Effortlessly bridging the East and West gap, Budapest has become a fast-paced contemporary Central European hub for business. Its storied history, musical traditions and mineral-rich springs are quietly captivating. Spanning the River Danube, the combined history and healing waters of Buda and Pest date back thousands of years, long before their merger in 1873. High on the Danube’s west bank Buda reveals cobble-stoned streets, medieval castles and churches, and glorious views. On the east bank the commercial centre of Pest offers a rich palate of architecture, from Renaissance to modern, and superb shopping. Covering an area of 203 sq. miles Budapest is home of around two million people. It is also a culture lovers’ dream with elegant cafés, eclectic architecture, inspiring art collections, and wide-ranging music.
The city took its present form in the 1890s when the Millenary Monument (Heroes’ Square, commemorating the 1,000th anniversary of the Conquest of Hungary), the City Park with Vajdahunyad Castle (eclectic style), the avenue with the Opera House (new classicist style), St. Stephen’s Basilica and the Parliament building were constructed. Art Nouveau was enriched by characteristically Hungarian motifs. Its most beautiful examples are the Gresham Palace, Museum of Applied Arts, the Post Office Savings Bank and the Hungarian State Institute of Geology – the works of Ödön Lechner. The Hungarian Parliament, the country’s largest building, is a magnificent expample of neo-Gothic architecture, complete with spires and towers and an impressive 96 metre high dome. It houses the National Assembly and the Hungarian Crown Jewels. Hungary’s Parliament is considered by most to be the symbol of Budapest.
Budapest offers 223 museums, 35 theatres, 2 operahouses. Listing just a few of them: Budapest History Museum at Castle Museum, Museum of Military History, Museum of Applied Arts, Hungarian National Gallery, Hungarian National Museum, Museum of Contemporary Arts at Ludwig Museum, Museum of Ethnography, Transport Museum, Hungarian Natural History Museum, etc.
Whatever point of the compass we choose to follow, there is always something of interest to discover beyond the border of Budapest. For instance, travel north and the nearest places of note are Visegrád (offers magnificent views over the Danube Bend, the Citadel, and a 14th-century Royal Palace), Esztergom (former royal town boasting Hungary’s largest church – the Basilica), Gödöllo (the restored Baroque Palace, originally the Grassalkovich Mansion - favourite residence of Queen Elizabeth) or take a Danube cruise to Szentendre, a small Serbian village, a delightful artists’ colony.
Szentendre is home to a small Serbian-speaking community, it offers lovely winding streets full of galleries, churches and small museums. Skanzen is an open-air museum (summer only) with typical Hungarian architecture.
Budapest, a city of medicinal baths, is the world’s only capital where there are more than 80 thermal springs and wells. Most are prominently arranged in the old Turkish Baths which preserved their original state, open-air pools and elegant Jacuzzis. From these about 70 million litres of water come to the surface daily. Even today there are four Turkish baths in the capital (Rudas, Rác, Király, Császár), each one a masterpiece of Ottoman architecutre. Gellert is probably the most famous spa. There are indoor pools, thermal baths, outdoor wave pool, various types of treatments such as mudpacks or massages. Some of the medicinal waters are suitable for treating digestive complaints, kidney and metabolic diseases by means of drinking cures.
