Day 3.. A short break in Budapest

Today we decided to explore using the hop on hop off bus which we picked up in Andrassy Ut.

 Andrassy Ut

Museum of Fine Arts, Heroes Square

We took the tour to Castle District and spent most of the day there, visiting the Hungarian National Gallery, Fishermans Bastian, Matthias Church and generally just wandering around. The views from here looking over the city are amazing.

View from Castle District over the Danube & Elizabeth Bridge 

 Parliament

Matthias Church, Castle Hill.

We stopped for lunch in a fast food cafe, queuing and choosing from a vast range of local dishes.

While waiting to pick up the hop on hop off bus, the heavens opened and we sheltered under a tree to avoid the worst of the downpour.

As we were fairly wet and cold by this time we stayed on the tour bus, passing the State Opera House before returning to the hotel for a well earned siesta.

Hungarian State Opera House

Day 2... a short break in Budapest.

The Book Cafe, Andrassy Ut

This is the Alexandra Cafe  on Andrassy, also known as the bookcafe, which houses the most amazing coffee shop. Plush squashy sofas, excellent Latte, and a ceiling to die for...

This building with beautiful chandeliers and a fresco style ceiling painted by  Karoly Lotz  used to be a department store. 

An excellent place to while away an hour or two and relaxing with a good book.

We wandered down to look at the Danube and to check if the golden lights had returned... last night the area was in darkness...

This is the Elizabeth Bridge, wonderful in its majestic structure and beautifully lit this evening..

Elizabeth Bridge

The Royal Palace