Budapest Buda Castle Audio Walking Tour
A self-guided Budapest walk over Castle Hill, from the Chain Bridge up to the Royal Palace, Matthias Church and Fisherman's Bastion, down to Batthyány Square.
- 7 stops and 13 minutes of stories, told as you reach each place
- The intro and stop 1 are free in the app: try before you buy
- Download before you go; the audio plays without signal (the street map needs a connection)
- Walking with friends? Pick 1 to 10 seats; everyone hears each stop on their own phone, at the same moment
30 seconds of the real narration
Plays in the free Walk With Me app on iPhone and Android.
What you'll see
About this tour
Castle Hill is small enough to cover on foot and too full of detail to see any other way. Walking it, you catch the turul bird spreading its wings over the gate, the guards changing outside the president's office, the shine of the tiled church roof between the houses, and above all the views, which open up across the river every few minutes and keep changing as you move north along the hill. Buses and the little funicular will get you up and down, but only walking lets you string it all together, from the zero stone by the bridge to the Parliament view at the end. If you would like company on the climb, open the Walk With Me live map to find other people out walking Budapest today.
The route
5.1 km in walking order from Clark Ádám Square to Batthyány Square. Stop 1 is free in the app.
- 1Clark Ádám SquareThe roundabout at the Chain Bridge's Buda end, with a stone zero, a tunnel through the hill and a long-running local joke.Free in the app
- 2Castle Garden BazaarMiklós Ybl's arcaded garden staircase on the riverbank, left to crumble for decades, and the lifts inside that spare you the climb.
- 3Buda Castle Royal PalaceThe river terrace of the palace, with Pest spread out below, a general on horseback and a castle destroyed and rebuilt again and again.Ft 5800 to go in, optional
- 4Sándor PalaceA white neoclassical palace where guards now stand at the gate, a count's daredevil son, and the building's darkest day in 1941.
- 5Matthias Church and Fisherman's BastionThe tile-roofed church you've seen from the river all along, a coronation with music by Liszt, and the white lookout towers beside it.Ft 3400 to go in, optional
- 6Magdalene TowerA lone Gothic tower in a quiet square, the outline of its lost church in the grass, and its unusual role under Ottoman rule.
- 7Batthyány SquareA riverside square in the old Water Town, facing the whole length of Parliament, and the fate of the man it is named after.
Before you go
- Set aside around three hours.
- The walking itself takes a little over an hour, but the hilltop is full of reasons to stop.
- The climb from the river to the palace is steep, though the Castle Garden Bazaar has escalators and lifts that do most of the work, so you can choose stairs or machinery depending on your legs.
- Up top, the streets are cobbled and fairly flat.
- The way down at the end is on lanes and steps, so wear shoes with grip, especially in wet weather or ice.
What costs extra
2 stops have a ticket to go inside. The story plays outside, so going in is your choice.
| Stop | Inside | Ticket from |
|---|---|---|
| 3. Buda Castle Royal Palace | Optional | Ft 5800 |
| 5. Matthias Church and Fisherman's Bastion | Optional | Ft 3400 |
Toilets and water on the way
17 public toilets (8 free) and 34 drinking fountains within 150 m of the route.
| Stop | Nearest toilet | Nearest water |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Clark Ádám Square | 111 m | 70 m |
| 2. Castle Garden Bazaar | 70 m | 54 m |
| 3. Buda Castle Royal Palace | 18 m, free | 52 m |
| 4. Sándor Palace | 121 m | 182 m |
| 5. Matthias Church and Fisherman's Bastion | 70 m | 49 m |
| 6. Magdalene Tower | 44 m, free | 19 m |
| 7. Batthyány Square | 65 m | 45 m |
The full map is in our Budapest guide. Data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Questions
How long does it really take?
1 h 17 of walking plus 13 minutes of stories, so plan for about 1 h 30 with stops.
Do I have to climb the hill on foot?
No. Inside the Castle Garden Bazaar, escalators and lifts carry you most of the way up, or you can take its garden stairs. The small funicular beside the tunnel at the start also runs up to the palace.
When can I see the changing of the guard?
Outside Sándor Palace, the President's office. It is a short ceremony held through the day, usually on the hour.
Can I climb the Magdalene Tower?
On some days, for a view over the rooftops, so check before you go. When it is shut you can still walk the outline of the vanished church marked in the grass.