Castle Hill loop: funicular to Vienna Gate: a walk in Budapest

Ride the 1870 funicular up to the Royal Palace, then walk north along Castle Hill past the presidential palace, Matthias Church and Fisherman's Bastion to the medieval streets around the Vienna Gate.

Best time: Early morning, before tour groups reach Fisherman's Bastion; the funicular ride up saves the steepest climb.

The route, stop by stop

1
Clark Ádám tér
Lower funicular station at the Buda end of the Chain Bridge; Zero Kilometre Stone. 5 min
2
Buda Castle Funicular
Ride up to the palace terrace; a few minutes each way. 10 min
A funicular opened on 2 March 1870 between Clark Ádám tér and Buda Castle, the second of its kind in Europe after Lyon. Destroyed in 1944, it reopened in 1986.
3
Buda Castle (Royal Palace)
Palace courtyards and the Danube terrace; National Gallery inside if you have time. 30 min
The palace of the Hungarian kings, first completed in 1265. The Baroque palace of 1749-1769 was badly damaged in the 1945 siege and rebuilt; it now holds the Hungarian National…
4
Budapest History Museum - Castle Museum
Castle Museum in Building E; medieval palace rooms. Optional, 60 min
The city history museum in Building E of Buda Castle. It takes you from ancient times through the Middle Ages to modern Budapest (budapestinfo.hu).
5
Sándor Palace
Residence of the President of Hungary. 10 min
6
Holy Trinity Column
15 m plague column raised after the plague of the late 17th century. 5 min
7
Matthias Church
Painted neo-Gothic interior and Zsolnay roof. 40 min
The Church of Our Lady of Buda, a Gothic church of the 14th century that the Ottomans used as a mosque. Frigyes Schulek rebuilt it in neo-Gothic style in 1874-1896; the painted…
8
Fisherman's Bastion
Seven turrets and the view over Parliament. 30 min
A Neo-Romanesque lookout terrace built in 1895-1902 by Frigyes Schulek, with seven pointed towers for the seven Magyar chieftains. The 140 m deck gives the classic view over the…
9
Mary Magdalene Tower
Tower of the former Church of St Mary Magdalene, on Kapisztrán tér. 10 min
10
Hospital in the Rock Nuclear Bunker Museum
Wartime hospital and nuclear bunker under the hill; tour 60 min, book ahead. Optional
An emergency hospital built in the caves under Castle Hill from 1939, used in the 1944-45 siege and in 1956, then turned into a Cold War nuclear bunker kept secret until 2002…
11
Vienna Gate
Gate at the north end of the Castle District; end of the walk. 5 min

Walking directions

Castle Hill loop: funicular to Vienna Gate

The route, stop by stop

More walks in Budapest