The Chain Bridge: Pest to Buda and the tunnel
The lions, the river crossing that made one city of two, and the funicular up the castle. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. Vörösmarty tér
Start inland in the M1 square, then walk down to the river through the old centre. A coffee first if you like; the bridge isn't going anywhere. Head for the water and the Pest bridgehead.

2. Széchenyi István tér
The Pest foot of the bridge, named for the count who pushed it through. The Academy of Sciences he founded stands on the square. Stand at the bridgehead and look across to the castle before you start over the water.

3. Széchenyi Lánchíd
Walk across. The stone lions at each end have guarded the crossing since 1852 and the chains overhead were the engineering marvel of their day. Stop in the middle; this is the oldest and best of the city's bridges, and the view both ways earns the pause.

4. Clark Ádám tér
The Buda bridgehead, named for the Scottish engineer who built the bridge and then bored the tunnel straight ahead through Castle Hill. The zero-kilometre stone — all Hungarian road distances start here — sits on the square.

5. The Castle Tunnel
The road tunnel under the castle, opened in 1857, that the locals joked could shelter the bridge from the rain. You won't walk through it, but stand at the mouth — the symmetry with the bridge across the square is deliberate and complete.

6. Budavári Sikló
The funicular of 1870 that climbs the hill to the castle in under a minute. Ride it up for the river view, or walk the path beside it for free. Either way the Pest panorama at the top is where the walk lands.

The Chain Bridge: Pest to Buda and the tunnel