Walking Tours
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© Lonely Planet Publications Walking Tours Castle Caper 76 Óbuda’s Made for Walkin’ 79 Margaret Island Hopper 80 In the Steps of St Steve 82 Elizabeth Town Tailored Tour 83 Working Through the VIII & IX Districts 85 Andrássy Amble 86 Inner Town in Stride 88 74 tér, named after John Capistranus (1386–1456), a charismatic Franciscan monk who raised www.lonelyplanet.com an entire army for János Hunyadi ( p40 ) in his campaign against the Turks. He was canonised Walking Tours in 1724 and is known as St John of Capistrano. The large white building to the north of the square houses the Military History Museum 10 ( p56 ). Around the corner, along the so-called Anjou Bastion (Anjou bástya), with displays detailing the development of the cannon, lies the turban-topped tomb 11 of Pasha Abdi Ar- Budapest is a city made for walking and there are sights around every corner – from a naut Abdurrahman (1615–86), the last Turkish Grand Vizier of Budapest, who was killed brightly tiled gem of an Art Nouveau building to peasant women from the countryside here on the day Buda was liberated. ‘He was a heroic foe,’ reads the tablet in Hungarian, hawking their homemade barack lekvár (apricot jam) or colourful embroidery at the mar- ‘may he rest in peace.’ kets or outside metro stations. The big steeple on the south side of Kapi- The following eight tours include sights and attractions described elsewhere in this sztrán tér, visible for kilometres to the west WALK FACTS guide, as well as additional significant features; the walks are really designed for those of Castle Hill, is the Mary Magdalene Tower (12; with more time or an interest in seeing the city in greater depth. Don’t worry about doing Magdolna-torony; I Kapisztrán tér), the re- Start II Moszkva tér every tour or even finishing each one; linger as long as you like in a museum or market constructed spire of an 18th-century church. End I Szarvas tér that takes your fancy, do a little shopping or even visit one of the city’s fine thermal spas The church, once reserved for Hungarian Distance 3.5km along the way. speakers in this district (German speakers Duration Two hours (or more) worshipped at Matthias Church), was used Transport mM2 (start); d18, g86 (end) as a mosque during the Turkish occupation Fuel Stop Ruszwurm café ( p125 ) CASTLE CAPER and was destroyed in an air raid in 1944. Walking Tours You can start your tour of Várhegy ( Castle Hill; p53 ) by walking up Várfok utca from 1 Moszkva tér Moszkva tér to Vienna Gate (Bécsi kapu), the medieval entrance to the Old Town, which Várfok u was rebuilt in 1936 to mark the 250th anniversary of the retaking of the castle from the ὈὈὈὈHunfalvy u Lovas út Turks. The gate is not all that huge, but when Budapest children are loquacious or noisy, Mátray u 11 1 Bécsi kapu bástya 2 tér their parents tell them: ‘Your mouth is as big as the Vienna Gate!’. Táncsics M u Víziváros Anjou (Watertown) The large building to the west with the superb majolica-tiled roof contains the National 3 CAPER CASTLE 2 10 4 5 Archives ( ; Országos Levéltár; Bécsi kapu tér 2-4), built in 1920. Across the square, which was Petermann Fortuna u 6 Kapisztrán bíróOrszágház u Kard u u tér a weekend market in the Middle Ages, a Lutheran church 3 with the words ‘A Mighty Fortress 12 Tóth Árpád sétány is Our God’ written in Hungarian marks the start of Táncsics Mihály utca. On the west 13 9 8 Hess ὈὈὈὈὈὈὈὈὈAndrás ὈὈὈ side of the square, there’s an attractive group of burgher houses 4; No 7 has four medallions of Úri u tér Fortunaköz classical poets and philosophers, and No 8, a curious round corner window. 7 19 Fª u Táncsics Mihály utca is a narrow street of little houses painted in lively hues and adorned Dárda u Szentháromság 17 with statues. Many have plaques with the word memlék (memorial) attesting to their his- tér Danube River Vérmezª 18 20 16 torical associations. In the entrances to many of the courtyards, you’ll notice lots of sedilia – Attila u 21 stone niches dating as far back as the 13th Budai alsó rkp 15 ὈὈὈSzentháromság u ὈὈAnna u Ὀ century. Some historians think they were used as merchant stalls, while others believe A STREET BY ANY OTHER NAME 14 servants cooled their heels here while their Tárnok u masters (or mistresses) paid a visit to the After WWII, most streets, squares and parks were Széchenyi Dísz occupant. renamed after people, dates and political groups Royal Chain Bridge tér 23 Tram Stop Színház u 5 Steps No 19 The medieval Jewish prayer house ( p55 ), that have since become anathema to an independ- 22 ent and democratic Hungary. From April 1989, names Clark (Széchenyi lánchíd) dating partly from the 14th century, con- ὈὈὈὈὈὈὈ24 Ádám tér tains a small museum. Across the road to were changed at a pace and with a determination Szent György Budai alsó rkp the southeast at Táncsics Mihály utca 9 is that some people felt was almost obsessive; Carto- tér u 25 & 26 6 graphia’s Budapest Atlas lists almost 400 street name Alagút where Lajos Kossuth was imprisoned from 1837 27 28 7 changes in the capital alone. Sometimes it was just to 1840. The controversial Hilton Budapest 29 Lánchíd u ( p154 ), which incorporates parts of a medi- a case of returning a street or square to its original 30 eval Dominican church and a baroque Jesuit (perhaps medieval) name – from Lenin útja, say, to Royal ὈὈὈὈὈPalace college, is further south. Have a look at the Szent korona útja (Street of the Holy Crown). Other 33 31 red hedgehog relief 8 times the name is new. Ybl Miklós tér little above the doorway at Dózsa 32 the house on Hess András tér 3, which was The new (or original) names are now in place tér an inn in the 14th century. after more than a decade and a half, the old street Kemal Atatúrk34 sétaút If you walk north from Hess András tér signs with a red ‘X’ drawn across them have all but Attila u Ybl Miklós along Fortuna utca, you’ll soon reach the in- disappeared and virtually no one refers to Ferenciek tér tere (Square of the Franciscans), for example, as Fel- ὈὈὈὈὈὈὈὈ teresting Hungarian Museum of Commerce and Cater- 0 300 m 9 Apród u ing ( p55 ). This street leads back into Bécsi szabadulás tér (Liberation Sq), which honoured the 0 0.2 miles kapu tér, but if you continue west along Soviet army’s role in liberating Budapest in WWII. Szarvas Petermann bíró utca you’ll reach Kapisztrán Tabán tér 76 77 ὈὈCastle Caper ὈὈὈὈὈὈ www.lonelyplanet.com From Kapisztrán tér, walk southeast on Országház utca, keeping an eye open for the The first part of the palace (Wing A) is currently empty since the Ludwig Museum of www.lonelyplanet.com sedile in the glassed-in entrance to No 9 and the medieval houses painted white, terra cotta Contemporary Art ( p70 ) has relocated to Pest. In the middle of the square and facing the and lime at Nos 18, 20 and 22. entrance, a statue of a Hortobágy csikós 28 (cowboy) in full regalia breaks a mighty bábolna steed, Úri utca, the next parallel street to the west, has some interesting courtyards, especially No a sculpture that won international recognition for its creator, György Vastagh, at the Paris 19 with a sundial and what looks like a tomb. There are more Gothic sedilia at Nos 32 and World Exhibitions of 1900 and 1901. 40; if the gates are locked there’s a peephole to look through. The Telephony Museum 13 ( p56 ) is To reach one of two entrances to the Hungarian National Gallery 29 ( p54 ), walk under the little housed in an old Clarist monastery. At No 9 of the same street is the entrance to the touristy archway south of Wing B to the square facing the Danube for Wing C, or walk under the Buda Castle Labyrinth 14 ( p53 ). Returning to I Szentháromság utca, on the corner you’ll pass a massive archway protected by four snarling lions to Wing D. Those choosing the former mounted statue of András Hadik 15, a Hussar field marshal in the wars against the Turks. If you’re will enter what was once the palace terrace and gardens. Just in front of Wing C stands a wondering why the steed’s brass testicles are so shiny, well, it’s a student tradition in Budapest statue of Eugene of Savoy 30 (1663–1736), who wiped out the last Turkish army in Hungary at to give them a stroke before taking an exam. For a coffee-and-cake break, try Ruszwurm 16. the Battle of Zenta in 1697. Designed by József Róna 200 years later, it is considered to be In the centre of I Szentháromság tér to the northeast there’s a statue of the Holy Trinity (17; the finest equestrian statue in the capital. Szentháromság szobor), another one of the ‘plague pillars’ put up by grateful (and healthy) Whichever route you take, you’ll pass the large, Romantic-style Matthias Fountain 31 (Mátyás Buda citizens in the early 18th century. The square is dominated by Castle Hill’s two most kút), to the west and facing the palace’s large northwestern courtyard, which portrays the famous sights: Matthias Church 18 (Mátyás templom; p55 ) and Fishermen’s Bastion 19 (Halász- young king Matthias Corvinus in hunting garb.