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