More Budapest Highlights

We have discovered that squeezing everything we want to see in Budapest in the time we have here is a bit challenging.  It helped that we bought a 3-day ticket for the Hop On/Hop Off bus (at the price of a 2-day one) so it was easier to cover much of the city.  That, along with walking - a lot of that - has meant we have seen most of the sights but with many more to go.

I've already mentioned the Old Market Hall, Vaci Utca, the numerous bridges crossing the Danube, St. Stephen's Basilica, the Parliament Buildings, and Hero's Square.  They are only a few of famous places to visit or see.  The Ho-Ho tickets we bought included a river cruise so Saturday we did that.  Seeing Gellert Hill, the Parliament Buildings, Castle Hill and Margit Island from the boat gave a different perspective on those sights and it was a perfect day to do it.  

Gellart Hill with the Citadel

Castle Hill

Bethany Ter (square) where the train goes to Szentendre

Margit Island

  
Following the boat trip and a nice lunch at a restaurant on the bank of the Danube, we managed to check off a few more items from our "to do" list:  a visit to the "shoe" memorial (detailed in an earlier blog) on the Pest side then walked across the Chain Bridge and rode the funicular up to Castle Hill to see Matthias Church and visit Fisherman's Bastion.  The latter, which has amazing views of the Danube and Pest, is a favourite stop of mine when I am in this city.  On a warm sunny day there probably isn't a better place to sip a drink and enjoy the views.  Our plan on Saturday was thwarted though because the terrace bar was closing at 4 pm. - not sure why but it was frustrating!  At least we managed to get a few good photos.  

The Chain Bridge

Mathias Church

Fisherman's Bastion

Amazing views (above and below) from Fishermen's Bastion

The Terrace Bar

Matthias Church

Next up for the last few days here:  the Synagogue, the Gellert Spa, the New York Cafe, and the Opera House with possibly a return visit to Hero's Square where we will actually hop off the bus and walk around rather than just stay on it for the entire circuit!