Budapest

The Danube River divides Hungary’s capital city into the once separate towns of Buda and Pest. Explore both sides, starting with Pest’s National Opera House and historic Heroes’ Square. In Buda, walk along Castle Hill to Fisherman’s Bastion and Matthias Church. Enjoy lunch on board your ship, with the rest of the day to explore on your own. Alternately, choose one of our optional excursions designed to allow you to delve deeper into the history, culture and cuisine of this fascinating city. Return to your ship for a traditional Hungarian dinner. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

HUNGARY’S GRACEFUL AND INSPIRING CAPITAL

Take in one of Europe’s great cultural capitals. Over the last few decades, Budapest has reemerged as one of the continent’s iconic cities, divided by the lilting Danube and connected by the graceful Chain Bridge. Meet your guide for a panoramic tour, beginning in modern Pest. Along the elegant Andrássy Avenue, the Champs-Élysées of Budapest, admire the Hungarian State Opera House. Drive through Heroes’ Square, a wide-open plaza of monuments and statues commemorating the Magyar state. Across the river, explore the more traditional Buda side of the city. [see change below: Here you will visit the Castle District with its massive hilltop castle complex, the turreted Fisherman’s Bastion and Matthias Church, named for the country’s most popular medieval king.] From the heights of Buda Hill, enjoy fantastic views of the famous Chain Bridge, the first span to ever connect the two halves of the city when it opened in 1849.

Please be advised that a portion of your included Panoramic Budapest tour has been revised. You will no longer visit the Buda Castle District because it has been closed to motorcoach travel. Instead, following your drive along Andrássy Avenue, we will make a photo stop at Heroes' Square, then cross the Danube via Elisabeth Bridge for a panoramic drive through Buda, seeing among other things the Castle Garden Bazaar, Margaret Island, and great views of the Parliament from across the river. Back in Pest, you will receive a guided tour of the Inner City Parish Church— the main parish church of Budapest, the earliest features of which date back to the 11th Century. At the end of the tour, there will be free time to enjoy the shops and cafes of Váci utca, the main pedestrian street of Budapest.

* Moderate - Walking portions may be long and somewhat challenging with occasional step-ups, stairs and inclines. Total time walking or standing normally ranges from 1.5 to 3 hours.

CHOCOLATE WORKSHOP AND HERBAL REMEDIES

Savor a taste of Hungary during visits to one of the country’s oldest chocolate makers and a famed distillery. Travel to the heart of bustling Pest, the location of Szamos Chocolate Museum. Take a guided tour of the museum, with its extensive displays showcasing the history of chocolate production, then enjoy a taste of several varieties of chocolates, as well as cocoa beans and marzipan. During your workshop, observe the chocolate master as he presents a step-by-step demonstration of chocolate molding, then take the opportunity to decorate your own chocolate bar, which you can take home with you. Afterward, continue to the Zwack factory and museum, where the premium bitter unicum has been produced since 1840. Learn the history of this popular digestive and how the herb-infused spirit is made, visit the cellars and sample some fresh from the oak casks.

* Moderate - Walking portions may be long and somewhat challenging with occasional step-ups, stairs and inclines. Total time walking or standing normally ranges from 1.5 to 3 hours.

Zoe: The stop in Bratislava in Slovakia talks about when this was a capital of Hungary until it was overrun by the Turks.

Budapest has lots of Gothic buildings. The city is divided by the Danube: Buda is the hilly side and Pest is flat side. We walked on our own through an indoor market on Pest side that looked like a railway station from outside and had 3 levels. We then took the city tour. It was Nov and very chilly here. We went to Matthias Church and the Royal Palace. There is controversy over which Communist buildings and monuments should remain. After the revolution, they toppled a statue of Stalin and only the boots remain.

As the sun came up, I looked out our cabin window thinking we would be in Budapest. We were, as planned, tying up at Visegrad where the busses would pick us up to journey into Budapest:

By 8:30 we were driving towards Budapest. Before we reached the city, we passed through the suburbs coming alive on a Saturday morning. The homes, yards and businesses were not as tidy and upscale as in Germany or Austria, maybe affected by the Communist occupation of the 1950s:

Then we started to see some civic buildings: a museum, Buda Castle across the Danube...

He told us more about the monuments then led us to the Inner City Parish Church (Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary) near the Danube. Today was the feast of King St. Stephen (975 - 1038), a national holiday, so visiting the famous St. Stephens Cathedral would have been impossible.

From there it was a long, hot walk past the city center's shops to the Central Market Hall, an immense building full of groceries, souvenirs, and everything else you can imagine. The Hall was packed with shoppers, so we were on our own to explore:

It was a relief to return to our ship now docked in Budapest to enjoy our 'last supper', Hungarian goulash or a variety of special items on the menu:

After dinner, we had the best seats in town on the top deck to see the fireworks celebration for St. Stephen's Day:

We had to be up early Sunday morning to catch our flight, so we left the fireworks behind and returned to our cabin.