3 Best Sights in Hungary

The oldest and most elegant of the road bridges that span the Danube in Budapest—particularly when lit up at night—the Széchenyi Chain Bridge connects Víziváros on the west bank with Lipótváros on the east. Before it was built, the river could be crossed only by ferry or by pontoon bridge that had to be removed when ice blocks began floating downstream in winter. It was constructed at the initiative of the great Hungarian reformer and philanthropist Count István Széchenyi, using an 1839 design by the English civil engineer William Tierney Clark, and was finished by the Scotsman Adam Clark (no relation). After it was destroyed by the Nazis, the bridge was rebuilt in its original, classical and symmetrical form—though widened for traffic—and was reopened in 1949, on the centenary of its inauguration. At the Buda end of the Chain Bridge is Clark Ádám tér (Adam Clark Square), from which you can zip up to Castle Hill on the sikló (funicular); it's 4,000 HUF for a return ticket. The square is also home to the 0 kilométerkő (Zero Kilometer Stone), a sculpture from which all highway distance signs are measured all over the country.

At the southern end of Margaret Island, the Margaret Bridge is the closer of the two island entrances for those coming from downtown Buda or Pest. Just north of the Chain Bridge, the bridge walkway provides gorgeous midriver views of Castle Hill and Parliament. The original bridge was built during the 1870s by French engineer Ernest Gouin in collaboration with Gustave Eiffel. Toward the end of 1944, the bridge was accidentally blown up by the retreating Nazis while crowded with rush-hour traffic. It was rebuilt in the same unusual shape—forming an obtuse angle in midstream, with a short leg leading down to the island—and has been refurbished in recent years, now sporting a bike path on the north-facing side that pedestrians, joggers, and bicyclists all share on their way to the island.

It may play second fiddle to the Chain Bridge, but this pretty cantilevered river crossing is lit beautifully at night and makes for a pleasant stroll across the river during the day. It was designed for the Millennium World Exhibition in 1896 and rebuilt after being blown up in the Second World War. Keep an eye out for the interesting details, like the mythological birds perched atop it.