Walking Tour of Buda

Today we spent the day in Buda, mostly exploring the Castle District, also known as Castle Hill.


First, we made our way from Pest to Buda across the Elisabeth Bridge (one of the bridges spanning the Danube), which gave us some great views of the Castle District.

Along the way, we saw some typical Hungarian windowsills, like this one.

And once up inside the castle walls, we walked around and looked at all of the buildings. This one in particular caught my eye - it is still pockmarked by the bullets and shells fired during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.

We also got a great view of Pest. This photo is of the Hungarian Parliament, which we're planning to visit tomorrow.

One of the places we visited on Castle Hill was St Mathias's Cathedral, which contains an exhibition of ecclesiatical objects and the Saint Crown of Hungary, which is apparently the supreme source of political power in Hungary. The church is an amazing piece of art, both inside and outside. This photo is of the paintings on one of the columns - similar painted

patterns cover every square inch of the church's interior walls and ceiling.

When we were finally worn out, we headed back to Pest over the Chain Bridge and ended the afternoon with a Dobos torte and coffee at Budapest's oldest kávéház (coffee house).