A Guide To Budapest

The Pearl of the Danube, Budapest is the capitalare mainly divided in Buda, Castle Hill and Pest.
and largest city of Hungary. Located in theMost of the popular attractions are concentrated
north-central part of the country, the city ofon Castle Hill on the Buda side, in downtown Pest
Budapest straddles on both banks of the Danubeand along the riverside walkways. Major
River. It is the seventh largest city in theattractions on Castle Hill include the Royal Palace
European Union.(Királyi palota), the National Gallery
The city's name is portmanteau coined joining the(Nemzeti Galéria), the Fisherman's
town names "Buda," "Ã"buda," and "Pest."Bastion and lookout terrace
The city was formed on 17 November 1873(Halászbástya), Matthew
merging the towns of Buda and Ã"buda onChurch (Mátyás templom,
the right bank and town of Pest on left bank ofaka Church of Our Lady), The Historical Museum
the River Danube. The merger of towns madeof Budapest, The Music Museum, and The Military
Budapest the single city occupying both banks ofMuseum. The attraction of Buda include Chain
DanubeBridge, Margaret Island (Margitsziget), Aquincum,
Buda, Ã"buda, and Pest were prominentGül Baba
towns that had always been center of power andTürbéje, and Victor
governmental activities in Hungary. SituatedVasarely Museum.
among a series of hills, Buda was traditionally thePest too is plentiful of attractions including the
center of government buildings, palaces, and villasParliament Building
belonging to the landed gentry. It was the site of(Országház), St. Stephen
a Roman camp in the 2nd century AD. Pest wasCathedral (Szent István Bazilika),
a flat area that has long been a commercial andGreat Synagogue and the Jewish Museum
industrial center.(Dohány utcai Zsinagóga),
The city standing on the Celtic and Roman ruins,Museum of Ethnography, National Museum,
Today's Budapest is the political, industrial,Museum of Applies Arts, Natural History Museum,
commercial, financial, cultural, and transportationLudwig Museum of Modern Art, Holocaust
hub of Hungary. The economy of the city isMemorial Centre, and the Andrássy
based on telecommunications and electronicsút boulevard.
manufacturing industry. It's the wealthiest andThe Andrássy út
most cosmopolitan city in Hungary and veryboulevard in Pest stretches from Downtown
popular with tourists. The city was inscribed on(Belváros) to the City Park
the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987 for the(Városliget). It is listed on UNESCO's
cultural and architectural significance of the BanksWorld Heritage List and has some of important
of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter andsights including the State Opera House, the House
Andrássy Avenue.of Terror (Terror Háza), the Hopp
Budapest is divided into XXIII districts that areMuseum of East Asian Art, the City Park
always written in Roman numerals. The city is an(Városliget), Heroes' square
ethnic delicatessen made up of Serbs, Croats,(HÅ'sök tere), Museum of Fine
Hungarians, and Turks. Ethnically the city has isArts
dominated by Roman Catholics followed byszeti Múzeum), and Vajdahunyad
Protestants, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Jews.Vára.
Hungarian is official language however the city is aBudapest attractions also include seven islands
genuine polyglot metropolis.along the river Danube. The islands have parks,
Located between the Alps to the west and thedance clubs, bars, and a number of tourist
flat, open Great Plain to the east, Budapestrecreational areas. These islands include
enjoys warm summers and bitterly cold winters,Hajógyári sziget (Shipyard
with plenty of rain all year round. The wintersIsland), Margitsziget (Margaret Island), Csepel
short, but chilly. It gets highly chilly insziget, Palotai-sziget, Népsziget,
mid-December; usually and damp with odd brightHáros-sziget and
sunny days and frequent, but light, snow. TheMolnár-sziget.
summers spanning from April to September, areFerihegy International Airport or Budapest
sunny, warm, and humid. The city gets sun shiningInternational Airport is the major doorway to the
for about 10 hours a day. Generally climate of thecity. It is the country's largest airport and the hub
city is free from extremes.of the Hungarian national carrier
The continental temperate climate of BudapestMalév. Located in the south east of
makes it a perfect vacation destination. It is oneBudapest, the airport has two terminals Terminal
of the most coveted destinations in Central1 and Terminal 2, often mentioned as Ferihegy-1
Europe along with Vienna and Prague. Oftenand Ferihegy-2, respectively.
dubbed as "Paris of the East," or "Queen of theThe city is receives direct flights from the major
Danube," Budapest is one of the most beautifulEuropean cities, and most of the EU countries by
cities of the world. The city attracts masses ofdirect. Malév and Delta Airlines
tourists every year. Its people are charming andoperate scheduled service between Budapest and
nice hosts.North America. Budapest also receives
Budapest is the city full of tourist attractions. Theinternational flights from some countries of the
city has fine parks, museums, theaters, pubs,Middle East, Asia and North Africa.
clubs, restaurants, and hotels. The city attractions