Budapest/Belváros

Belváros or Downtown is the V. District of Budapest. It consists of two historic neighbourhoods with well-defined borders within the V. District - Lipótváros ("Leopold town", after Emperor Leopold II) in the north includes the Parliament and many governmental buildings, Szent István Basilica and some museums, while the southern part (Belváros proper) is mostly high-class accommodations, shops and nightlife area.

On the Underground
All four of the Budapest Metro lines can be used to get to the V. District:
 * Line BKV metro.svg BKV m 1 jms.svg starts in northeastern East Pest and goes southwest with stops in Central Pest district at Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út (near Szent Isztvan Bazilika), Deák Ferenc tér and Vörösmarty tér.
 * Line BKV metro.svg BKV m 2 jms.svg links the main sights of Buda and Pest. Running through Hegyvidék along the borders of It starts in Víziváros, it starts at the Deli Station and continues to Széll Kálmán tér (at the northwestern foothills of the Buda hills) and to the Batthyány tér at the namesake Danube promenade and the northeastern foothills. In the V. District, it has stations at Kossuth Lajos tér (in front of the Parliament) and Deák Ferenc tér. It continues further east Blaha Lujza tér (close to many hotels in Central Pest) and then further to Keleti station where most international trains terminate.
 * Line BKV metro.svg BKV m 3 jms.svg runs north-south, stopping at the Nyugati station (where the train from the airport arrives) and Kőbánya-Kispest in South Pest district (where the bus 200E arrives from the airport as well). Within the I. District, the stops are from north to south: Arany János utca, Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út (both close to the Szent Isztvan Bazilika), Deák Ferenc tér (transfer possibility to lines 1 and 2), Ferenciek tere and Kálvin tér. The northern end the line is in New Pest (Újpest Centre) which is part of North Pest district.
 * Line BKV metro.svg BKV m 4 jms.svg links Belvaros with Újbuda and Tétény. It stops at Szent Gellért tér (for the Geller baths and hotel) and continues to Fővám tér (for the southern end of Vaci utca) and Kálvin tér. This line terminates at the Keleti station further east.

Coming from districts of middle Buda (Víziváros and Hegyvidék), you can cross the Danube with Metro line 2 Important stops are Kossuth Lajos Square (get off here to see the Parliament), Deák Ferenc Square (major transport hub), and Keleti pályaudvar (railway station). Also Metro line 4  links south Downtown with Újbuda and Tétény. Catch it at Fovam Square ('Fővám tér') or Kalvin Square (Kálvin tér). These are maybe the fastest way.

On the surface streets
The Downtown is linked to Buda with five bridges. If you have time and the weather allows it, walk across one (or more) of these bridges.

Downtown and Víziváros on the Buda side are connected by two bridges:

You can also take one of the trams that travel across the bridges. Trams 4 and 6 cross the Danube river twice.



Trams 47, 48 and 49 are also good options exploring this area and also made connection, via Liberty Bridge Újbuda and Tétény (New Buda) which is the southern part of Buda.

On the water
Take a boat from Pest side Vigado Square (Vigadó tér) to a pier at 'Batthyany Square' on Buda side.

By public transport
Tram line No. 2, 2B and 23 runs along the Danube river and offers a beautiful view of Buda.

By foot
The district's size makes it walkable. Almost every part can be suggested for a sightseeing walk, except the noisy Kossuth Lajos street. The best of these walks is the Promenad (or Corso) extending from the northern Margaret Bridge (Margit híd) toward south to Liberty Bridge. The pedestrianized Vaci utca makes for a very natural walk, with its many historic buildings, shops, cafes restaurants, starting from Vorosmarty Square ( 'Vörösmarty tér') to Fovam Square ('  'Fővám tér')

Parking
Payment parking in Budapest is split into five zones. The Belváros/Downtown entire area is in zone 2. Each hour costs Ft440 between 08:00-20:00, max. three hours. Payable by cash or parking card or via mobilephone.

The Parliament

 * Under the Parliament's cupola the Hungarian crown jewels are exhibited. After World War II, the medieval crown (last used in 1916) was taken out of the country by escaping Hungarian fascists, ending up in the United States. President Carter returned the crown to the Hungarian state in 1978, accompanied by a large American delegation. It was exhibited in the National Museum until 2000 when it was moved to its present location. Tours lasts ~40 minutes. Come back at the specified time on your ticket and join the "with tickets" queue to the right. The tourist information gives tour times for the various languages (e.g. English is 10:00, noon and 14:00), your ticket may have a different time on it, like 10:15, this is because there is more than 1 tour around the times listed, so you will not join the 10:00 tour, but the 10:15 tour. The end result of this system is that at first glance, there are people standing in a very slow moving queue, with occasional tourists wandering into an unmarked door in the corner of the building. Suddenly, a large group of people will appear and jump the queue and wander through the security fence (this is a timed tour starting), the guards are not tour advisors and will not tell you if they are sold out of tickets, or if a tour is starting, or that you are in the wrong queue. Parliament is in session Monday and Tuesday, but tours still operate. For the time of your language tour get the slip of paper from a tourist information office.

Splurge

 * The Gresham Palace: Part of the amazing art nouveau hotel, reputed to be the most luxurious of the city - see Sleep:Splurge section for details.
 * The Gresham Palace: Part of the amazing art nouveau hotel, reputed to be the most luxurious of the city - see Sleep:Splurge section for details.

Drink
There are dozens of romkocsma (literally translated: ruin-pubs) in city centre. These inhabit ruined courts of old houses, therefore they are hard to be found. Ask locals for hints and go for the unique post-socialist atmosphere!

Mid-range