Sights to see around Budapest
I have been living here for the past 7 months and I am sure we all can agree that Budapest is majestic; it is beyond beautiful and it's almost impossible for your breath to not be taken away at the sights this city has to offer. I moved here and within days my mind was blown by how beautiful every little corner of this Hungarian capital is, how much it has to offer and how it's almost impossible to get tired of it's sights.
So I have decided to include a list of every touristic sight that I think it's worth visiting in Budapest and I'm sure you guys are going to find this list super useful and basically it's gonna come in handy. So let's get it started with.
1) Heroes Square
Also known as Hősök tere, pronounced: Hooshok tere, is one of the main squares in the Hungarian capital; to put it simply this square is very iconic, it has many important statues which include the statues of the seven chieftains of the Magyars, if chieftain is too complicated for you (I know it is for me) just remember them as the seven tribes which first arrived to Hungary back in 800 AD, they have really difficult names and I don't want to turn this entry into a history lesson for you all. There are memorials of other important hungarian national leaders and there is also a tomb of an unknown soldier. The heroes square is located right next to the City Park or "Városliget" as the Hungarians call it which is an extremely beautiful park during the warmer months and it is home to one of the largest ice skating rinks in all of Eastern Europe during the winter months. I actually wrote a piece about the ice skating rink and you can read it here if you want: https://bit.ly/2DTgamF. Anyhow back to the heroes square, there are a lot of national and art related events that take place here and although I have never attended any of it, I would like to. I really think this square is a sight to be enjoyed and you should really take your time and explore it, it's very beautiful and majestic.
Each of the statues have their own meanings there is a symbol of war, peace, knowledge and the rest of are previous Hungarian kings.
2) Matthias Church
Okay I am not the biggest fan of churches, I do enjoy going to them occasionally and enjoying the architecture but to be honest I feel like most of the churches look similar and it's quite boring to want to go to all of them; however this one church changed my mind to a large extend about churches. It's architecture aside, you feel alive as you walk into this church, there is a certain vibrant vibe to it and all the colors certainly play a role in that. The air there is crisp as it is located on top of the castle hill afterall; the church was actually used as a coronation church by the hungarian kings for many centuries and it was even used as a mosque during the ottomon turks occupation! That was for more than 150 years! According to history the church was built in 1015 by the first Hungarian King. The name Matthias refers to the King that expanded this church in the 15th century. I love how I just told you guys pretty much everything about this church guess you won't be needing a tour guide now! But if you feel like you do, here's the website and you can purchase your tickets at a lower price: http://budacastlebudapest.com/matthias-church/
3) Fisherman's Bastion
The Matthias Church and the Fisherman's Bastion are both located next to each other; Fisherman's Bastion is without doubt one of the most visited attractions in Budapest, I mean for real pretty much everyone loves the city views from the above. Halaszbastya as it is called in Hungarian is rather decorative for a bastion and let's see why is that. Oh before we go on, this place is rather one of my personal favorites as well so do expect my review to be a little biased. The bastion again has 7 towers as the symbol of the 7 tribes or the 7 chieftains that we mentioned before. Brace yourselves as there are quite a few stairs leading up to this place, but I promise you it's worth the climb. Anyways the stairs are quite wide and ceremonial and I read that they meant it to be like this so it provides a dramatic entrance and enhances the views (they were smart, I know). Just like everything else the bastion was also damaged during the second world war but was quickly renovated. I'm not going to include more details about the bastion just to leave some mystery in this whole piece. But don't miss out on this sight please.
4) Buda Castle
Leaving the best for last, or almost the last; I don't actually know how many more sights I'm going to write about but I certainly couldn't wait longer to write about Buda castle. Buda castle is surely one of the most important sights of Budapest, it is for sure one of the main landmarks and definitely one of the best touristic sights; no proper tourist would miss out on visiting this place. In fact my mom is going to visit me soon and the first place I'm going to take her is here. Anyhow in contrary to popular belief the buda castle is in fact a castle! Yes I know so shocking (please laugh at my jokes). This castle which was home to most of Hungary's kings was first built in the 12th century but was then further expanded in the 17th century. The buda castle also sits on top of the castle hill and it's basically in the castle district, which also contains the Matthias church and the fisherman's bastion. Anyways the castle itself is really big and has many different things that you can see. I literally discover a new corner every time I go and so it's quite exciting. The court and courtyards are open all the time but I suggest visiting it during the daylight even though it's well lit and it has a certain majesty to it in the night as well. The royal palace is home to tha national gallery and the budapest history museum, I have never been to the museums so I don't know much about it but you can find further information here: http://budacastlebudapest.com
There are literally so many buildings and museums here that you will certainly feel lost trying to figure out which one to go to; unfortunately I haven't had the time to go to many of them and so my information regarding them is incomplete.
To be continued...
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