Segment: Panoramic Budapest
Episode: Grand European
Air Date: 9th February 2020
Presenter: Trevor Cochrane

This segment showcases one of Europe’s great cultural capitals through the “Panoramic Budapest” Tour, one of the shore exclusions included in the Viking Gran European cruise.

• The tour begins in the modern Pest and takes guests for a drive along the elegant Andrassy Avenue, which dates back to 1872. Recognized as a World Heritage Site, it hosts on its sides many eclectic neo-Renaissance palaces and mansions that were built by the most distinguished architects of the time.
• The next stop is Heroes Square – an open plaza of monuments and statues, commemorating the Magyar State.
• Not far from there, the Jewish Quarter is one of the most lively districts in Budapest today, full of bars, restaurants and nightlife as well as synagogues and kosher shops. This quarter has been in existence outside Pest’s city walls from the 18th century and its main synagogue is the largest in Europe and the second largest in the world.
• Castle Hill, recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a kilometre long limestone plateau, towering 170m over the Danube. Here you will find some of Budapest’s most important medieval monuments and museums. The walled area consists of two parts: the Old Town where the commoners once lived and the Royal Palace south of it.
• One of the stand-out religious destinations is Matthias Church, which was used by Hungarian kings for centuries as a coronation church. After that, it was used as a mosque by the by the Ottoman Turks for over 150 years but it is now a Catholic church.
• With its warm lights, colourful stain glass windows, arches, wooden pews and medieval remnants, this building is the perfect way to finish a tour of this remarkable capital city.