3 Best Sights in Hungary

Located on a quiet hilltop, a little farther back from the river, this peaceful, tucked-away, and little-visited modern monument is designed to show the similarities in thought between what the sculptor saw as the world's leading religions. Around a little pool, there are statues of Abraham, Jesus, Buddha, Laozi, and Akhenaten, with others (the most recognizable of which is probably Gandhi) looking on. Conceived by Hungarian sculptor Nándor Wagner, it has a double in Japan, and also offers panoramic views of the Danube and the city.

Kiskirálylány, the "Little Princess" statue, is Budapest's answer to Copenhagen's Little Mermaid or Brussels' Manneken Pis---a mini-marvel that has come to symbolize the city. Measuring just 20 inches, the bronze statue was crafted in 1972 by local sculptor László Marton, who based it closely on his own little princess, his six-year old daughter. Donning a bathrobe and a frayed newspaper crown, just as his own daughter would wear, the statue sits serenely on a downtown railing, with the picturesque backdrop of trams shuttling along the Danube. The statue you see here is in fact, a larger version cast in 1990; the original is now among the collection of the Hungarian National Gallery. 

With its finely sculpted biblical reliefs, the column is a superb specimen of baroque design. It was erected in 1745 to mark the former site of the medieval Church of Our Lady, which was destroyed by Sopron citizens in 1632 because they feared the Turks would use its steeple as a strategic firing tower.