A walk around Buda

Budapest is a city of two halves; so much so that it was once two cities, Buda and Pest, separated by the River Danube. Although now united as one, each has its own characteristics. Buda is hilly, with historic buildings, panoramic views, and winding streets. Meanwhile flat Pest is the city’s commercial hub and home to the country’s parliament. Its grand boulevards are lined with elegant buildings, the place to go for shopping, fine dining and nightlife.

That’s a generalisation, of course. You will find quaint streets in Pest and elegant buildings aplenty in Buda. But the division is helpful in planning sightseeing as well as in understanding the ‘vibe’ of the different areas.

Getting to Buda from Pest

On our first day in the city we decided to start our explorations in Buda. But like most visitors we were staying in Pest, in a cute apartment on József Attila u., by Erzsébet ter (Elizabeth Square). The obvious way to reach Buda is to cross the Danube on the iconic Széchenyi Lánchíd or Chain Bridge. This is the bridge that first united the two cities in 1840, although they were not to become one until 1873.

So from our ‘home’ by Erzsébet ter we walked west towards the river, passing a small square, József Nádor ter, with pretty fountains and attractive surrounding buildings. The square is named for Archduke Joseph Anton of Austria and there is a statue of him in the centre.

In and around József Nádor ter

We continued down to the Chain Bridge which we crossed. There were great views of the Hungarian Parliament building, though the wind made stopping to take photos a bit chilly!

On Széchenyi Lánchíd

On the far side we took the funicular up Castle Hill. We lucked out on boarding and were able to get a spot with the perfect view back down the hill as we climbed.

Riding the funicular to Buda Castle

Buda Castle

Once we reached the top we turned left to walk along in front of the castle and enjoy the expansive views of the river and Pest on the far side. It was very crowded but not so much so that we couldn’t stop and get photos.

The castle was built between 1749 and 1769, but badly damaged during World War II and rebuilt in a less ornate copy of Baroque style. It’s possible to tour the interior, and to visit its various museums including the Hungarian National Gallery and Budapest History Museum. Some sculptures are displayed outside. My feature photo was taken looking down at the castle and at one of these sculptures from the walkway.

Buda Castle

We decided against going inside the castle, as it was too lovely a day to spend a lot of time indoors. Instead we retraced our steps past the funicular and the Sandor Palace (a government building) where the guards were exchanging guns in a short ceremony.

Beyond that we had to negotiate an area with a lot of restoration work before reaching some attractive historic streets. I was surprised to see some of the roofs with the feature I had first encountered many years ago in Sibiu, where they are dubbed the Eyes of Sibiu.

An appealing terrace at the Spiler Biergarten caught our attention so of course we stopped for a drink and enjoyed relaxing there for a while watching the world go by.

Signs at the Spíler Biergarten (the two on the right are for the toilets)

The Matthias Church

Eventually we continued our walk and arrived at Holy Trinity Square (Szentháromság tér) in front of the Matthias Church, also known as the Church of Our Lady of Buda Castle. The church is thought to have been founded here in the early eleventh century, but the current Gothic structure dates from the second half of the fourteenth century and was extensively restored in the late nineteenth.

The Matthias Church

We decided to go inside, which meant buying a ticket at a booth on the far side of the square. It proved well worth the admission cost, even if I do slightly resent having to pay to visit a place of worship. The interior was beautifully decorated, there was some colourful stained glass and an ornate pulpit.

Inside the Matthias Church

The museum area up in the gallery had a few particularly interesting treasures, especially a 15th century Madonna, as well as great views down into the church.

The Madonna of Buda Castle (early 15th century) and a late 19th century Head of Christ

Looking down at the church from the gallery

Szentháromság tér / Holy Trinity Square

After leaving the church we took some photos around the square, including the statue of St Stefan. A man there had a hawk and was charging tourists to pose with it.

The Statue of St. Stephen I, and a tourist posing with the hawk

I grabbed some shots through the arches of the Panorama restaurant under the famous Fisherman’s Bastion, but we decided not to pay to walk up on the ramparts as we’d already got plenty of photos of the views.

The Fisherman’s Bastion and views

Back down to the Danube

We descended the hill via some steps below the Bastion which took us through a quieter residential area. We passed a memorial to Péter Mansfeld, a young student revolutionary who was executed at the age of just eighteen for his role in the uprisings against the Soviet government. A full account of his torture and death can be found on the Atlas Obscura website.

The memorial to Péter Mansfeld

Descending the hill

Further down more steps led through a lovely small patch of woodland to the impressive Hungarian Heritage House building. This houses a folk arts museum and theatre showcasing Hungarian folk music and dancing. With more time, and in less good weather, I might have tried to persuade Chris to visit the museum, but we had other priorities for our short visit to the city!

The Hungarian Heritage House

Eventually we came back to the river bank, with more great views of the Parliament Building.

We followed the river north for a short distance and stopped for more drinks at a lovely open-air restaurant called The Spot. From here it was an easy journey back to the Pest side of the river from the nearby Metro station, Batthyany ter. It had been an excellent morning and hopefully an interesting Monday Walk for Jo.

I visited Budapest in April 2026