Buda Castle to Parliament, Budapest: free self-guided walking tour
Quick answer. A free self-guided walking tour from Buda Castle to the Parliament in Budapest: 3 stops, about 3.3 km, about 45 minutes of walking plus about 23 minutes of listening. Start in the Lion Courtyard of Buda Castle, the palace of Hungarian kings that now houses the Hungarian National Gallery, and walk north across the Castle District to Matthias Church, roofed with nearly 150,000 Zsolnay tiles, and the Fisherman’s Bastion, whose seven towers stand for the seven Hungarian chieftains. Then cross the Danube to the Parliament, Imre Steindl’s symmetrical Neo-Gothic House of the Nation on Kossuth Lajos Square.
- Stops:
- 3
- Distance:
- about 3.3 km
- Walking:
- about 45 min
- Listening:
- about 23 min
Buda Castle to Parliament, Budapest: how long does the walk take?
About 68 minutes in all: about 45 minutes on foot over about 3.3 km, plus about 23 minutes of audio at the 3 stops. Time inside the sites is extra.
Buda Castle to Parliament, Budapest: in what order should you visit the stops?
Follow the stops in this order: Buda Castle, Castle District, and Hungarian Parliament Building. The longest stretch between two stops is about 2.3 km, about 31 min on foot.
Route and map
Navigate with Google Maps, listen with Mappu: the stories keep playing while you follow the route.
Opens Google Maps with walking directions through every stop.
Stop 1
Four massive stone lions guard the gate of the Lion Courtyard, the grand central square of the Royal Palace.
about 7 min of audio
Next stop: Castle District · about 1.0 km, about 13 min on foot
Stop 2
Beneath the cobblestones runs a network of limestone caves and tunnels nearly 10 km long.
about 7 min of audio
Next stop: Hungarian Parliament Building · about 2.3 km, about 31 min on foot
Stop 3
Imre Steindl designed it perfectly symmetrical, with two identical chambers, and the Holy Crown is kept in its sixteen-sided Dome Hall.
about 9 min of audio
How does this self-guided walking tour work?
The audio guides on this page stay free: open any stop to listen in your browser.
Walk Mode uses your location to narrate places as you walk. It opens in the Mappu app at the first stop, Buda Castle. Your first walk is free for three stops with a free Mappu account.
Walk Mode: 2 hours for 50 credits (€4.99 Starter pack)
Before you go
- Check opening hours, tickets and access on each site’s official page before you go.
- Distances and times are estimates: the walking route between stops, from OpenStreetMap, at 4.5 km/h. Your route on the street may differ.
Plan more days in Budapest
These day-by-day Mappu itineraries include Budapest. The day links open the days that visit stops on this walk.
Route checked by Mappu on October 20, 2026. Stop descriptions come from each place’s published Mappu audio guide. Mappu is a Fenutech product.