'We have just seen its replica at the confectionary exhibition, only slightly more sugary than the original. While the tourists are at the dinner table, Halászbástya is visited by teenage couples on their first kiss'. (András Török, Budapest, A Critical Guide)

A Disneyesque edifice, situated on the eastern edge of Castle Hill, opposite St Matthias Church, the bastion was built at the end of the 19th century to coincide with the city's millennial celebrations. Affectedly Gothic in style, it owes more, perhaps, to the precocious (even riotous) imagination of its architect, Frigyes Schulek, than to any serious architectural tradition. Its seven conical towers represent the tents of the seven Magyar tribes who once made their home here. It offers a great day out for the family, as well as spectacular views of the Danube and city. From here you can see the luxuriant, tree-canopied Margit-sziget (Margaret Island), and the bridges of the Danube misting in the distance.