Our AmaWaterways river cruise on the Danube began in Budapest, Hungary. The Hungarian capital glows on the Danube with magnificently grandiose buildings that are golden in the dark.
Find a local guide in Budapest, here.
Read other posts from this trip:
- Poland Travel Photo Gallery
- Austria Travel Photo Gallery
- Germany Travel Photo Gallery
- The Czech Republic Travel Photo Gallery
- AMAWaterways Travel Photo Gallery
- Christmas Markets
We stayed at the Sofitel Chain Bridge Hotel which overlooks the River Danube.
In general, we prefer small locally owned boutique hotels, but since we were here to board a river cruise, it was convenient and quite comfortable. The view of the river from the hotel is stunning and we enjoyed their sumptuous breakfast buffet.
The Great Market Hall
One of our first stops in the city was the Great Market Hall. It’s the largest indoor public market I’ve ever seen and the largest in Hungary. Built in 1897, it was damaged in WWII and remained closed for many years.
It was restored to its original splendor in 1990. The market is 3 stories high and over 10,000 square meters in size. You don’t want to miss it if you are in Budapest.
Click on the images below to view them full size.
Hungarian State Opera House
We took a tour of the Hungarian State Opera House, which is a magnificent Neo-Renaissance building that was commissioned by Emperor Franz Joseph in 1884. It’s known for its marvelous acoustics and is decorated with frescos, marble sculptures and gold leaf everywhere. Tours are available during the day.
Click on the images to view them full-size in a gallery.
Old Town Buda
Our river cruise company took us on an excursion to Old Town Buda. It included the Seven Towers of the Fisherman’s Bastion built between 1895 and 1902 in the Buda Castle walls and the Matthias Church. The church was originally built in 1015 but was destroyed by the Mongols and reconstructed in the 13th century.
It’s the 7th largest church of the medieval Hungarian Kingdom. The church was extensively restored in the 19th century. We also had time to walk around the Old Town.
Budapest on the Danube at night
The view from our ship at night was spectacular as all the building glow on the river.
Signs on shops in Buda
I love quirky things like old signs and doors. Here are some shop signs from Old Town Buda.
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I wish we could have spent more time in Budapest and other parts of Hungary but we only had part of the day when we arrived and the next day to go on a whirlwind tour of the city.
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