Budapest: Castle Hill (Castle District)
Once suburbs, now the entire area within the ramparts is protected as an ancient monument. The area is filled of important landmarks such as The Fishermen Bastion, a lot of museums , squares and statues, The Royal Palace, Buda Castle Labyrinth or Vienna Gate.
We decided to visit the Castle Hill during a lovely August day. Once in front of the Hill you can choose to take the cable car or walk up to the castle walls. Because we were on a slightly low budget by now -and why not admit, I love to work out when I get a chance - we decided to walk.
The Cable Car (still using the original ones)
Copyright by Branzea Mihaela
That's us -Alex, Adi (my husband), me and Sorin (Mihaela's fiance) - walking to the Castle Hill
Copyright by Branzea Mihaela
Once there we didn't know what to do and what to visit first. A lot of the buildings are under reconstructions so it was a little hard to capture nice photos without scaffolding showing up.
Probably the place I liked best was the Fishermen's Bastion. It offers a marvelous panorama of the city and is always crowded. The architectural style is a mixture of ne0-Gothic and neo -Roman styles. Looking to your left you'll see the Parliament building close by and Margaret Island further away. To the right you can see the Citadel Hill with the lovely monument on top.
Me in front of The Fishermen's Bastion (one of the photos I love best from this trip)
Copyright by Adi Dima
View from Castle Hill
Copyright by Adi Dima
The Church of Our Lady has a stunning architecture. Too bad it was during reconstructions both inside and outside. There were tours available however. Be careful what you are wearing! If you wear a tank top you aren't allowed in -uppsss
The Church of Our Lady
Copyright by Adi Dima
A lot of restaurants are located on Castle Hill. Be aware though that the prices are rather high -ok, way higher than the "normal" restaurants located within the city - and you even have to pay a fee to go to the toilet. The water is incredibly expensive as well.
You can buy a lot of souvenirs, some more expensive than others. But probably the best souvenirs are photos and the coins you can mint yourself by using 100 Forint coin and 2 Forint coin. I've got several of those and they are a nice reminder of the places I've visited.
A lot of museums are located within the Royal Palace.
