Guideline

Full day sightseeing in Budapest

Budapest is the capital of Hungary with almost two million inhabitants. The city flourished as a crossroads where East meets West in the heart of Europe. It is the center of administration, industry, trade, transport and traffic, education, culture, arts and sports. It is situated on both banks of the Danube river: called Buda and Pest. There are nine bridges over the Danube connecting the two sides of the river. Of the capital cities of the world Budapest is the richest in thermal baths.

You’ll first be driven across the lovely 19th century Chain Bridge and discover the oldest part of the city, the historic Castle District on the Buda side. The Castle Hill was settled after the ithdrawal of the Mongolian invaders in 1242. During the centuries the castle has been destroyed and rebuilt several times. A stroll through the castle area will take you to the mid 13th century Matthias hurch, one of the most beautiful examples of gothic architecture and the Fishermen’s Bastion offering great views of the city. From here your guide will point out the palace, where Ludwig van Beethoven, the composer used to live for six years and remains of a medieval Synagogue from the 15th century.

You’ll have a chance to look at the selection of the Herend factory store near the main square of the Castle Area.

After visiting the Castle Hill you’ll be driven to the top of the Gellert Hill to admire the spectacular views of the city.

Lunch in a fine Restaurant (optional)

On the Pest side you’ll be driven along the Andrassy boulevard lined with elegant late 19th century buildings, including the State Opera House, the old Music Academy and several elegant mansions and villas. The boulevard leads to Heroes’ square built to commemorate the millenium of Hungary in 1896. The first subway line in continental Europe was opened under the Andrassy boulevard in the very same year.

You’ll make a stop to see the Monument of the Millennium of Hungary with statues of eminent Hungarians in the Heroes’ Square that closes the outer end of the boulevard.

There are museums on both sides of the square: the Art Gallery and the Museum of Fine Arts.

The Museum of Fine Arts houses the second richest collection of the Spanish masters’ paintings after the Prado in Madrid, Spain. The square is actually the entrance to the City Park with the nearby Castle of Vajdahunyad, which is a presentation of details of architectural monuments and illustration of styles of the historic Hungary. In the City Park one can also visit the Zoological and Botanical Garden, the most famous Gundel restaurant, The Fun Fair and the Széchenyi Bath.

Explore the Jewish quarter of Budapest with the largest Synagogue in the world, the Dohany Synagogue built in romantic Byzantine and Moorish style with it’s 3000 seats. The beautiful and also modern Holocaust Memorial in the Raoul Wallenberg Memorial Park is located behind the Synagogue, in the former ghetto area. Visit the Jewish Museum in the adjacent building.

You’ll visit the stunning interior of the 2nd largest Parliament of Europe, with the 1000 years old crown jewels of Hungary. The building was constructed to commemorate the 1000 year’s anniversary of the Hungarian’s landtaking. It’s a wonderful piece of architecture.

For a thousand years the Hungarian National Assembly had no permanent seat. The idea of a permanent building came at the beginning of the 19th century.

Jewish Heritage Tour in Budapest

A brief history of the Jews in Hungary:

The earliest traces of Jewish communities in Hungary date back to the 11th century. Jews were granted rights to liberty and freedom of worship by Béla IV after the Tatar invasion.

They were renowned for being the treasurers and chamberlains of the royal administration from 1220. The medieval Mint stood near Szt. György Square in the Buda Castle and the first Jewish quarter was formed here. One can still see the remains of a medieval Jewish prayer house – with original tomb stones from the time – in the former ‘Judengasse’ a short walk from the Mathias church. When Buda was recaptured from the Turks in 1686, the Jews were also expelled. In the 18th century they helped to create a flourishing industrial city in Ancient Buda (Óbuda) and near today’s Árpád bridge with famous dyeing workshops and a textile factory established by the reputed Goldberger family. The late 18th century witnessed the birth of new Jewish communities in Pest and the then largest synagogue in the world was constructed between 1854 and 1859 on what is today called Dohány Street. During the Second World War 600,000 of the 724,000-strong Jewish population in Hungary perished in Nazi concentration camps.

Suggested Tour: We drive our guests to St. Stephen’s Park to see the WWII Victims’ Memorial in New Leopold Town – a former middle class Jewish District and then we drive back to downtown to see the World’s second largest and Europe’s largest Synagogue, the Dohany street Synagogue, with seating for 3000. It was built in the middle of the 19th century in Romantic style for the around 30,000 Jewish community of Pest mainly living in this part of the town. The onion domes are strikingly Oriental-Byzantine, as is the facade: the patterns in the brickwork were inspired by ancient ruins in the Middle East. But for all its exoticism, the design also expresses 19th century Hungarian Jews’ aspirations toward assimilation. The twin towers evoke church steeples, and the organ inside the synagogue is a clear concession to Christian tradition. It’s gigantic hall rests on cast iron columns and arches – a real architectural novelty at that time. A visit the Jewish Museum in the adjacent building is also included. The museum displays items from the 18th and 19th centuries, from both Hungary and abroad, grouped according to the holiday or occasion on which they were used.

Next to the main building lie the arcades of the Jewish Heroes’ Mausoleum and Temple in memory of the thousands of Jewish martyrs who died during the Second World War and the ghetto, created here by German troops during the war.

We also show our guests the Raoul Wallenberg Memorial Garden with our beautiful Holocaust Memorial – the Tree of Life. The monument was created by Imre Varga – a well-known Hungarian contemporary sculptor. Tony Curtis has donated a million Dollars for the construction of the Monument. Our knowledgeable guides explain about the horror of the nazi occupation, the deportations and the liberation of the ghetto.

Budapest Folklore Night Duration 4 hours

Spend an unforgettable evening in the hills of Buda, in a traditional Hungarian restaurant! A short sightseeing tour.

[View with PicLens]

* From the Citadel, you can have a marvellous view of the illuminated city. After a welcome drink in the restaurant, we serve you a 3-course menu with wine accompanied by a folklore show- programme with gipsy music. Tour ends at your hotel or at the Casino

Itinerary in the Danube Bend (full day)

Besides history one can enjoy the natural beauty of the Danube Valley where forested hills loom over the river.

On the way out from Budapest you’ll drive through the former capital city of the Roman province – Pannonia. This part of Budapest (Old Buda) has several original Roman ruins incl. two amphitheaters, ruins of the aqueduct (water pipe) system, Roman baths and the largest Roman open-air museum in Hungary. Esztergom (40 miles from Budapest) with 30,000 inhabitants is situated on the right bank of the Danube. The town is the centre of the Roman Catholic Church in Hungary. People lived on Var-hegy (Castle Hill) in Esztergom even in the stone age. The Romans built a military camp on top of the hill in the 1st century. The Hungarians settled there soon after the conquest and Prince Geza shifted his headquarters to Esztergom. According to tradition Saint Stephen, the first Hungarian king was born and crowned there.

The Basilica dominates the whole town. This is the largest church in Hungary located on the site of an old church founded by St Stephen. Construction work went on for decades and the cathedral was finally completed in the late 1860s. Other interesting places of the town are little houses and museums of Water Town, and Opposite the Castle Hill the St Thomas Hill, named after Thomas Becket, and Baroque houses, churches and statues in the centre, and the river-bank of the Danube.The bend of the Danube near Visegrád is one of Hungary`s most picturesque sights. Below Esztergom the stream flows through forest-covered hills, curving sharply as the river makes it’s way towards the lowlands. It is here, 26 miles above Budapest, that Visegrád lies, a town with a rich historic background. On this spot, 2000 years ago, a Roman fort was built on the borders of the Empire. In the 8th century, Slavs settled down within the walls of the deserted fort, but by the 11th century it was already inhabited by the Magyars. In 1242, the Mongolians invaded the country, leaving the town in ruins. A few years later, by 1258, Visegrád Castle was built, and even today the ruins of the ancient castle dominate the landscape. Only 19 kilometers away from Budapest, the village of Szentendre is the most obvious day trip out of Budapest. Szentendre was originally settled by Serbian refugees and still retains a South Slav air, not only in the Orthodox churches and Cyrillic-inscribed monuments but also in its Mediterranean townscape. Much of the Serbian population abandoned the city in the 19th century, when it was hit by floods and crop disease.Szentendre is a town of arts and museums. It gives home to the Hungarian open Air Museum exhibiting the folklore architecture and culture of the Carpathian basin. One of the most visited museums of the whole country, the Kovács Margit Museum, is also located here. There are further 14 museums and art galleries acquainting visitors with the rich historical past and teeming life of arts. It is not by chance that the quietness of the little town and the closeness of the bustling metropolis of Budapest has drawn over one hundred artists here.

Royal Palace Gödöllő

The former Summer-Residence of Queen Elisabeth in Gödöllő is one of the largest baroque palaces in Hungary.

Empress Elisabeth, the much-admired, beautiful Sisi, who was famous for her modern thinking spent 2000 nights here, more than in Shönnbrunn. The Palace regained its past splendour in 1996. It has 26 completely renovated rooms, providing a home for a unique introduction to the interior of royal suites in Hungary. This is the scene of the lives of the Emperor Francis Joseph and his wife Empress Elisabeth, who spent blissful times here, mostly in autumn and spring. During the tour there is an interior visit followed by a walk through the park.

Lake Balaton and Herend

Balaton, the largest freshwater lake of Hungary and Central Europe is a popular holiday spot. It extends in a length of 77 km in the middle of the country’s western part.

The shallow waters and sandy beaches of the southern bank are excellent for bathing: it can be specifically recommended for those arriving there with children. The cooler, deeper waters of the northern bank are excellent for water sports , above all for sailing. – The Abbey church with its two church towers looks upon the lake from the top of the small volcanic hill of Tihany. In the Open Air Museum of Folk Art a typical dwelling house and a pottery workshop can be seen. Siófok, the capital city of the southern bank will be visited for short and after taking the ferry, we walk in Tihany and visit the Porcelan Manufacture in Herend

Hollókő and Eger

The village with most beautiful surroundings in the Cserhát area in one of the long valleys between two hills has preserved unique ethnographic and folk art values.

The architecture of houses has preserved the nicest Palóc traditions with their street facades of protruding hipped roofs, eaves, ridges, and gabled roofs. Sundays and holidays at Hollókő are still interesting sights to see. – The Turks left Eger for good in 1687. Turkish buildings, mosques, baths, and minarets greatly changed the appearance of the town. Viniculture on the surrounding hillslopes dating back to several centuries as well as the famous wines are significant factors of Eger’s business life. “Bikavér” and “Leányka”, the famous wines of Eger with special bouquet, are offered at cellars and restaurants of unique atmosphere. The touristic attraction of the town is increased by its developed baths culture besides historic monuments.

Puszta guideline

The Southern Great Plain tourist region is the sunniest, warmest part of Hungary. It is the land of broad rivers, the land of the Danube, the Tisza, the Maros and the Körös rivers.

It is the region of alkaline lakes containing unequalled natural resources. It is a paradise for lovers of fishing and water sports.

It is the meeting point for those devoted to horseback tours, village and farm excursions. It is the „Mecca” of those seeking healing and regeneration, thanks to its vast array of inexhaustible thermal springs. All these are part of the Southern Great Plain.

[View with PicLens]

National parks and nature reserves draw travellers with their bird sanctuaries, all waiting to be discovered. Intermingling sand dunes blend into each other, and natural atmosphere of intact grasslands, reeds, the unaffected world of backwaters, tiny white farms, well-kept pastures, and rolling wheat fields provide a unique scene for those visiting there.

KECSKEMÉT is the largest town in the region between the Danube and the Tisza. Historical monuments, thriving intellectual life, a wealth of cultural programmes, a creative workshop unique in the country, horse-riding, delicious apricots, vineyards, nature reserves – this is Kecskemét in a nutshell.