3-hour tour of Buda Castle with a historian

The oldest part of Budapest, Castle Hill, is yours to explore on this walking tour! The area has narrow streets, cobbled roads, and is filled with baroque and gothic styles. Your tour will start at the palace at the southern end of the area. It originally started as a fort in 1250 against the Mongolian hordes, but it has been rebuilt, expanded, destroyed, rebuilt, and redesigned over the years, by Renaissance Kings, Turkish pashas, and even Hapsburg emperors.

Your tour will pass the Presidential Palace and National Dance Theatre before entering the residential district. This particular area has not had the best of luck. It was destroyed once in 1686 when the Hapsburg-led troops took the city back from the Turks, and then it was destroyed again when the Russians took it back from Nazi Germany in 1945. Everything was rebuilt in the 1950s and 60s, including the iconic Matthias Church. While the structure appears old, it is an excellent recreation of neo-gothic style, with a well-decorated roof and classy interior. The area has always been an eclectic mix of Germans, Serbs, Hungarians, Turks, and Jews, so it is no surprise to find the ruins of a Middle Age synagogue as well as monument to Buda's last Turkish pasha.

You'll also get to see various other town palaces. Your tour will stop to explore the house of an 18th century pharmacist. The stop aims to show you both the typical life of the area, but also the massive damage from the 1945 siege of Buda. You'll also see a hidden garden on the tour with statues dedicated to famous Hungarian hussars. Your guide will talk about the mythical Turul bird, the chess machine of a brilliant baron, and the history behind the midday churchbell chimes. Finally, you'll stop at the Vienna Gate where you'll be able to see Obuda (Old Buda), the original location of the Roman city Aquincum.