On Buda Hill to see the sights of the Budapest Parliament

Day 3: BUDAPEST: Liberty Square, Gerbeaud Pastry, Andrassy Avenue, Heroes' Square, Vajdahunyad Castle, Central Market, Váci Utca, Chain Bridge, Buddha Hill, Fisherman's Bastion, Budapest Opera ...

Saturday, November 3, 2012

The alarm sounds, it's 6 in the morning ... We woke up like new after sleeping 8 hours, although we still have some of the effects of being more than 14 hours walking yesterday. The idea is to leave early, have breakfast and go to the area of buddha hill to finally know the Castle, Fisherman's Bastion, Matias Church and enjoy Budapest Parliament views… But as soon as we leave the Maverick Hostel we choose to change plans.
We look at the Liberty Bridge and we find a fog that covers it all buddha hill... it will be silly to go to that area and lose sight of it from there.
This has inevitably reminded us of the day we spent in San Marino a few weeks ago where the fog haunted us throughout the day.

Without giving more laps we go directly to the Starbuks of yesterday, but we find it closed. They open in half an hour, so it is best to go in the direction of the river to the area that we do not know yet and that is where several of Budapest's most famous sculptures are.
And so we do, although along the way, as always, we entertain ourselves by taking some photos.

Budapest views

Tribute to Michael Jackson that we found in front of a hotel

Freedom Square at 7 in the morning

The truth is that walking at this time in the morning Budapest It is a pleasure. There is no one and you can entertain the time you want by seeing things or taking photos.
Since we are in the area, we approach the famous Gerbeaud Pastry where we see that they are starting to open, but we had enough yesterday at the Café New York, so we continue our way in search of the sculptures ...

Famous Gerbeaud Pastry

And so after this small stop, we reach the bank of the Danube and we find the sculpture La Princesita, one of the most famous in the capital of Hungary.

The little Princess

Budapest

The Little Princess among the fog of the city

We walk through the area making time and stopping at each sculpture we see. There are not many people, although the first tourists are starting to appear, so we look at the clock and decide that it is time to return to our usual Starbuks for breakfast.

Little girl plays with a dog

It took us less than ten minutes to arrive and we sat in front of our breakfast, 2 muffins, a cappuccino and a mega-coffee, all this for 2700 hungarian florins

Our Starbucks breakfast

Before leaving and taking advantage of the fact that we have free Wi-Fi, we look a little at the plane of Budapest, we considered options and decided that the best thing, due to the fog, is to make our way to the city park also known as Városliget Park through Andrassy Avenue.
We know that this will take us more time than if we do it by subway, but we feel like walking through the city and the plans go by midday to the area of buddha hill, so we have time to spare.
And there we go.
We arrive at the beginning of Andrassy Avenue in less than 15 minutes and we are ready to go through it almost with our mouths open, observing the architecture that surrounds it.
Is awesome.
During this walk we do not stop taking photos and it is quite difficult for us not to stop on more occasions.

Architecture in Andrassy

Opera building

Ballet cartel we will see tonight 🙂

Little by little it seems that the fog is falling apart, but for the moment we still do not see the sun, so we continue our way, hoping that at some point some ray of sun will appear, hoping, this afternoon, to be able to go to Buda hill to see the sights of the Budapest Parliament.

Louis Vuitton storefront

Come on ... we also saw this showcase a few days ago on our trip to Bologna, what a coincidence !! It is clear that luxury remains 🙂

Andrassy Street

Posing in Andrassy

Exterior of the House of Terror

After almost half an hour, we arrived at the famous Heroes' Square where we finished convincing ourselves that we have chosen the best option, because even at this time the fog covers practically everything.

Museum of Fine Arts in the Heroes' Square

Fog-covered Heroes Square

After having a good time in the Heroes' Square we are on our way to the Városliget Park where we are looking forward to meet Vajdahunyad Castle and many of the sculptures that are there, including the famous Anonymous that we hope to see shortly.

Autumn at Vajdahunyad Castle

Posing in Vajdahunyad Castle

Piece of corner in Vajdahunyad Castle

Colors in Vajdahunyad Castle

We have been walking around the park for a long time, although the weather is not too pleasant, but we feel like taking advantage of this relaxing moment, knowing what the rest of the day is waiting for us.

Vajdahunyad Castle entrance. Budapest

Vajdahunyad Castle

Autumn colors in Vajdahunyad Castle

We look for the sculpture of the Anonymous for a long time and although we carry the guide in our hand all the time, it takes us a good time to locate ourselves, until we find the exact place where the famous sculpture is located. Just in front of the Budapest Vajdahunyad Castle. And we without hitting her!

Anonymous. Budapest

Anonymous black and white details

We have been in this area for more than an hour and we have decided that it is time to take the subway and go to the Central Market area, with the idea of ​​visiting the top floor to see and maybe buy at the famous souvenir shops.

Departure from Vajdahunyad Castle

Details of Vajdahunyad Castle

Another of the sculptures of Vajdahunyad Castle

Book the best rated tours and excursions in Budapest from Budapest by travelers:

- Széchenyi Spa, skip-the-line entrance
- Boat trip at dusk
- Guided tour of Budapest + Parliament
- Excursion Esztergom, Visegrád and Szentendre
- Cruise with dinner and live music 22: 00h
- More excursions and tours here

We are looking for the subway to take our new road and here we get a little involved with the lines, but nothing that can not be solved by looking a couple of times the plane that is hung in all subway stations.
We pay again our 320 Hungarian florins each for 2 simple subway tickets and there we go.

Budapest Metro

Images of the Budapest metro

We arrive at Central Market and we find that the fog has come down a lot, so the idea of ​​going this afternoon to Buddha It gains strength.

Facade of the Central Market

We go around the top floor of the Market where we take the opportunity to buy a couple of Budapest secret boxes that we had in mind for a long time.
We look at the time and although it is already 1 noon, we are still not very hungry to take advantage of eating at one of the stalls here. And although they look great, we think it is better to find another place a little later.

Food stall in the Central Market

Views of the Central Market from the top floor

Once outside, we go to the Váci Utca area where in the end we end up eating at a McDonals as we usually do once in our trips or getaways.

The famous Váci Utca street

A shop all Christmas items where you have to enter if only to see it!

After having a good time in the fast food "restaurant", we set off to cross the Chain Bridge to the funicular that will take us to the Buddha Hill.
The journey from Váci Utca to the Chain Bridge is done in less than 15 minutes, although it costs us not to stop at each store again, looking for some more memory to bring.
But we see that the hours are coming and we accelerate the pace a bit.

Posing on the Chain Bridge Buddha Hill Road

A boat? A bus?… 🙂

Crossing the Chain Bridge Budapest We see one of those cruises that cross the Danube and that we also saw on our trip through Austria when we were in the Danube Valley and that at that time we thought we would choose as vacations sometime in our lives.
If you want to make a cruise on the Danube, a good option is to book this cruise with audio guide in Spanish or this one with dinner and live music.
Just after crossing the bridge we find the funicular that will take us to Buda hill where we see that we will have to queue a bit to ride.

Funicular that will take us to Buda Hill

Point "O" of Budapest, right next to the funicular

We are in the queue just over 15 minutes and when it is our turn we religiously pay our 900 Hungarian florins each for a single one-way ticket.
If you want a round trip, the price is 1500 Hungarian forint.
It is no longer for the price, but the descent we want to do it walking to see the landscape well and stop to take pictures.
The climb, we forgive her so long as we don't get too tired.
The journey to the buddha hill in the funicular it does not last more than 5 minutes and once we get up the views of the city and the Budapest Parliament They are impressive.
Here there are plenty of descriptions, so it is best to put some of the photos we took:

Views of the Chain Bridge from Buda Hill

Parliament among trees from Buda hill

Posing with Budapest in the background

The city in black and white from the buddha hill

Budapest in the distance

Immortalizing the scene from the buddha hill

From this kind of viewpoint, we return to the interior of buddha hill, where we find a sun that ends up warming us in the afternoon and encourages us to continue discovering the city.
Without a doubt, this area is a delight to contemplate Budapest from another perspective.
A good option to learn more about the history of the hill and Buda Castle is to book this tour with a guide in Spanish.

Buddha

The sun finally rises in Buddha

Views from Buda Hill

Without pretending to find a better viewpoint than we have already been, we find a corner where the photos are taken by themselves.

Posing with incredible views from thebuddha hill

And now I in Buddha, watching Pest ...

After a while, we go deeper into buddha hill with the intention of spending the rest of the afternoon here, until nightfall and we can take some of the photos we have in mind.
We continue walking and stopping at some of the souvenir stalls that we find along the way, until we arrive at the Matthias Church, one of the most famous in the city, not to mention the most.

Matthias Church

As expected, you have to go through the box office before entering, we pay the 1400 Hungarian florins that charge us to show the student card, compared to the 2000 that they charge as a normal ticket and we cross the street, ready to meet with a wonder ... With what we have paid, we cannot wait less, right?
And we find the church under construction !! Incredible but true, 60% is covered with scaffolding and fabrics, so you can't see anything.
Mmm ... why say that we have been angry? :))

Interior of the Matthias Church. One of the areas that was not under construction ...

It's not yet dark, so we're going to the Fisherman's Bastion to take some photos with the daylight.

Black and white from Fisherman's Bastion

Fisherman's Bastion

Now it's time to pose!

In front of Matias Church

Fisherman's Bastion

Fisherman's Bastion, one of the wonders of the city

There is little left for it to begin to get dark, but first, knowing what awaits us tonight, we take the opportunity to give ourselves a small tribute in a small cafeteria / bakery that we find and then we see recommended in some other guide, the Vistro Bar.
We eat a couple of cakes and a coffee and a cappuchino for 1650 Hungarian florins, not bad at all ... just one euro more than one of the entrances to the church !!!

Snack in Buddha

When we leave it is already dark, so we go to one of the most beautiful and famous points of the Buda hill see the views of Budapest Parliament at night,
Fisherman's Bastion.
We cannot say that there are no people, vice versa. It seems that everyone is here today and it is hard for us to make a dent, not only to take a picture, but to see the illuminated city and the parliament of Budapest.

Nightfall at Fisherman's Bastion

Fisherman's Bastion

Parliament illuminated from Fisherman's Bastion

At this time of the afternoon, we see that we have been a little late for what we still have to do, so we began to accelerate the steps a bit to start going down and get to the opera at the time we intend.
Tonight we are going to the premiere of a ballet !!!
And with this idea we go down the buddha hill, among some fantastic views, that we would have liked to enjoy with more tranquility ... but hey, it will be again !!

Illuminated Chain Bridge

Our days in Budapest are over ...

Now we just have to run literally to get to the Maverick Hostel , book a taxi for tomorrow at 4 in the morning (we have the flight at 6.30h) and with the experience with the last taxi we do not want to play it again and less at that time.

More practical information to prepare your trip to Budapest

- The 5 best tours and excursions in Budapest
- 50 things to see and do in Budapest
- 10 cheap restaurants to eat in Budapest
- Where to stay in Budapest: best neighborhoods and hotels
- 10 essential tips for traveling to Budapest
- 10 essential places to visit in Budapest
- The 5 best hot springs and spas in Budapest
- The best free tours in Budapest for free

Once booked, we take the subway and stand at the opera stop just 20 minutes before the work begins.
And from here, we can say that we have left with our mouths open the 3 hours of show ... amazing !!
If you do not want to see a show to enter the Opera, you can also book a tour with a guide in Spanish at 3:00 p.m. and at 4:00 p.m., although you have to go well in advance if you do not want to run out of seats. A good option to secure your ticket is to book the guided tour here.

Budapest Opera ...

Opera Details

Our days in Budapest are over ...

The work ends and it is just time to go to dinner, so without thinking too much we walk back to the center, where we met a Vapiano, an Italian restaurant that we met in our getaway last year to Tallinn and Helsinki.
And from here we return directly to what has been our house, the Maverick Hostel these days.
Today has been a very complete day and now we have 4 hours to recover before the alarm sounds.
Sir @ s tomorrow we will see each other again 🙂

Day 4
BUDAPEST-BARCELONA