Aerial view of the Buda Castle and the Danube river
Budapest is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the “Pearl of the Danube river” and the pride of Hungary. Budapest is a unique city in all of Eastern Europe. It extends over a gentle bend in the majestic Danube bounded to the west by the hills of Buda and to the est by the beginning of what is referred to as the Great Plain. With parks full of attractions, museums full of precious treasures, tourist boats that tirelessy plow the spectacular Danube Bend, the Turkish bath complex that regenerates with its vapors and a sparkling nightlife that almost every evening drags exuberantly until dawn, the Hungarian capital should be considered among the most enchanting and fun European cities to visit.
4 days in Budapest is the perfect amount of time to cover all the city highlights and fall in love with the city.
The best times to visit Budapest are from March to May and September through November. In these seasons the weather is idyllic and the city is not overcrowed with tourists. However, the climate is always relatively mild, with temperatures rarely exceeding bearable levels.
How to best experience Budapest?
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Top things to do & see in Budapest
Select the following sights and activities to discover best tickets and tours available in Budapest.
The city of Budapest
| Country | Hungary |
| Region | Central Hungary |
| Time in Budapest |
UTC +1 (CET) Summer (DST) UTC+2(CEST) |
| Language spoken | Hungarian |
| Currency | Forint (Ft) |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Airport |
Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport (BUD) |
The Danube divides two cities, Buda (more classical and residential) and Pest (more touristic) that were joined to become Budapest in 1873. The central area along the Danube river is a Unesco World Heritage center and attracts a large number of tourists. From an architectural point of view, Budapest is a real gem and although it does not find the richness of Gothic and medieval monuments found elsewhere, for example in Prague, the wealth of Baroque, Neoclassical and Art Nouveau buildings makes it worthy of competing with any other European capital.
Where is Budapest?
The city is located at the river Danube, in central north Hungary. It is a primate city, Hungary’s principal political, commercial, cultural and industrial center.
When was Budapest founded?
The origins of the city can be traced to Celts who occupied the plains of Hungary in the 4th century BC. The area was later conquered by the Roman Empire which established the fortress and town of Aquincum on the site of today’s Budapest around AD 100. The previously separates towns of Buda, Óbuda, and Pest were officially unified in 1873 and given the new name Budapest. Before this, the towns together had sometimes been referred to colloquially as “Pest-Buda”.
Budapest: the Paris of Central Europe.
The city is pervaded by a fin-de-siècle atmosphere that has remained almost intact since the era of the great industrial development that the city experienced in the last three decades of the nineteenth century, a true ‘golden age’ which dates back to the creation of a large part of the buildings that give the city its particular character. Strolling in some areas, in particular along the Nagykörút ( Great Circular Road) and proceeding from Andrássy út towards the wide Városliget (Municipal Park), one understands why the city has been nicknamed the “Paris of Central Europe“, a title which can boast in full merit. Almost every building has some interesting or unusual architectural detail, from the enameled tiles of the building in art nouvau style to the bas-reliefs of neoclassical taste, to the scars left by bullets and grenades during the Second World War and during the 1956 revolt, a silent but still painful testimony of the terrible recent history of the Hungarian capital.
Thermal baths.
Going to the Turkish baths in Budapest is not a necessity dictated by health but by desire for well-being: a subtle nuance “that makes the difference”. You go there to heal yourself, but also to meet people, to take care of yourself (the steam and sulfur present inthe water give the skin a very special smoothness), to experience a ritual and sensual dimension that goes back thousands of years. Everywhere you can see signboards with fürdö or fürdök written on them, thermal baths, of which the city is very rich. There are the famous ones such as the Király, inheritance of the Turkish domination and covered by a dome from 1565, and the Széchenyi, definitely spectacular with swimming pools dominated by bella epoque architecture, marble and polychrome mosaics.
Concerts and shows
Budapest is the center of the theatrical and musical life in Hungary; here all year round there are demonstrations, shows with a certain predilection for Classic music, opera and folklore. In addition to theaters, it offers the monumental spaces of the city, museums, ancient cafés and punlic parks, which lend themselves to being a container for events of all kinds. One of these is the Sziget festival. A week (between late July and early August) of rock, punk and electronic music on the Danube island of the same name. The great rock concerts are staged in the Sports Palace, at the MTK Stadium and in the Népstadion.
Parks and gardens
Budapest has within it eight orotected natural areas. They can make excursions to the surrounding but for moments of relaxation the inhabitants of Budapest flock to the thermal baths, swimming pools and the largest park in the city, the Városliget which hosts a pond, a zoo, a circus, an amusemrent park and spas. Famous meeting place for the inhabitants of the city is Margaret Island with its roses, bars, restsaurants, swimming pools and an open-air theater.