We have been walking lots and we have seen so much. On first impressions this city seems to me a mixture of Paris and London in architecture and style (with a little bit of Turkey).
Very simply the city of is formed from three cities that finally unified in the late 19th Century. Buda to the West of the Danube, Pest to the East and Obuda to the North.
Day 1
Arrived on the overnight train and jumped straight into a taxi to our hotel.
Straight onto a two hour free walking tour that took us through the basics of the city which include a little of inner Pest, highlights of the buildings on both sides of the river, over chain Bridge and up Castle Hill.
Highlights
- There is a horse statue on Castle Hill that is completely black all over apart from his bronze balls. That is because each year the students from the university hear sneak up in the middle of the night and polish them for luck....tradition!
-Matthias Church, on Castle Hill is one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen
-Panoramic views of the city. The banks of the river are lined with gorgeous buildings
-Statues...EVERYWHERE
-Walking past the Royal Palace on Castle Hill and saw the changing of the guards
-Apparently Buda used to be where all the rich Magyar lived (Hungarians is apparently not correct) and Pest not so much.
After the walking tour we went for a wander to the other end of Castle Hill, past more statues, fountains and the Hungarian National Gallery and onwards to the Gellert Baths located on the Buda side of the river also. Buda is known as the city of baths as all around the city you have natural thermal baths that locals and tourists visit in vast numbers.
Gellert is one of the most famous and had inside and outside baths that at its hottest was 40 Degrees centigrade and the coolest 26. I loved our bath visit. Chris loved our bath visit. Sauna, steam, plunge pool, hot bath, hotter bath...hotter bath. Amazing.
Sleep, dinner, more sleeps. Done.
What a great start to Budapest...
Jane
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