Castle Hill is a kilometre-long limestone plateau towering 170m above the Danube. It contains some of Budapest鈥檚 most important medieval monuments and museums and is a Unesco World Heritage Site. Below it is a 28km-long network of caves formed by thermal springs.
The walled area consists of two distinct parts: the Old Town to the north, where commoners once lived, and the Royal Palace to the south, the original site of the castle built by B茅la IV in the 13th century and reserved for the nobility.
There are many ways to reach Castle Hill from Pest. The easiest way is to take bus 16 from De谩k Ferenc t茅r to D铆sz t茅r, more or less the central point between the Old Town and the Royal Palace. Much more fun, though, is to stroll across Sz茅chenyi Chain Bridge and board the 厂颈办濒贸, a funicular railway built in 1870 that ascends steeply from Clark 脕d谩m t茅r to Szent Gy枚rgy t茅r near the Royal Palace.
Alternatively, you can walk up the Kir谩ly l茅pcs艖 (Royal Steps) leading northwest off Clark 脕d谩m t茅r. Just south of Clark 脕d谩m t茅r, a staircase and lift from L谩nch铆d utca lead to the Neo-Renaissance Garden of the Castle Garden Bazaar, and from there stairs, lifts and an escalator will take you up to Castle Hill.
Another option is to take metro M2 to Sz茅ll K谩lm谩n t茅r, go up the stairs or escalator in the southeastern part of the square and walk up V谩rfok utca to Vienna Gate. This medieval entrance to the Old Town was rebuilt in 1936 to mark the 250th anniversary of the castle being taken back from the Turks. Buses 16, 16A and 116 follows the same route from the start of V谩rfok utca.
The new Castle Shuttle Budapest will whisk you from I 脰nt艖h谩z utca just south of Clark 脕d谩m t茅r to Castle Hill in just minutes.
