There’s enough to see in Budapest to lure you back time and time again. After all, this isn’t a place with a breakneck pace of life.
Hungarians find time for a soak in the many steam and thermal baths you’ll find dotted around the city, and you’ll soon be tempted to join them.
City of Bridges
Several bridges cross the Danube, but the Szechenyi Chain Bridge is the most celebrated of them all, linking the two towns of Buda and Pest.
It was the first bridge to connect the towns, and the second to cross the Danube. No visit is complete without a stroll across the historic span, a bridge rebuilt after the German army demolished it during their retreat in 1945.
The top of the town
For the very best view of the city, head for the Fisherman’s Bastion. The towers here were built as lookouts during the 19th century – unsurprising in a city that has been invaded so many times over the centuries.
The balconies are free to use, although there’s a small fee to pay to visit the top turrets. You’ll also find a small chapel and café up here, and from this great vantage point you can plot your route through the city.
Worshipping wonders
The various rulers of Budapest – from Christians to Ottomans – have always erected grand buildings as places of worship. Most Ottoman remnants have long since been scattered to the wind, with few memories of the time when, in the 16th century, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent surveyed all he had conquered from Castle Hill.
The mosques and minarets have been torn down, but the tomb of Gul Baba, a dervish companion of Suleiman’s, can still be found on Mecset Street. Perhaps the greatest architectural legacy the Ottomans left are the numerous Turkish baths.
The main focus of Christian worship was St. Stephen’s Basilica, which has an intriguing if somewhat gloomy interior, while in the Jewish Quarter, the Great Synagogue is one of the world’s largest, built in 1859.
The best of Buda (and Pest)
Arrange a walking tour to make the most of a visit to Buda Castle (also known as the Royal Palace), a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There were fortifications here in the 13th century which the Ottomans allowed to decay before a 17th century siege destroyed it almost entirely. What you see now largely dates from the mid-18th century.
Get a glimpse into the city’s more recent history at the Liberty Monument – built in 1947 as a tribute to the Soviet liberators of Budapest.
Of course, the Communist era was also to be a troubled one in Hungary and, like many Eastern European countries, they gleefully toppled their statues after the fall of the Iron Curtain. Many such statues are now gathered in Memento Park, a graveyard for Socialist realism sculpture.
Relax in the baths, hike up the hills for unsurpassed views and try to get a grip of the centuries of turmoil that have made this such as key city in European affairs. Car rental in Budapest is the best way to make the most of a visit to this fascinating city and to see the rest of what Hungary has in store.