The Buda embankment of the Danube river in Budapest has many interesting buildings and places of interest. There is a tram line, similarly to the Pest embankment's number 2 tram, partially running along the river on the Buda side (tram # 19 from Batthyány tér) which is perfect for a short sightseeing trip. We start at the Margaret Bridge, heading southbound. The locations we have chosen to introduce are editor's picks.

Bem József tér

Going south from Margaret Bridge, we arrive to Bem Square. The square saw 200,000 Hungarian students protesting against Soviet rule in 1956, in a rally that was originally organized to support Polish workers. In the middle stands the statue of Bem József, a Polish general who was one of the leaders of the 1848 Revolution.

Fő utca and the Watertown area

Fő utca used to be one of Buda's most important streets (the translation is "Main Street"), bustling with commerce from as early as the 18^th century. The area is called Watertown; following the 1686 siege of Buda, mostly German merchants and other privileged citizens moved here, building Baroque houses and courtyards. The Servite Church on Szervita tér, facing the Danube has a beautiful, eclectic-style roof.

Clark Ádám tér

Between Chain and Elizabeth bridges

The square is at the Buda bridgehead of the Chain Bridge. It got its name after the Scottish construction manager of the Chain Bridge and the Tunnel. This is Budapest's only traffic roundabout. There are quite a few sights here: The Chain Bridge, the Tunnel, the funicular train linking the square with the Castle District and the 0-km stone, from where all road distances in Hungary are measured.

Döbrentei tér and St. Gellért's Statue

Döbrentei tér is a quiet park, directly underneath the causeway leading up to the Erzsébet Bridge. It has a statue of Hungarian-loving Habsburg Empress Elizabeth (Sissi). Facing the bridge stands the elevated statue of St. Gellért, marking the place from where he was rolled off the hill into the river Danube in the year 1046, with an artificial waterfall (naughty Budapest students sometimes pour detergent into it, causing a little havoc).

Gellért tér

Take the tram again, and ride till you get to Gellért tér. On the way, the tram makes a stop at the renowned Rudas Turkish bath, one of the oldest bathhouses in Budapest. When getting off at Gellért tér, prepare for a longer stop; the square has several magnificent landmarks. The square is dominated by the Gellért Hotel and Bath, sometimes called the "Grand Old Lady" of Budapest. Built between 1916 and 1918 in Art Nouveau style, it's an iconic four-star hotel with the most elegant thermal bathhouse of Budapest. Diagonally above the bath entrance is the Rock Chapel, home to the only Hungarian-founded Christian order, the Paulines. During the Communist regime the chapel was walled in, and the order was disbanded and some leaders were prosecuted and jailed. Across the Danube from the Gellért stands the University of Economics, and adjacent to the square is the Technical University of Budapest.

Along the University District / Goldmann György tér

Walking from Gellért tér on the embankment (the tram turns to Bartók Béla út, so this is a walking section), we see the huge, long building of the Technical University, one of the centres of the 1956 Revolution. The more we go south, the more modern university buildings appear: the area went through extensive real estate development in the past 10 years, giving the university area a modern, campus-like feel. Across the river are the modern buildings of the National Theatre and the Palace of Arts. The large square at Petőfi Bridge is Goldmann György tér, which gives home to open-air clubs, open from springtime till autumn, to the delight of the thousands of Hungarian and foreign university students who live and study in the area.