Set on a limestone outcrop overlooking the River Danube, this old residential quarter of Buda is a place of unrivalled charm.

Though dating from the Middle Ages and earlier, sadly little remains of this area's medieval past - the result of successive wars and occupation by foreign powers. Painstaking reconstruction since World War II, when it was virtually destroyed, has however restored this area of Buda to a semblance of its once elegant Austrian baroque past. The wall of the castle is, in general, well preserved and offers a fine walk and spectacular views. Situated near the wall, close to Holy Trinity Column, is the statue of András Hadik, 'the most hussar of hussars', and the commander of Buda Castle between 1710 and 1790. Close inspec tion of his horse's rear end reveals that its testicles are shiny yellow. Touched by generations of students, allegedly they bring good luck! Houses 18, 20 and 22 on Országház utca (street), built in the 14th and 15th centuries, show what the Castle District might originally have looked like in the Middle Ages, while on the corner of Országház ucta and Kapisztrán tér (square) stands Mary Magdalene Tower, once a 13th-century church, and the only one allowed to remain a Christian church during Turkish rule. You will be hard-pressed to avoid the famous Ruszwurm pastry shop on Szentháromság tér (Trinity Square), whose aromas have entreated noses since it opened in 1827.