Explore Budapest

Magnificently sprawling either side of the Danube between the Buda hills and the Pest plain, Budapest is utterly alluring.

Why go to Budapest? Once the equal to Vienna, Budapest is a European capital that appeals to everyone. Students overrun the city’s numerous hostels attracted by the cheap and hip nightlife. Couples get romantic at plush restaurants serenaded by violins. Families take group photos in front of stunning panoramas. Architecture lovers and history buffs will enjoy unusual sights from the Romans and the Ottomans to the Habsburgs and the Soviets. Those seeking calm can immerse themselves in the numerous natural spas on which the city is built. Whatever it is you’re after, you’ll find it in Budapest, one of the few European capitals left where you can still bag a four-star bargain.

Parliament view – After admiring the silhouette of the neo-Gothic Hungarian Parliament – a prime example of 19th-century Hungarian ‘National’ style – don’t miss out on the interior which is just as opulent. Every square foot has been painted, as if the walls have been covered with an elaborate chintz tapestry.

Buda Castle – Make your way to Szentháromság tér (Trinity Square), where the heavily ornamented spires of the Matthias church are a perfect match to the wedding-cake turrets of the fin-de-siècle Fisherman’s Bastion. Enter for the most jaw-dropping views of Pest framed naturally through the bastion’s balustrades.

Explore ruin pubs – Budapest’s unique selling point, the ruin pubs, started as semi-legal drinking holes in abandoned buildings. Uproariously kitsch, as if decorated from a local jumble sale, they immediately defined shabby chic and caught the imagination of Europe’s scenesters.

Belváros/Lipótváros (District V) – The sightseeing centre of Pest is spread between the Margaret and Freedom bridges. On Kossuth square you’ll find the majestic Houses of Parliament and below the square, an underground museum of the 1956 revolution. Further south rises the Italianate St Stephen’s Basilica, the landmark Iron Bridge, plus the restaurant and shopping area around Vörösmarty square.

Terézváros (District VI) – Terézváros feels as if it belongs to a different city, because of the mass of construction before Budapest’s 1896 millennial celebrations. Andrássy Avenue, the capital’s most beautiful boulevard leads to the massive expanse of Heroes’ Square and the municipal park of Városliget. Underneath Andrássy Avenue runs metro line 1 – the oldest in the continent and a UNESCO site – with stops at the Opera and the House of Terror, a sobering museum on the grounds of the Communist Secret Police headquarters.

New York Palace – The hottest address in town is the New York Palace, a 19th-century architectural masterpiece, now restored, where Imperial Austria-Hungary comes alive.

Goulash – Goulash – meaty, paprika-rich and filling – is what you would associate with Hungary and, yes, you’ll find it on the menu anywhere you sit down. Hungarians consider gulyás a soup and not a beef stew, which they call pörkölt. Try goulash in Menza on Liszt Ferenc square, a gourmet bargain that’s a one-stop showcase for regional Hungarian recipes (somehow it only exists on the Hungarian-language menu).

See the Citadella – From Castle Hill take the 19-century funicular railway down to the Chain Bridge and walk along the Danube to Gellért Hill. If you’re fit and game, climb up to the Citadella, else take a quick cab to the top.

Budapest was created when three cities joined together: Óbuda, Buda and Pest. Because of this, you get to enjoy three cities, all in one place. While Buda is usually associated with stately quarters and high class, Pest is where you will find the largest part of the population and so-called urban living. Both cities are connected by the construction of the magnificent bridge of Széchenyi (known as the ‘Chain Bridge.’) These are some interesting facts about Budapest.