We start the tour from the Chain Bridge, which is the oldest, arguably most beautiful and certainly the most photographed of Budapest's bridge. First, we take the Margaret Bridge, the second permanent bridge in Budapest, and drive over to Buda. We stop in the Castle District,where you can find interesting museums, charming, crooked streets following the shape of the hill, little cafés and restaurants.During a short walk we show you the main attractions of the area. We walk to Matthias Church, which is one of the principal sights of the Hungarian capital. It is the successor to a church built in the time of King Béla IV between 1255 and 1269, which was rebuilt on several occasions. Its side aisles were extended and given polygonal ends in the 14th C; the magnificent south doorway with its relief in the tympanum depicting the "Death of Mary" also dates from that period. In 1309 Charles Robert of Anjou was crowned King Charles I of Hungary in this church. Under King Matthias, after whom the church is named, side-chapels were added, together with an oratory for the royal family and a new south tower, which bears the arms of Matthias Corvinus, dated1470. In 1526 the building was destroyed by fire and fifteen years later was converted into a mosque. When the Turks were driven out by the Austrians the Jesuits made themselves responsible for the Church of our Lady and renovated it in Baroque style. In 1867 Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and his consort Elisabeth ("Sisi") were crowned rulers of Hungary here; Franz Liszt composed the famous coronation mass.
Then we walk to the Fishermen’s Bastion,which is on Castle Hill, at the spot where in the Middle Ages the fishermen had their defense installations, the Fishermen's Bastion (Halászbástya) was built behind the Matthias Church between 1895 and 1902. Its towers, colonnades and embrasures, which were designed in Neo-Romanesque style by Frigyes Schulek, were renovated a few years ago. From the bastion there is a magnificent view over the city and the Danube.
Next, we drive to the Gellért Hill and show you the most spectacular view of Budapest. We then take you across the Elisabeth Bridge to Pest, this bridge is named after Queen Elisabeth, a popular queen and empress of Austria-Hungary, who was assassinated in 1898. Today, her large bronze statue sits by the bridge's Buda side.Then we show you the famous Central Market Hall, the largest indoor market in Budapest, followed by the largest Synagogue of Europe and the City Park. The synagogue is 75m long and 27m wide, and was built between 1854 and 1859 in the Moorish Revival style, based chiefly on Moorish models from North Africa and Spain.Then we pass by Europe’s largest thermal spa, the Budapest Zoo and the Amusement Park, after which stop at the Heroes’ Square (with statues of the most famous Hungarian kings and dukes). We then take the Andrássy Avenue to downtown Pest, pass by the Opera House and the St Stephen’s Basilica (Hungary first king, St Stephen is kept in the chapel), Something interesting to know about the Opera House is that this is Hungary's greatest Historicist architecture, it is designed for the Millennium celebrations in 19th century. Budapest Opera House will enchant you not only with its ballet and opera performances but with its fine neo-Renaissance architecture.
We then get off the bus again and take an interior visit of the impressive neo-gothic House of Parliament (guided tour incl.). The Parliament is 268 m long and 123 m wide accross the centre. It occupies 18.000 square metres on the surface and 473.000 cubic metres of space. About 50 five-story apartment blocks could fit into the Parliament, just to give you an idea about its vastness.Budapest Parliament is the third largest parliament in the world. Today it seems too big for such a small country, but at the time of its construction Hungary formed part of the Habsburg Empire, that stretched from the Tatra Mountains to the Adriatic.The Parliament has 691 rooms. The length of all the stairs together measures about 20 kilometres. The most impressive is the grand staircase. The building contains spacious halls. The central dome's height reaches 96 m.The building has 27 entrance gates. 90 statues and the coats-of-arms of various cities adorn the exterior. There are 152 statues and pictures of national fauna. The decorations needed about 40 kg 22-23 karat gold.During the tour we offer a brief overview of the last 1000 years of Hungarian history.
The Tour ends in the city-centre around 02:30 pm.The rest day at leisure to explore the city on your own with Budapest card.
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