After last week’s Citadella, now we show you how to get to the Buda Castle, which is probably the most visited monument in Budapest. Let’s see the details. As regards the approach there will be a lot of similarities to the previous part, especially since the Castle is in the same part of the city than the Citadel.

So: we can choose

a) Taxi. It still goes wherever you want it to, it still shows what you want to see, but there is still a good chance that the driver will show you even the northeast agglomeration. But be aware: the Castle District area is closed to vehicle traffic so the taxi won’t be able to take you to the gate.

b) Just as the Citadella, the Buda Castel is in the picturesque hills of Buda, so a walk could be a nice program. According to google maps, it’s less than a half an hour, exactly 2 km. During this half-hour we walk through the Chain Bridge and it also contains a little hiking on the hill.

c) Hop on - hop off bus: If your desire is a real tourist experience, try the hop on hop off buses, such as this or this. These sightseeing buses circulate in the city and all have Buda Castle as a stop.

d) BKV: The easiest way is bus 16 and 16A which goes directly from Deák Ferenc square and has a stop at the Castle (Szentháromság tér). A more interesting approach is to take the end of the road with “Budavári Sikló” (Budapest Castle Hill Funicular) straight up to the Castle. Otherwise, to Clark Ádám Square, from where the Funicular leaves, we can get to with the mentioned or the 105 bus.

photo:static.panoramio.com (Panoramic view from the Funicular)

It’s good to know about the Castle itself and the surrounding area that there are three main parts of the Buda Castle Quarter: the Buda Castle, the St. George's Square and the historical residential district. The construction of the castle began in 1243 and in 1255 Bela IV has mentioned it as an already built fortress in a document. There was some turning points in the history of the Buda Castle, for example when Sultan Suleiman conquered it by trickery on 29 August 1541, and also when during the World War II a significant part of the Royal Palace was destroyed. The major part of the buildings was rebuilt in the 1960s close to their original form or got a new, simpler design facade, which caused a lot of criticism of the Buda Castle. (By the way, the reconstruction of Castle Hill will be one of the most important tasks of the coming years.)

photo:media.vendegvaro.hu

The most important attractions in the area (of course, in addition to the Castle) are the National Gallery, which is located in the castle, the Sándor Palace, which is the President's office, and also take a look at the Dísz Square, Fisherman's Bastion, Trinity statue, the Pharmacy Museum and the Hospital in the Rock (and no, it's still not the complete list).

These are the most well-known attractions, but for example only a few people know that there is a medieval Jewish quarter under the castle, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. This could be so, because the 11th-century ruins can be visited only within the framework of the tour “Bupap”, which is "intermediate" tour group for a local people. But it’s definitely worth doing, because it feels very special to wander over the ground with knowing that these are streets from 7-800 years ago, as the street level was five meters below back then. And for example an original “mikveh”, a Jewish ritual bath of 13th century can be seen here, which had been excavated in its original form. It’s worth to see!