Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Vár (or Várhegy - Castle Hill) is Buda's most prominent feature. A 1500m-long
plateauencrustedwithbastions,mansionsandahugepalace,itdominatesboththeVíz-
iváros below and Pest, over the river, making this stretch of the river one of the grand-
est, loveliest urban waterfronts in Europe. Often referred to as the Várnegyed (Castle
District), the hill is studded with interesting museums, from the National Gallery and
the Budapest History Museum in the Royal Palace to the Golden Eagle Pharmacy and
the Telephone Museum, but it's equally enjoyable just walking the streets and admir-
ingsuchfloridcreationsastheMátyásChurchandtheFishermen'sBastion,orexplor-
ing the World War II Hospital in the Rock and the surrounding nuclear bunkers and
labyrinth of caves that lie beneath the hill.
Between the castle and the river, the
Víziváros
is something of a quiet residential backwater
in the heart of Buda, with a distinctive atmosphere but few specific sights other than the
Lánchíd and the Sikló funicular at the southern end, the
Church of St Anne
on
Batthyány
tér
in the middle, and the
Király and Veli Bej Baths
further up.
The area to the
north of the Vár
has a variety of attractions in the backstreets off Margít
körút, notably a lively
market
and the
MillenárisPark
, comprising an intriguing exhibition,
concert venue and children's indoor and outdoor play areas. Further north, on the edge of the
affluent Rózsadomb district, is
GülBaba'stomb
, one of Budapest's most significant Turkish
remnants.
ARRIVAL
THE VÁR
By funicular
The simplest and most novel approach to the Vár is to ride up to the palace
by the Sikló, a renovated nineteenth-century funicular that runs from Clark Ádám tér by the
Lánchíd.
