Budapest Overview

Perhaps the single most underrated city in Europe, Budapest is a city for lovers and dreamers, a place where the grocery store clerk will chat you up even if he can't understand a word you say, a land where ruins become hang-outs where hipsters drink beer and watch experimental films, where people flock to museums until three in the morning, where every building has its own character, its own name and color. Nowhere else can you play chess with half-naked men three generations above you in the warm waters of a Turkish bath. You might be hard-pressed to find a picture comparable to one taken at sunset from Fisherman's Bastion on the top of Buda Castle. Enjoy a stroll down Andrássy boulevard, with its tree-lined walkway where purple and yellow flowers bloom to tickle your feet as you pass. In the past few years since Hungary entered the European Union and Union money began to flow into the once severely impoverished nation, Budapest has become a city under constant repair and reconstruction; the result is a city of juxtaposition. Newly erected buildings stand hand-in-hand alongside ancient 18th century ones whose crumbling facades become endearing rather than appalling. Bridges seem to crumble into the waters below and then suddenly reemerge polished. Perhaps what makes the city most remarkable is that rather than discarding its scars from a bloody history, it scrambles to preserve them. What makes this city great is not that it seeks to distance itself from the brutality of what was, but instead to learn from and at times even embrace the past towards the nurture of a future through acts of filial affection.

Orientation

Practical Information

Tourist Offices: Tourinform, V, Sütő u. 2 (☎ 01 438 8080; www.hungary.com). 1, 2, or 3: Deák tér. Off Deák tér behind McDonald’s. Open daily 8am-8pm. Vista Travel Center, Andrássy út 1 (☎ ...more

History

Modern-day Budapest was founded as Aquincum, a Roman engineering marvel, which used the Danube to power waterworks for amphitheaters, steam baths, and a sewer system. Aquincum was also known as the “people's ...more

Arts And Culture

Academy of Music, Liszt Ferenc tér 8 (☎ 342 0179; www.zeneakademia.hu), Find the nation's young musical prodigies all in one room at the prestigious Academy of Music. Pray to the music gods to make ...more

Neighborhoods

Buda and Pest are separated by the Danube River (Duna), and the city preserves the distinctive character of each side. On the west bank, Buda has winding streets, beautiful vistas, a hilltop citadel, and ...more