Gresham Palace

V. Roosevelt tér 5.

The Gresham Palace, built in 1906 in Art Nouveau style, is located on Roosevelt Square in Budapest, directly facing the Chain Bridge. The sculptures were formed by Miklós Ligeti, Géza Maróti and Ede Telcs, the stain glass windows and mosaics are Mika Róth’s work. The ceramic inlays and decorations were made at the renowned Zsolnay factory. The wrought iron elements were made by Gyula Jungfer. Now the building operates as a luxury hotel.

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Hungarian Academy of Sciences

V. Roosevelt tér 9.

The building of the Academy on Roosevelt tér was the first example of Neo-Renaissance architecture in Budapest. Count István Széchenyi, often referred to as “the greatest Hungarian”, offered one year’s income for its foundation in 1825. The construction was finished in 1865; the architect was Friedrich Stüler from Berlin, the official architect to the Prussian crown. Aside from its official function, the Academy often gives home to cultural events, such as classical music concerts and conferences. The name of the institution is inscribed in golden letters between the 2nd and the 3rd floors on the façade of the building. There used to be a full stop at the end - but this full stop has disappeared after the Academy published new orthographical rules, according to which "there should be no full stop after a title".

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The Hungarian Parliament

V. Kossuth tér 1.

The Hungarian Parliament is the seat of the National Assembly, one of the most beautiful and ancient legislative buildings of Europe and the third largest Parliament building in the world. The National Assembly has decided on its construction in the year 1880, nearly a decade and a half after the Compromise with the Habsburg rulers. The winning plan was submitted by Imre Steindl, a professor of the Technical University in Budapest, and construction started in 1885. The Parliament building was inaugurated in 1896, in the year which marked the 1000thanniversary of the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin, but the building was only fully completed in 1904. Over a thousand people have worked on the construction, and they used 40 million bricks, over half a million pieces of specially carved limestone and 40 kilograms of 22-23 carat cold. The exterior ornaments of the Parliament were made of soft limestone from Sóskút, which unfortunately proved less durable than desired, and deterioration was fast. Therefore, during the course of the renovations - which are performed nowadays too - a different type of limestone, the so-called "Süttői" has been used. Due to the large surfaces and the exquisite exterior detail, one part or another of the Parliament is always under renovation. It represents an architectural style known as Gothic Revival, and one doesn't have to look further than the Westminster Palace in London to find another perfect example. The Hungarian Parliament has a symmetrical structure, and a large dome, which is quite unusual in a Gothic structure. Its length is 268 metres, and it's 123 metres wide. The total number of its richly ornamented rooms is 691, out of which over two hundred are offices. Its 96-metre height bears a symbolic meaning: it refers to the year 896, when the Hungarians had conquered the Carpathian Basin. There are 90 exterior and 152 interior statues in the building. The facade of the Parliament faces the river Danube, but the official main entrance is on the opposite side on Kossuth tér. The grand staircase leading to the main entrance is guarded by two stone lions (official guided tours use Gate 12, to the left from the staircase). The central assembly hall is directly underneath the dome. Until 1945, the Parliament used to have a Lower and an Upper House (today's parliamentary system is unicameral, and sessions are held in the Lower Assembly Hall). During the Communist dictatorship, a large pentagonal red star occupied the top of the steeple on the dome of the Parliament, which was lit up at night. It was removed in 1990 after the change of the regime.

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Vigadó Concert Hall (Pesti Vigadó)

V. Vigadó tér 2.

The most beautiful concert hall in Budapest, located along the Danube Promenade in Pest, was completed in 1865, replacing an earlier concert hall (designed by Mihály Pollack) destroyed in the Hungarian War of Independence in 1848-1849. The style is best described as Oriental and Hungarian Art Nouveau mingling with romance and a rich addition of uniquely pleasing detail, down to perfection. Frigyes Feszl, the architect of the new building, was commissioned to make the plans in 1859 - just six years after his first major work, the Dohány street Synagogue was inaugurated (check the similarity between the two onion-domed towers of the Synagogue and the Vigadó's facade!). Károly Lotz and Mór Than, star artists of the age, have painted the ballad themed-frescoes of the interior. The imposing main concert hall, which can accommodate up to 700 people, is to this day one of the most significant venues of music life in Budapest. The chamber hall (220 seats) hosts drama performances, chamber concerts and various other cultural events.

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St. Stephen’s Basilica

V. Szent István tér 1.

The St. Stephen’s Basilica is Budapest’s largest church; it can hold 8,500 worshippers simultaneously, and its official ecclesiastical name is Lipót City Parish Church. Its main façade overlooks Szent István tér and the Danube via Zrínyi utca. The construction started in 1851, but for various reasons, such as the death of the original architect and the collapse of the dome, it was fully completed only in 1905. Due to its proximity to the Danube, a triple cellar system was built underneath it - so the building is almost as large under the ground as above it. The church was severely damaged during World War II; the reconstruction took 20 years, between 1983 and 2003, during the course of which Szent István tér was also rebuilt. The church commemorates the first Christian king of Hungary, who founded the Hungarian state in the year 1000 AD. His mummified right arm is on display inside the church. The church has Hungary's largest and heaviest bell, weighing 9 tons. There is a magnificent view of the city from the cupola of the church. There is a modern elevator taking visitors most of the way up, from where a 360-degree view of Budapest can be observed, from a height of 96 metres.

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Margaret Island

Located on a 2,5 km-long central Island on the Danube, the historical Margaret Island is a special landmark of Budapest. It was a wise decision from the city fathers of Budapest to ban all motorized traffic on this island (except for a single bus line and police cars), as it is the primary place of recreation in Budapest. Complete with an outdoor summer thermal spa, and a professional swimming pool, the island also features a small wildlife park, the ruins of a 13th century Dominican cloister, a Japanese garden with sunbathing turtles, an 5 km-long professional jogging circle along the sides of the island, several nice restaurants, two luxury thermal hotels and a rose garden. Cyclists, in winter and summer, appreciate the car-free and oxygen-rich environment too, as well as families with children. When the weather is hot, scores of people lay around the biggest fountain of Budapest, which plays pleasant music every 30 minutes. The island is bordered by the Margaret Bridge from the south, and by Budapest's longest bridge, the Árpád Bridge from the north.

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Váci street (Váci utca)

Váci utca became a fashionable shopping street at the end of the 18th century. In the Middle Ages, the length of this street (1300 metres, just under a mile) equalled the length of the city of Pest. The two separate parts of Váci utca, to the north and the south of Elizabeth Bridge, are totally different. The northern part is overcrowded with tourists and shop windows in every building, while the southern part, which is also pedestrianised, has a quieter and more historical atmosphere. Váci utca is bordered by Vörösmarty tér from the North. The square is dominated by a new, all-glass office building which is in harmony with the historical buildings in the square. It's worth trying a cake at the Gerbeaud, Budapest's most famous confectioner before we walk to the south, towards Elizabeth Bridge. Neither Váci utca, nor most of the side streets that lead to it have any motorized traffic. Walking on to the south, we reach the underpass linking the two parts of the street. There is a large photo exhibition on the walls, showing historical and modern images of Budapest. In the middle of the underpass there is an old Gipsy man with his violin, playing Hungarian melodies, accepting change from passers-by. Emerging on the other side, we arrive to Március 15-e tér (March 15 Square), from where the southern part of the shopping street continues. The street seems wider, but it's an illusion: it's simply not as crowded as the northern part. There are almost as many shops here, but the selection is less naff and glitzy. Moreover, famous Hungarian designers and artists have their workshops here, and the beautifully ornamented Budapest Council building too. Take a quick look into Szerb utca - here is Budapest's biggest Serbian Orthodox church, surrounded by a low wall. This is where the Serbian community in Budapest holds its religious ceremonies. The southern end of the street is bordered by Fővám tér, where the largest market hall of city, the Central Market Hall stands.

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Shoes on the Danube embankment

This world-famous composition was created by Gyula Pauer and Can Togay, is a memorial on the bank of the Danube in Budapest, which comprises 60 pairs of metal shoes set in concrete on the Danube embankment, was set up in the year 2005. It commemorates the Hungarian Jewish victims of the killings committed by the Arrow Cross militiamen, the pro-German, anti-Semitic, national socialist party members of Hungary in 1944-1945. The killings usually took place en masse - the victims were lined up at the embankment, and shot into the Danube, execution-style. At three separate places of the memorial, cast iron signs read in Hungarian, English and Hebrew: "To the memory of victims shot into the Danube by Arrow Cross militiamen in 1944-45". This is a very simple but very moving memorial.

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Margaret Bridge

The second permanent bridge of Budapest, designed by French engineer Emile Gouin of the Eiffel Company. The bridge not only links Buda and Pest but Margaret Island too - the two parts of the bridge enclose 150 degrees with each other in the middle, from where a causeway-like part leads to the island. The construction lasted from 1872 to 1876. Margaret Bridge was accidentally blown up by the Wehrmacht in November 1944, and 600 civilians died. During the reconstruction many of the original elements were lifted from the river and re-used. The bridge is under reconstruction.

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Chain Bridge

The Széchenyi Chain Bridge is the first permanent bridge over the Danube between Buda and Pest. Built in 1849, it played a major role in the unification of Pest, Buda and Óbuda later in 1873. Its length is just 202 metres (short in comparison to the 1,500-metre span pf the Árpád bridge in northern Budapest) and there is a pedestrian part, running parallel to the motorway. The designer was Englishman William Tierney Clark, whose Marlow Bridge spans accross the Thames in Marlow, England. The four stone lions were created in 1852. The bridge was destroyed in 1945, to be rebuilt in 1949. The bridge is regularly closed on summer weekends, giving home to festivities and markets.

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The Visitor Centre of the Hungarian National Bank

V. Szabadság tér 8.

The Visitor Centre is an exhibition focusing on the areas, concepts and deices closely related to the Bank's activities. The Centre covers a wide range of apparently very different topics whose central unifying theme is money.

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House of Hungarian Art Nouveau

V. Honvéd utca 3.

One of the hidden treasures of Art Nouveau architecture of Budapest, the House of Hungarian Art Nouveau opened its doors near Szabadság Square, in 3 Honvéd Street in October 2007. The house was originally designed by the architect Emil Vidor for Béla Bedő, who lived here for several years.

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Museum of Ethnography

V. Kossuth tér 12.

Majestically facing the Hungarian Parliament, this building is worth a visit, even if it didn't house the largest museum dedicated to Hungarian ethnography.

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