Photographing Budapest from a Tourist’s Perspective

I loved photographing Budapest. I did some research before going which talked about the best vantage points in the city. Initially they were just names to me but I recognized them when I stood there. I was also lucky that I was staying for 7 nights, so I could go back to a few places to get a better shot! But let’s get on with the tips to take beautiful pictures of Budapest. My best tip is to find a vantage point for the panorama shots and there is no shortage of them in the city.

Gellert Hill

Gellert Hill offers sweeping vistas of the Budapest city both at day and night. I went there first during the day and then went back another evening to click the night shots. The top picture of this post, of the Buda Castle has been from the Gellert Hill.

A view of Budapest city from Gellert Hill in the evening
Budapest by Night

Give yourself time at the top of the Gellert Hill, as you will find beautiful pictures whichever way you look! I love this shot of the Ferris Wheel with St. Stephen’s Basilica in the background along with the city.

A panoramic view of Budapest City, Hungary
Budapest at Night

Here is another shot of the beautiful Budapest City from the Gellert Hill at Night. As I said, give yourself time to click pictures. There is beauty everywhere. We (my sister Alka and I) came to the hill on the Hop on Hop Off bus but the bus went back quickly. We climbed down the hill using the footpath and reached the main road. We took a tram back to our hotel from there.

Buda Castle

Buda Castle offers beautiful views of the city too. It was closer to my hotel so I decided to catch the sunrise as well, along with some night shots from there.

A view of the Chain Bridge along with its roundabout at Night, Budapest, Hungary
Chain Bridge Shot Taken from the Buda Castle Balcony

I got the Chain Bridge along with its roundabout with traffic lights from the Buda Castle Balcony which is closer to the funicular. It is an excellent vantage point to capture the city.

A View of the Chain Bridge at sunrise, Budapest, Hungary
Chain Bridge at Sunrise- Photographing Budapest

If you do not wish to include the roundabout, you get this beautiful beautiful view of the Chain Bridge. I went in the first week of November so I got the bonus of fall colors in my pictures!

A view of the Chain Bridge across the River Danube, Budapest, Hungary
The Chain Bridge with its Roundabout during the Day- Photographing Budapest

The Chain Bridge and the roundabout look great during the day too. So, all these clicks are from the Buda Castle Balconies above the funicular.

Sunrise from Buda Castle, Budapest Hungary. Buda Castle is good spot for photographing Budapest
Sunrise from Buda Castle

However, you get fabulous view of the sunrise from the balcony near this ‘rider on a horse’ statute in the Buda Castle. This gives another fabulous view of the city.

Budapest at Sunrise
Budapest at Sunrise

Here is another picture taken from the same balcony as above. I love how the chimney smoke caught the sunlight giving the illusion of fire!

Photographing Budapest at sunrise, Hungary
Sunrise at Budapest

This is the last one that I share, again taken from the same spot as the above two. Buda Castle offers many opportunities of photographing the city in all its beauty!

St. Stephen’s Basilica

The interiors of St. Stephen’s Basilica are grand, they completely mesmerized me. You can also go up the tower for a nominal fee and get another panoramic view of the city!

A view of the interiors of St. Stephen's Basilica
St. Stephen’s Basilica, Budapest

It was a pleasure for us to listen to the prayer service going in this grand hall. My pictures do only partial justice to the grandeur of the place!

A beautiful view of the interiors of the St. Stephen's Basilica in Budapest
St. Stephen’s Basilica, Budapest

You will be better off with a wide angle lens to capture the grand interiors. The Basilica has opening times, so do check it out before you go.

Photographing the beautiful streets of Budaopest
A Beautiful Budapest Street

Here is a view of a beautiful Budapest street from the top of the tower of the St. Stephen’s Basilica. There is an entry fee to go to the top. There are stairs as well as an elevator. We took the elevator. In my opinion it is totally worth to go to the top.

A view of the Buda Castle from the St. Stephen Basilica Tower
Buda Castle as Seen from the top of the St. Stephen’s Basilica

The top of the Basilica gives a different perspective of the city, so make sure you get to see it. I got this view of Buda Castle only from the tower!

A view of the rooftops of Budapest
Budapest City Rooftops

I got the best views of the rooftops from the top of the Basilica as well. The colors come out really well from there.

The beautiful spiral staircase at St. Stephen's Basilica, Budapest
The Spiral Staircase, St. Stephen’s Basilica, Budapest

Next to the elevator are these stunning spiral staircase inside the Basilica. I had to wait a few minutes to get it empty but it was worth the wait.

Photographing Budapest from the Fisherman’s Bastian

The arches of Fisherman’s Bastian provide a beautiful frame to the city. Fisherman’s Bastian is a beautiful spot in itself and gets a lot of tourists.

A view of the parliament house from Fisherman's Bastian, Budapest
Parliament House as seen from Fisherman’s Bastian

This is just one example of using the arches to frame the city, there are many such sequences possible, in horizontal frame too. Just observe as you walk around and you will find these places.

A beautiful view of the Fisherman's Bastian at sunrise, Budapest
Fisherman’s Bastian, Budapest

I love this particular arch and the view of the Fisherman’s Bastian it provides. I went there during the day and early hours too. During the day it is impossible to get this shot without people. In the early morning I almost had the whole place to myself.

Margret Bridge

A view of the parliament house and Buda Castle from Margret Bridge, Budapest
Parliament Building from Margret Bridge

I quite like the view of the Parliament House and Buda Castle with Chain Bridge from the Margret Bridge. Initially I was disappointed that there were no colors in the sky but I eventually liked this moody view. I am sure other bridges of the city will provide beautiful vantage points to photograph Budapest.

River Cruise

One of the touristy thing to do in Budapest is to to go on a river cruise on Danube. And that provides an interesting perspective of the city from water, hence some beautiful pictures.

Sunset at Budapest, Hungary
Sunset at Budapest, Hungary

I took this picture of sunset from the evening boat cruise. And I am glad I got to see the city from the water too.

Parliament House at Sunset, Photographing Beautiful Budapest
Photographing Budapest- Parliament House as seen from the River over Danube

Finally here is a view of the Parliament House from the boat! Loved the show the sky put up for us! I really enjoyed my trip to Budapest and I hope it shows in my pictures.

I did not had time like a local for photographing Budapest but with a little research and by going back to a few places, I really got a lot of memorable pictures! If you have a tip to share, do drop it in the comment box.

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