Budapest is in reality two cities fused together in 1873 — the hilly, castle-crowned Buda on the west bank of the Danube, and the flat, grid-planned Pest on the east — and walking from the Buda Castle district across the Chain Bridge into the Jewish Quarter of Pest is one of the most dramatic urban experiences in Central Europe. This post accompanies the YouTube walking tour “Budapest Walking Tour | Buda Castle, Parliament, Chain Bridge & More,” which covers the full breadth of this extraordinary walk. It is the companion to your budapest walking tour.
About This Walking Tour
This comprehensive Budapest walking tour covers the city’s major sights across both banks of the Danube. On the Buda side, the video visits Castle Hill — reachable by the historic castle funicular (operating since 1870) — and the Matthias Church, a Gothic structure originally built in the 14th century and converted to a mosque by the Ottomans in 1541 before being restored in the 19th century. Immediately adjacent is Fishermen’s Bastion (Halászbástya), a neo-Romanesque terrace built in 1902 that offers the most spectacular view of the Pest skyline, the Danube, and the Hungarian Parliament Building.
Crossing the Széchenyi Chain Bridge — the first permanent bridge connecting Buda and Pest, opened in 1849 — the walk continues through the Pest side past the neo-Gothic Hungarian Parliament Building (1902), St Stephen’s Basilica, and through the Jewish Quarter with its Great Synagogue, before reaching the ruin bar district around Szimpla Kert, the first and most famous of Budapest’s unique converted courtyard bar venues.
Highlights of Budapest
Buda Castle has been a fortress since at least the 13th century; it was rebuilt after sieges in 1686 (against the Ottomans), 1849 (against Austrian forces), and 1945 (in WWII). The current Baroque palace houses the Budapest History Museum and the Hungarian National Gallery. Matthias Church, formally the Church of Our Lady, was where Hungarian kings were crowned from the 15th century and served as an Ottoman mosque for 145 years between 1541 and 1686; its distinctive diamond-patterned Zsolnay tile roof dates from the 19th-century restoration. The Széchenyi Chain Bridge was completed in 1849 after nine years of construction; it was Budapest’s only permanent Danube crossing for decades. The Hungarian Parliament Building (Országház), completed in 1902, is the third-largest parliament building in the world and one of the finest examples of Gothic Revival architecture anywhere; it houses the Holy Crown of Hungary. The Great Synagogue on Dohány Street, completed in 1859 in Moorish-Byzantine style, is the largest synagogue in Europe, seating 3,000 people, and contains a memorial garden with a weeping willow tree commemorating Hungarian Jews killed in the Holocaust.
A Brief History of Budapest
The three settlements of Buda, Óbuda, and Pest were administratively merged in 1873 to create the modern city of Budapest. The Roman settlement of Aquincum, established in the 1st century AD on the site of today’s Óbuda, was the capital of the Roman province of Pannonia. Hungarian tribes settled the Carpathian Basin in 895 AD; the Castle Hill area became the royal capital in the 13th century. Ottoman forces captured Buda in 1541 and held it for 145 years. Habsburg rule followed until the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, under which Hungary gained autonomy within the empire and Budapest was transformed into an imperial capital. The massive Budapest building programme of 1870–1900 — the Parliament, the Opera House, the metro (Europe’s first underground railway, opened 1896) — created the city’s current character.
Practical Tips
Budapest is in the Central European Time zone (UTC+1, summer UTC+2). The currency is the Hungarian forint (HUF), not the euro. Hungarian is the language; English is widely spoken in tourist areas. Metro M2 (red line) serves Batthyány tér on the Buda side, close to the Chain Bridge. The castle area is served by bus 16 and the funicular. Ruin bars in the Jewish Quarter (around the Astoria area on M2) are open evenings and are crowded on weekends. The Parliament Building requires booking for interior visits.
Watch & Explore More
The walking tour above covers the full span of Budapest’s sights — watch it to plan your itinerary effectively. More European walks at @walkingtoursvideoscom. Related guides: Prague: Old Town to Charles Bridge and Krakow: Old Town to Wawel Castle.