Best of Budapest – Top 10 Attractions
o see the best of the “Other Europe,” go to Budapest, Hungary, the city on the Danube, the city of rose-tinted sunsets and ancient hills crowned with fabled fortresses. It is both the capital of Hungary, home to 2 million of the country’s 10 million people, and the seat of Hungarian history. It is a city of storied bridges that crisscross its famous river to stitch up Buda and Pest into one. It is a city bubbling over with museums, theaters, galleries, parks, monuments and centuries-old mineral baths. It is a city that has emerged from the “Goulash Communism” of the Cold War more vibrant than ever. It is, ultimately, a city where “the paprika burns twice.”
And what, in Budapest, ought one to see? Well, here are the city’s top 10 attractions.
1. The Citadel
At the top of any visitor’s list should be the Citadel, quite possibly Budapest’s foremost attraction (after, of course, the Danube!). The Citadel is an imposing, mid 19th-century fortress, situated on Gellert Hegy (Gellert Hill) which rises from the Buda shores some 430 Budapest Day Tours above the Danube, with superb views all around. During World War II it housed both Hungarian and German troops, and later on, during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, it was here that young Hungarian freedom fighters made their last stand against the Soviets. You can still see the bullet holes and bomb scars left from the Soviet assault. Besides which, a basement German bunker has been artfully preserved, sporting wax figures of the German air command. Admission to the Citadel is free.
2. Castle District
The Castle District looms large on Castle Hill, 165 to 200 feet above the Danube. It is both at the heart of the city and at the core of Hungarian history. It was born in the wake of the Mongol assault on Pest in 1241 AD, and fully fortified by the early 1500s. In 1945, it was here that the Germans made their last desperate stand against the advancing Red Army, bringing upon Castle Hill utter devastation. In the years since, the district has been largely restored to its medieval glory and is now recognized as a World Heritage Site. In it are museums, galleries, churches, historic squares, and even a royal palace and a Baroque castle. The Castle District is best explored on foot, and can be approached from any of the surrounding streets, notably Fo utca, Batthyany utca and Attila utca.
3. Hungarian Parliament
The Hungarian Parliament, situated on the quay at Tomo, in Pest’s Lipot district, is one of the city’s most magnificent buildings. Almost 300 yards long and about 140 yards at its widest, it rises from the shores of the Danube in spires, topped with a grand, 82-foot cathedral-like dome. Surrounding it are no fewer than 88 statues, depicting Hungary’s monarchs and great national leaders. The interior is even more astonishing, marbled and gilded, and adorned with monumental murals, paintings and statues, as well as ornate windows, walls and floors. At the entrance, a sweeping flight of stairs takes up virtually the entire width of the hallway, lined with 18-foot-high, rose-colored marble columns. Much of the embellishment in the interior is of pure gold, 22 to 26 karat.
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