Today we went on a city tour around Budapest. First we went to Fisherman Bastion complex. Fisherman’s Bastion is a terrace in neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque style situated on the Buda bank of the Danube, on the Castle hill in Budapest, around Matthias Church. It was designed and built between 1895 and 1902 on the plans of Frigyes Schulek. Construction of the bastion destabilised the foundations of the neighbouring 13th century Dominican Church which had to be pulled down. Between 1947–48, the son of Frigyes Schulek, János Schulek, conducted the other restoration project after its near destruction during World War II.

Fisherman Bastion among the cityscape of Budapest.

Budapest taken from a café at the top of Fisherman Bastion.

From the towers and the terrace a panoramic view exists of Danube, Margaret Island, Pest to the east and the Gellért Hill. The Bastion takes its name from the guild of fishermen that was responsible for defending this stretch of the city walls in the Middle Ages. It is a viewing terrace, with many stairs and walking paths.

Matthias Church is a Roman Catholic church located in Budapest, Hungary, in front of the Fisherman’s Bastion at the heart of Buda’s Castle District. According to church tradition, it was originally built in Romanesque style in 1015, although no archaeological remains exist. The current building was constructed in the florid late Gothic style in the second half of the 14th century and was extensively restored in the late 19th century. It was the second largest church of medieval Buda and the seventh largest church of medieval Hungarian Kingdom.

Matthias Church inside Buda Castle District.

Inside Matthias Church.

After touring the Fisherman Bastion complex and took some pictures of the cityscape, we walked to the Presidential Palace nearby.

Change of guard in Presidential Palace in Budapest.

The Presidential Palace in Budapest.

Then we headed to Hero’s Square right at noon which is really, really hot. Heroes’ Square is one of the major squares in Budapest, Hungary, noted for its iconic statue complex featuring the Seven Chieftains of the Magyars and other important national leaders, as well as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The square lies at the outbound end of Andrássy Avenue next to City Park. It hosts the Museum of Fine Arts and the Műcsarnok. The square has played an important part in contemporary Hungarian history and has been a host to many political events, such as the reburial of Imre Nagy in 1989. The sculptures were made by sculptor Zala György from Lendava.

Then we went to Citadel, a hill overlooking the city.

Citadel, the hike to this statue from parking lot took about 10 minutes.

Cityscape taken from Citadel.

We had our lunch in a chinese restaurant near a small shopping mall before heading for a cruise across Danube river and Margaret Island. The cruise took less than one hour, the view is great and we can see the parliament house from the boat.

Budapest’s Parliament House taken from a cruise.

We also visited St. Stephen’s Basilica, a Roman Catholic basilica in Budapest, Hungary. It is named in honour of Stephen, the first King of Hungary (c 975–1038), whose supposed right hand is housed in the reliquary. It was the sixth largest church building in Hungary before 1920. Today, it is the third largest church building in present-day Hungary.

Around three o’clock we were dropped in Vaci Utca, while my sister and mother shopped I sat on a café and watched people on the street. We walked along the street and ate at Buda cafe, I had a lamb Zucchini.

Street of Vaci Utca, Budapest.

Buddha Statue inside Buddha Bar in Vaci Utca.

My lamb zucchini.

Around 8 pm, I and my father went to Fisherman Bastion again for the third time to watch the sunset. We arrived on time and had the perfect spot to see the city, we sat for two hours watching the sky turn to dark and of course I took lots of good photos there. A sailor from Russia exhanged a cigarettes with my father, and we had a good time. We walked around the area again and took few pictures before heading back to hotel with bus number 16 and walked for one kilometer.

Sunset overlooking the city of Budapest taken from Fisherman Bastion.

Sunset overlooking the Parliament House in Budapest taken from Fisherman Bastion.

Sunset turns into night at Budapest.

*Please be careful when using taxi in Budapest, most of them are tricky and will charge you unreasonable rate, even the one with meter.