Budapest
Regarded by many as one of World's most beautiful cities, Budapest (the "Paris of the East" and the "Queen of the Danube") has become the most popular travel destination in Central Europe along with Vienna and Prague. Millions of tourists visit the city every year. Located on both sides of the Danube River and featuring both the rolling hills of Buda (on the west bank) and the organized, gridlike layout of Pest (east bank), these two very different cities united by convenience into one city offer the traveller a Viennese-style aura at half the price. The people are charming, and for the most part very helpful.
History
Budapest first appeared on the world map when the Romans founded the town of Aquincum around 89 AD in what is today Óbuda. It soon became the capital of the province of Lower Pannonia, and the Romans even founded a proto-Pest known as Contra Aquincum on the other side of the river.
The Romans were eventually driven out by the Bolgars from present-day Bulgaria, who left behind the name Peshta (today's Pest), but were replaced around 900 by the Magyars, who went on to found the kingdom of Hungary. The Mongols dropped in uninvited in 1241, but the Magyars bounced back and built the royal castle that still today dominates Buda in 1427.
In 1541, Buda and Pest fell to the Ottomans and stayed in the hands of the Turks until 1686, when the Austrian Habsburgs conquered the town. Now at peace, both sides of the river boomed, and after an abortive Hungarian revolution in 1848–49 the great Compromise of 1873 made Budapest the united capital of the Hungarian half of the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary.
Budapest emerged from World War I battered, but now the capital of an independent Hungary, and its population reached one million by 1930. Air raids and a terrible three-month siege towards the end of World War II resulted in the death over 38,000 civilians, and 20-40% of Budapest's Jewish community of some 250,000 were murdered during the Holocaust.
After the war, the city recovered and became a showcase for the more pragmatic policies of Hungary's relatively mild Communist government. Today's Budapest is by far the wealthiest and most cosmopolitan city in Hungary and increasingly popular with tourists. In 1987, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for the cultural and architectural significance of the Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter and Andrássy Avenue.
Most of Budapest's famous sights
The Royal Palace (Királyi palota). The most popular attraction on the hill.
The National Gallery (Nemzeti Galéria), inside the Royal Palace wings B, C and D houses an astounding collection of paintings.
The Fisherman's Bastion and lookout terrace (Halászbástya). For great view across the Danube to Pest.
Matthew Church (Mátyás templom, aka Church of Our Lady). Dominant neogothic church crowning Budapest's cityscape - nowadays is under reconstruction.
From the Citadella on the top of Buda's Gellert Hill you can have a superb glimpse over the bridges (Gellérthegy).
Riding a boat is very recommended since you can enjoy both riverbanks at the same time - they are very spectacular at night.
Margaret Island (Margitsziget) and its large parks (see Buda) is a very pleasant place to relax and wander. Perfect for a sunny afternoon!
The Parliament Building (Országház). A neogothic jewel, beautifully situated overlooking the Danube.
St. Stephen Cathedral (Szent István Bazilika). The main church of Budapest is an important example of neoclassical architecture, recently renovated.
Great Synagogue and the Jewish Museum (Dohány utcai Zsinagóga) The biggest Synagogue in Europe.
Heroes' Square. The City Park (Városliget) at the far end is probably the most pleasant of Pest's districts and features several interesting if low-key attractions which are often overlooked:
Heroes' square (Hosök tere) - with the Millenium Monument
Vajdahunyad Vára is a castle on a little island on a lake built for the 1898 World Fair. In the winter, the lake is turned into the city's biggest ice rink.
Aquincum was a city in the Roman times, it's remains are turned into a great open-air museum. It's situated in the Óbuda district of northern Buda.
Gül Baba Türbéje is the shrine where Gül Baba (literally Rose Father, from whom the Rózsadomb (Rose Hill) was named) lies. He was a rich turkish merchant in the Ottoman times. Offers a nice view and the little street which leads down the hill from there contains more houses that won the "House of the Year" award.
Victor Vasarely Museum shows many works of the famous Hungarian-born post-modern painter Vásárhelyi Gyozo (1908-1997).
Cave walking in the Buda hills. Another way of passing a few hours is to visit the Caves on the Buda hills. There are 2 major caves, Pálvölgy Cave and Szemlo Hill Cave. Some of the guides do not speak any English but they give a free English pamphlet for the tour.
Buda Hill Labyrinth. The Labyrinths are accessible by two points on the Buda hills. Originally parts were formed from hot water springs and then during WW2, they were linked with some of the cellars on the hill to create an air raid shelter for up to 10,000 people and a military hospital. The labyrinth is now a popular tourist attraction.
The Sziget Festival at Obudai Island (=Sziget) attracts rock fans, world music hippies and the usual festival crowd every year in august. With cheap beer, great acts and a multitude of cultural, culinarian and musical offers, it's definitely a good deal. Day ticket are highly affordable, a week's ticket is about euro 100,-. More infos at http://www.sziget.hu
The Great Market Hall (Nagy Vásárcsarnok) at Fovám tér the recently renovated markethall with essential atmosphere (it's at the south end of Vaci). The prices aren't set in stone, so be sure to bargain.
Baths
Budapest is a famous spa city, so go "bathing".
The baths are really the last vestige of Turkish culture in Budapest, left over from their occupation of the city. Budapest does not have a large Turkish culture the way a city like Berlin or Munich does: instead the Hungarians have modified and molded this tradition into something of their own.
All baths are build around hot springs, and their central part is one or several thermal pools. They are usually complimented with several steam baths, saunas and massage services.
Restaurants
Local specialties include paprikás, gulyás, Lake Balaton pike-perch (fogas), pörkölt (a goulash-like stew with lots of onions), halászlé (fishermen's soup served differently by regions), stuffed cabbage, and liberal use of paprika. There is also a great variety of wonderful pastries, many of which you will recognize if you are familiar with Viennese pastries. As in other spheres, the Hungarian approach to food combines pride in their own traditions with a readiness to accept outside influences. The result is a vibrant restaurant scene where an Asian-Hungarian fusion restaurant may well be of genuine interest.
Coffeehouses
Coffeehouses (kaveház) are a Budapest institution and a visit to one should be on every traveller's agenda. As the name implies, these are places for a cup of coffee and a delectable pastry, not a full meal.
Drink
Budapest offers plenty of places to drink, from cool and ultra-hip to rowdy and downmarket. One particularly Hungarian experience is to visit a borozó (wine pub), where cheap but tasty Hungarian wine is available on tap, at ridiculously low prices if you find one off the tourist circuit.
Attractions close to Budapest
The attractive towns on the Danube Bend (Dunakanyar): Szentendre for its artistic community, Visegrád for its castle and Esztergom for its cathedral, imposingly sited on a hill overlooking the Danube.
The Hungarian Open-Air Museum (skanzen), just outside Szentendre (40 minute train ride from Budapest) is easily reached by bus from the Szentendre HÉV (communal train) station. This is a huge tract of land to which ancient buildings have been moved from all parts of the country. Small farm villages, mostly with thatched roofs, now dot the landscape, along with barns, outbuildings and even churches. Many are furnished inside.
30 kilometers east is Gödöllo, a town full of parks and home to the former royal palace.
Statue Park. Located at the corner of Balatoni utca and Szabadkai utca (From the blue metro line station Ferenciek tere, take the 7-173 red-blue bus to Etele tér, then the yellow suburban bus called "Érd, Diósdon át" to Szoborpark Múzeum stop; buses run every 10-30 minutes; buy your ticket at the desk before boarding). Tel.: (36-1) 227-7446. Open 10am-16pm every day. Tickets 600 forints, for international student card holders 400.
Rather than smash the statues of the Communist era, the Hungarians arranged them with a twist of irony in a park to the south of Buda. Visitors may well interpret this as an assertion that the Hungarian spirit is stronger than communism. The Statue Park, was first conceived by the literary historian László Szörényi in 1989 when he suggested the various Lenin statues from all over Hungary could be gathered into one "Lenin garden." Possible souvenirs are t-shirts which poke fun at communism, German Trabant car models, CDs of Hungarian communist fight songs, reproduction Hungarian Communist Party membership booklets and kitschy postcards of old communist advertisements. The park is in a badly-kept state, signs are in Hungarian only. Buy a booklet in English.
A great day trip is Visegrád, a town on the Danube Bend, where you find a former royal palace partially rebuilt in Renaissance style (accessible to people with physical disabilities), a medieval residential tower and an impressive citadel, which is about 30-50 minute hike up from the base. Take a train from Budapest Nyugati railway station to Nagymaros–Visegrád (cca. 40-60 minutes, runs every 60 minutes; the station will be on the opposite side of the river so you need to take a 5-minute ferry ride across; ferries are scheduled to train arrivals), or take a direct bus at Budapest, Árpád híd bus station to Visegrád (cca. 80 minutes, runs every 20-60 minutes).
