Katie Matthews

Share This Post Share on pinterest Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on linkedin Share on email Share on reddit Share on pocket Disclosure: This website uses affiliate links. That means we may earn a small commission when you use the links on this site to book a hotel, book a tour, buy your travel insurance through a company like World Nomads or Allianz, shop for travel essentials, etc. You don’t pay anything extra. We’ve made an effort to ensure all information on this website is correct at the time of writing, but expect readers to double check before booking. Read More About the Area. Budapest 5 Neighborhood Guide Budapest 6 Neighborhood Guide Budapest 7 Neighborhood Guide Guide to Elizabeth Square Budapest Best Luxury Hotels in Budapest A Complete Guide to Visiting the Hungarian Parliament Building Introduction to Liberty Square Budapest. Liberty Square (Szabadság tér in Hungarian) sits in Lipótváros, the northern section of Budapest’s District 5. It lies between the Hungarian Parliament Building and St. Stephen’s Basilica: a 6-minute walk from either. Walk a few minutes to the Danube, and you’ll find great views of Fisherman’s Bastion, Matthias Church, and Buda Castle across the river in District I. One of Budapest’s largest squares, Liberty Square is a popular park. It has interesting architecture, plenty of green space, a playground for kids, and an interactive fountain. It’s also got a heavy dose of controversy, thanks to the monuments and statues placed around the square. More on that below, in the Things to Do section. Well-located and in a beautiful part of the city, Liberty Square is a popular area to stay in Budapest for tourists. Generally speaking, it’s an upscale area of Budapest, and very quiet at night. The Iberostar Grand Budapest Hotel sits on the southern end of the square if you’d like to stay right at Liberty Square. There are plenty of other great hotels in the vicinity, as well. Liberty Square History. Liberty Square’s name stands in opposition to the site’s past as a prison. Ordered by Emperor Joseph II, the barracks and prison that once stood here held a number of Hungarian political prisoners. Prime Minister Batthyány Lajos was held here following the 1848-1849 Hungarian Revolution. He was executed in front of the prison. Many Hungarians saw the prison as a symbol of Hapsburg oppression. When the prison was demolished in 1897, it was replaced by a public square. The name for the square - Liberty Square - references this pivot from the site’s past oppression. A short but pretty detour from Liberty Square is tiny Bathory Square. It lies behind where the former prison building sat, and there’s a small oil lamp in the centre of the square dedicated to Batthyány Lajos. It’s unassuming and quiet - one of my favorite squares in Budapest. Liberty Square Today. Liberty Square is one of Budapest’s prettiest squares. This part of the city has gorgeous architecture and clean, wide streets. It’s one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Pest, home to government buildings, the finance sector, and homes. It's generally quite peaceful, and feels a bit like Paris. Think lovely sidewalk cafés and bistros, old trees, and grand buildings. The square itself is a popular spot for Budapesters to hang out. During the most recent FIFA World Cup, the city set-up massive viewing screens here. It felt like the entire city descended on Liberty Square to cheer together. Day-to-day, you’ll see plenty of people relaxing on the grass, strolling the square, or reading on one of the benches. There’s also a nice children’s playground here and an interactive fountain. The fountain turns on and off depending on whether you’re approaching, leaving, or standing around. Book Your Trip to BudapestSave Money in Budapest The Budapest Card includes free, unlimited public transportation for the duration of the card, and is available as a 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5-day card. In addition to free public transport, the card includes free entry to many museums, a complimentary tour, discounts throughout the city, and more. Click for prices and details. Book Your Flight to Budapest CheapOair is our current favorite when it comes to searching for flight deals. It’s a meta aggregator, and will find the best deals and routes for you by searching airline websites and other aggregators. Book Your Budapest Hotel in Advance We use Booking.com when making hotel reservations in Europe. In our experience, it has the best inventory/selection of hotels and holiday apartments, and we’ve had good experiences with their customer service team when things go wrong (which has been a rarity for us, thank goodness!). TripAdvisor is also trying to get into the hotel booking game, and may be worth checking out. Skip the Line in Budapest Budapest is getting busier by the year, meaning you should expect to wait in line at the most popular attractions, especially in high season. If you only have a short vacation, consider getting a Skip-the-Line ticket for the most popular attractions: The Great Synagogue, Széchenyi Thermal Baths, and the Parliament. If you want to visit the interior of the Parliament, you have to pre-book. You can either use an international tour aggregator like Get Your Guide or use the Hungarian website Jegymester.hu. Book Your Budapest Tour We tend to book tours via an aggregator like Get Your Guide (a company out of Berlin with great selection of tours in Europe, in particular) or Viator (a TripAdvisor company). Why use an aggregator instead of going direct? Personally, we like to compare the different tours available for each attraction, as well as read reviews. Both Get Your Guide and Viator let us see multiple, similar tours, and compare prices and past reviews before making a booking. Getting from Budapest Airport to the City Center Budapest’s public transportation system is generally excellent, and this extends to the airport. For a detailed post about getting from Budapest Airport to the City Center via public transit, shared shuttle, or airport taxi, read our guide here. If you’re arriving late at night, coming in on a long-haul and expect to be exhausted, or would rather have the peace of mind of a private transfer, you can book one here. Buy Travel Insurance (Just in Case) We can’t actually recommend a travel insurance provider. Apparently it’s against the law. However, we can say this: we know several people who racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical expenses during separate, life-or-death situations while traveling. They were both insured by Allianz, they both received life-saving care, and they both made a successful claim. No one wants to need travel insurance, but you’ll certainly be glad you have it if something goes wrong. And if something does go wrong in Budapest, we personally go to FirstMed for our healthcare. Staff and doctors speak English. Make Restaurant Reservations in Advance If you visit Budapest in winter, you’ll probably be okay if you don’t make restaurant reservations, although we’d still recommend you reserve in advance Thursday to Saturday evenings where possible. In summer, things fill up pretty quickly, although capacity at many restaurants increases when the city’s terraces open, usually sometime in May. It’s worth noting Budapest’s restaurants are all non-smoking inside, but get quite smoky on the terraces. Things to Do at Liberty Square. American Embassy. The art nouveau US Embassy is one of the most imposing buildings on the square. You’ll spot it instantly because of its heavy fortifications. Look for the concrete blocks and steel fencing. Statue of Harry Hill Bandholtz In front of the US Embassy, facing the square, you’ll find a bust of American Harry Hill Bandholtz. Bandholtz was posted to Budapest at the end of WWI on behalf of the Allies, arriving in the city in August 1919. Part of his job was ensuring Romanian troops left Hungary following the war. Due to the treaty Hungary signed with the Allies ending the war, Romanian troops were pretty much persona non grata in Budapest at the time. The Treaty of Trianon had demanded Hungary give up roughly two-thirds of its territory, including ceding Transylvania to Romania. It was a bitter pill to swallow for being on the losing side of the war. It’s within this context that Bandholtz developed into somewhat of a hero to Hungarians. Upong hearing Romanian soldiers were looting Budapest's National Museum, Bandholtz went to stop them from relocating Transylvanian treasures. When Hungarians heard of Bandholtz’ act, it was seen as vindication. Hungarians interpreted it as a sign that America thought Hungary's loss of Transylvania’s to Romania was unfair. Bandholtz gained instant hero status. Hungarian National Bank This is a historicist-style building on the east side-of the square, beside the American Embassy. It's still a functioning government building, and worth a quick look. Former Stock Exchange Building Opposite the US Embassy sits the Exchange Palace. Dating back to 1905, the Beaux-Arts-style building was designed and built by Hungarian architect Ignác Alpár. It originally housed the Budapest Stock Exchange. Then from 1955 until 2009, the building was HQ to the Hungarian national broadcaster, MTV. It has since sat empty, although there are plans to develop it into mixed-use retail and office space. Post-Office Savings Bank The Post-Office Savings Bank (Postatakarékpénztár) is just behind Liberty Square, but well worth the detour to Hold u. Designed by Ödön Lechner, the art nouveau/secession building is spectacular. Check out the ornate ornamentation on the exterior and the stunning ceramic mosaic roof. The Intermezzo Roof Terrace bar/restaurant at Hotel President offers great views. Soviet War Monument This is the only remaining soviet monument in central Budapest. The rest have been banished to Memento Park, a bizarre theme park of Soviet monuments on the city’s outskirts. Plenty of Budapesters hate this monument even today, but...