necessary to pay.
When should you visit?
If you can choose a time, I recommend going at sunset so you can also see it from above when the city begins to light up. From here you can go down some stairs that are at the same point or return to the castle to go down the funicular or on foot.
What I recommend is to go down directly through the bastion and walk straight towards the Danube to have views of the river from the front. Parliament but not from above but from the coast. And from where you are, walk to the chain bridge.
chain bridge
As I said before, it is what connects Buda to Pest and it is one of the bridges that impacted us the most among the last ones we saw. It is quite extensive but you must undoubtedly cross it both day and night since from it you have views of both Buda and its castle, as well as Pest and Parliament. And the most important thing… at night everything is illuminated!!