travelgrove Reviews
 

The attractions of Budapest, Hungary

 
    Budapest's mapBudapest 1
Budapest 2
bicska's pictureby bicska review
added on 30th of May, 2009
If you're interested in visiting central or Eastern europe, you must visit Budapest. Budapest was my favorite city befor I went first time to Prague, but I'm still recomanding this city for everyone. I think it is the most beautiful and interesting city in Hungary. With its really interesting past and present.

My absolute favorite side of Budapest is the Gellert Hill and the Citadel:

Rising steeply above the capital, Gellért Hill (Gellért- hegy) seems from the Danube to be a huge cliff, al- though it is only 140 metres (430 ft.) above the level of the river. Owing to its exceptional situation, it offers a peerless panorama of the entire city. Up to the end of the nineteenth century this was the limit of the town of Buda, and the hill served as an outpost and fortress of Buda Castle. The plateau is still not fully built over: only on the southern and western slopes can we find villas. The top can be reached on foot in a good quarter of an hour from the Buda end of either Elizabeth or Liberty Bridge. The motor road starts from Elizabeth bridge, but bus 27 starting at Móricz Zsigmond körtér will also take you to the summit.

The Citadel, the fortress on top of the hill, was built between 1850 and 1854 by the despotic Habsburg authorities to control the city after the suppression of the Hungarian War of Independence. The walls in the east-west direction are 200 metres (220 yds.) long, 4 to 6 metres (13-20 ft.) high and at some points 3 metres (10 ft.) thick. In 1897 the Austrian troops left the fortress, and in 1899 the city of Budapest, which bought it, had the walls symbolically demolished -as can still be seen next to the main gate-but then it was again used to house Hungarian soldiers. During the 1944-45 siege it was from the Citadel (and from Castle Hill) that the encircled German troops kept the city under gunfire until their final surrender. Today the Citadel serves as a look-out terrace and has a restaurant. The former barracks have been converted into a tourist hostel. The Liberation Monument (the work of Zsigmond Kisfaludi Strobl) was erected in 1947 to commemorate the liberation of the country and in honour of the soldiers of the liberating Soviet Army (today we call it occupation). The female figure holding the palm of victory together with the pedestal is 40 metres (132 ft.) high. In front of it is the statue of a Soviet soldier; of the two accessory figures one vanquishes the symbolic figure of destruction and devastation, the other one raises high the torch of progress. The names of fallen Soviet soldiers are carved on the pedestal. On the. southern and western slopes below the Citadel the Jubilee Park was completed in 1965-66; from here the view extends to the semicircle of the Buda hills. Of the statues in the park mention must be made of István Kiss's relief "Budapest" and of Ferenc Medgyessy's work "St. Gerard's (Gellért's) Fountain" standing in the lower end of the park.

 

Things about Budapest you may be interested in

 
 

Read about Budapest in our travel-guide
A trip to the Budapest ZooThe best things to do in Budapest
 
 
 
guides

Recommended Budapest Guide

Budapest Sights

Sights in Budapest city centerBudapest holds several cultural attractions due to the architectural boom that allowed architects to construct what they wanted in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Not all of the cultural attractions in Budapest sights are located next to each other, but the most important ones do all lie on the same vertical axis, making them known as the “Cultural Avenue” of Budapest. The Buda Castle District, for starters, is the richest part of cultural attractions when it comes to Budapest sights and is quite reminiscent to Bratislava. Here, you can find several museums, from the Museum of Music History to the Museum of Telephony... Read more »

 
 
reviews

Recent reviews for Budapest

Must see the Palace of Miracles in Budapest - Jun 22, 2009, by angel
Last summer we spent some days in Budapest with a friend from California. We tried to do and see as many things in this capital city as we could. We heard about this place 'The Mansion of Miracles' (Csodak Palotaja in hungarian) and we... Read more »

Five reasons to visit Budapest - Aug 27, 2008, by lindamura
Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, is located on a beautiful side of the Danube and has two parts – Buda and Pest. Buda is the older part with medieval buildings; Pest is the commercial center, a beautiful blend of new and old... Read more »

Must visit the Tropicarium in Budapest - Jun 22, 2009, by angel
One part of this interesting zoo is dedicated for birds. You enter two or three doors till you reach the room where they are. It's a very high place with many plants in the center. You can walk round the room and watch the birds flying near... Read more »

Must see the Tropicarium in Budapest - Jun 22, 2009, by angel
There is a specially decorated and maintained part in the Tropicarium which is like a tropical rainforest (picture 10). Here in every 20 or 30 minutes a tropical storm begins which you can watch from inside of it. You can hear thunders and... Read more »

Sailing on the Danube in Budapest - Jun 22, 2009, by angel
Szentendre is a little city very close to Budapest. We found on the internet that there are little ships or pleasure-boats which depart from Budapest and travel to Szentendre. We decided to buy tickets to one of them but only one-way,... Read more »

 
 

More reviews you might be interested in

Salzburg reviews - Austria
Salzburg is a really nice city, historically and because of the sights. First thing probably everybody knows, it's the birthplace of Mozart, the...
Why go to Salzburg

Martigny reviews - Switzerland
Martigny is a nice small town in Switzerland at the area of the 'Wallis'. It's not so big, but the place offers you a good museum, showing you the...
Martigny, a great place to relax in Switzerland

 

Dortmund reviews - Germany
Wo liegt Dortmund? Dortmund (Niederdeutsch:Düörpm) liegt im Westen Deutschlands und ist eine Großstadt. Sie ist das Wirtschafts-...
Besuch Dortmund

Leutkirch Im Allgau reviews - Germany
Leutkirch im Allgäu ist eine ehemalige Freie Reichsstadt im Südosten des Bundeslandes Baden-Württemberg. Im westlichen Allgäu...
Leutkirch im allgäu

 

Dittisham reviews - United Kingdom
Dittisham is one of the most attractive and un-spoilt villages in Devon, England and it has in recent years, become a sought after place to live...
The loveliest village in South England

Thira reviews - Greece
It is a fabulous volcanic island with an antique minoan city. Some people think Santorini is the home of the lost city of Atlantis... The quite...
What to see in Santorini

 

Levanto reviews - Italy
This is a nice place, great for everybody who wants to have some beach break and also nature you can walk through. Here the so called 'cinque...
Great beaches at Levanto

Yala reviews - Sri Lanka
We are the Best tour operators in Sri Lanka who handling the budget tour & Holiday pakages. We are managing Sri...
Best Tour Operator in sri lanka

 

Cozumel reviews - Mexico
Located in the Caribbean Sea on the eastern side of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, the island of Cozumel covers 490-square-km. With 15 km (9...
Visit the great beaches of Cozumel Island

Courmayeur reviews - Italy
Courmayeur is the ultimate ski destination enjoying a phenomenal resort location at the end of Italy's Aosta Valley next to the Mont Blanc Tunnel...
Courmayeur, the best place to ski in Italy

 
 
 
   Welcome to Travelgrove  register tell a friend bookmark it 
 
 
*