I wasn’t expecting to enjoy Budapest so much, but it turns out it’s exactly my kind of city. It’s cheap, friendly and photogenic; what more could I ask for?! Just a short train or bus ride from other European capitals, Budapest is a good city for a day trip. There’s always more to see, but it was easy to get a feel for Budapest in only 12 hours.
Budapest’s main sights are quite recognisable, and I was surprised to learn that most of them were only built in the last 120 years. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised by all of Budapest. Having only shaken off communism quite recently, I expected Budapest to have a gritty, East Berlin vibe to it. Instead, it was opulent and, dare I say, beautiful.
Exploring the following six locations gave me the perfect insight into Budapest in just 12 hours.
Fisherman’s Bastion
This was the place in Budapest I was most excited to visit, and it did not disappoint. Fisherman’s Bastion is photogenic from pretty much every angle. With its white stone arches, wide staircases and pointed turrets, it could be Hogwarts or Disney’s castle.
Fisherman’s Bastion sits high on Castle Hill in Buda, on the west bank of the Danube. Though it’s called a “bastion”, it was never actually a fortress. It was built at the turn of the 20th century as a lookout point, so the people of Budapest would a have beautiful terrace to go to for panoramic views over their city. Moreover, the seven towers that punctuate the bastion’s walls represent the seven Magyar tribes that settled in what became Hungary. Fisherman’s Bastion thus also symbolises the country’s emergence and history.
For something so stunning and iconic, it struck me that the bastion had a strangely ill-suited name! It turns out there were once real castle walls where the bastion now stands, and it’s from this that Fisherman’s Bastion gets its name: this section of the wall, above “Fishtown” in Buda, was protected by the Fisherman’s Guild. Though the bastion is now only decorative, its white, neo-gothic walls curve around Matthias Church as if they were still protecting it.
What I liked most about the bastion, besides how beautiful it is from every angle, is that it wasn’t designed for tourists. As I hung out of balconies at sunrise for photo opportunities, school children skipped down the sprawling staircases like it was any other structure. Intended to showcase the best of Budapest, Fisherman’s Bastion has now become part of everyday life for the citizens it was designed to serve.
Matthias Church
Originally constructed in the 13th century, Matthias Church has since been rebuilt many times. For example, when Hungary was occupied by the Ottoman Empire in the 16th and 17th centuries, the church became a mosque and all the church’s traditional Catholic furnishings were stripped away.
While visiting Matthias Church I heard an amazing story about its time as a mosque, now known as the ‘Mary Wonder’. In 1686, during the Great Turkish War for possession of Budapest, the Turks were praying in the mosque. The Holy League shot a cannon at the wall and it fell to reveal a hidden statue of the Virgin Mary from the mosque’s Catholic days. The Turks were so horrified by this bad omen that Budapest fell to the Holy League the same day!
Since then, Matthias Church has been somewhat returned to its original gothic style, with a few little twists. I spent far longer than I imagined here, because Matthias Church is unlike any other I’ve ever visited.
Its hexagonal, multi-coloured roof tiles starkly juxtapose the surrounding white stone of Fisherman’s Bastion. The inside is intricately decorated in matt gold, with paisley pillars and colourful mandalas. I feel like that description makes it seem garish and ugly, but it’s far from! Despite the busy décor, the church had a somehow calming atmosphere. With its Christian frescoes and intricate patterns, the interior is exactly and appropriately what I would imagine Turkish décor crossed with Catholicism to look like.
St Stephen’s Basilica
Having seen Budapest from high on Buda’s Castle Hill, St Stephen’s Basilica is the best place to see the city from the Pest side. Unlike Matthias Church, the basilica is much more traditionally Christian. It’s the largest church in Budapest, thus its tower offers a great panorama over the city. I liked that I could see across the Danube to Fisherman’s Bastion and Matthias Church on Castle Hill, where we’d spent the morning.
Like a lot of Budapest’s main attractions, St Stephen’s Basilica was built much more recently than I would have thought. Older basilicas I’ve visited, for example St Peter’s in Rome, are accented with gold highlights, as was modest in the era they were built. In contrast, St Stephen’s is adorned with luxurious gilded ceilings, red marble columns and golden chandeliers at every turn.
The displays of opulence and wealth can’t be missed. In fact, it’s so blatant that in my research I came across someone who warned people might be offended by the glaring gold décor. I actually thought it was beautiful, but I can see how it might also come across as contrived.
While I preferred Matthias Church’s decorative style, I’m glad I visited the basilica. As one of the only high points in Pest, the view of Buda from the top was unbeatable.
New York Café
Normally cafés and restaurants serve a solely functional purpose on my trips. However, I made an exception for Budapest’s New York Café.
Known as the most beautiful café in the world, the New York Café opened around the same time as Fisherman’s Bastion. The turn of the century was clearly a good time for Hungarian architecture!
Apparently, in the early 20th century, the New York Café was a hub of literary and artistic inspiration. Whether you were rich or poor, you could turn up at the café and the waiters would bring you paper and ink. Sadly the café fell into disrepair after WWII and was only restored to its former glory in 2006, well after the end of Hungary’s communist era.
It was the New York Café’s literary history that made me so keen to visit, so we dropped in for a hot chocolate in the early afternoon. With its high ceilings, scarlet upholstery and dancing chandeliers, it was easy to see how the café was inspirational for aspiring artists. Even our half an hour queue for a table was pleasant. We were able to admire the incredible gilded Renaissance-style décor as we listened to a live piano and Hungarian quartet.
History and atmosphere aside, I had the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had in my life here. It even came with a free shot of tap water—does it get any better than that?! I’m now sold on foodseeing, AKA sightseeing but for food. (There must be a better name for this but, if not, you heard it here first!) In my upcoming trips I fully plan to dedicate time to foodseeing. The hot chocolate really was that good!
Shoes on the Danube
After spending time in Buda and Pest, we focused on the banks of the Danube. We walked along the Pest side of the river until we reached the Shoes on the Danube memorial.
Budapest, and Hungary in general, has a pretty turbulent past. The city is shaped by centuries of invasions, forced coalitions and communist regimes. The Shoes on the Danube memorial pays tribute to one of those violent eras.
In 1944 German forces invaded Budapest, though they were supposedly allies. Thousands of citizens, most of them Jewish, were taken to the banks of the Danube. They were instructed to take off their shoes, which were valuable, before being shot point-blank and washed away by the river.
The memorial is low key, which was one of the things I appreciated about it. Unless you know what it is, it’s easy to walk past unaware, despite the flowers and candles that decorate it. Sixty pairs of cast iron shoes now mark the bank outside the parliament building. They are replicas of 1940s shoes, and come in all shapes and sizes to symbolise that no one was safe from persecution.
Parliament Building
Like many of Budapest’s sights, the Hungarian parliament building was once again constructed in the late 19th century. Just like Fisherman’s Bastion, Hungarian history is symbolised in the architecture of the building. It’s 96 metres high, representing the birth of Hungary as we know it in 896 AD. In fact, no building in Budapest can be taller than 96m because the number is so symbolic for them!
With its neo-gothic and neo-baroque architecture, Budapest’s parliament building looked to me like ours in Westminster. However, I think Budapest’s is more pleasing to the eye. I always think that English architecture can be a bit random, but Budapest’s parliament building is perfectly symmetrical on the inside and out.
So many people we spoke to told us that the Budapest experience wasn’t complete until we’d witnessed the city lit up at night. After spending time at the Shoes on the Danube memorial we crossed Chain Bridge (another iconic landmark) to the Buda bank of the river. There, we sat opposite Parliament with the best view across the Danube as the sun set behind us.
As the sky got darker, the parliament building was illuminated. The perfectly symmetrical dome and spires were reflected in the dark river, and I had a front row seat. It was the best way to end our day in Budapest.
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