About Budapest
Budapest is the capital city of Hungary and the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial and transportation centre. Budapest had 1 777 921 inhabitants in 2003, down from a mid-1980s peak of 2.1 million. Budapest became a single city occupying both banks of the river Danube with the amalgamation on 17 November 1873 of right-bank (west) Buda (Ofen in German) and Óbuda (Old Buda or Alt-Ofen) together with Pest on the left (east) bank.
Regarded by many as one of world's most beautiful cities, Budapest (the "Paris of the East" and the "Queen of the Danube") has become the most popular travel destination in Central Europe along with Vienna, Kraków and Prague. Millions of tourists visit the city every year. Located on both sides of the Danube River and featuring both the rolling hills of Buda (on the west bank) and the organized, gridlike layout of Pest (east bank), these two very different cities united by convenience into one city offer the traveller a Viennese-style aura at half the price. But Budapest is still very much its own city. The people are charming, and for the most part very helpful. They are proud of what this ancient capital has to offer, and proud of their contributions to European culture, especially in the field of music, a universal language one does not need to speak to appreciate.
Aside from the river itself, the best reference points for orienting yourself are the bridges crossing the river. From north to south, they are:
Árpád Bridge (Árpád híd), a modern bridge linking to northern Margaret Island. The longest bridge in Budapest at 973 meters.
Margaret Bridge (Margit híd), easily identified thanks to its distinctive shape: It makes an approximately 35 degree turn half way across, at the southern tip of Margaret Island. Trams 4 and 6 cross the Danube here.
Chain Bridge (Széchenyi lánchid), completed in 1849, the oldest, arguably most beautiful and certainly the most photographed of Budapest's bridges, floodlit at night.
Elizabeth Bridge (Erzsébet híd), completed in 1903. Originally, it was a chain structure bridge like the Chain Bridge. It was destroyed by the Germans in 1945, and substituted by a modern cable bridge opened in 1964.
Liberty Bridge (Szabadság híd), elegant but simple, it opened in 1896. It connects the Gellert Baths in Buda with the Great Market Hall in Pest.
Petőfi Bridge (Petőfi híd), for a long time, the southernmost bridge, with quite a lot of traffic, it links the Great-boulevard of Pest with Buda.
Lágymányosi Bridge (Lágymányosi híd), the newest bridge in Budapest, with modern architecture and a spectacular lighting system where mirrors reflect the beam of the upward facing floodlights.
Sightseeing
Most of Budapest's famous sights are concentrated on Castle Hill on the Buda side, in downtown Pest and along the riverside walkways.
The main sights on Castle Hill are:
- The Royal Palace (Királyi palota). The most popular attraction on the hill.
- National Gallery (Nemzeti Galéria), inside the Royal Palace wings B, C and D houses an astounding collection of paintings.
- The Fisherman's Bastion and lookout terrace (Halászbástya). For a great view across the Danube to Pest.
- Matthew Church (Mátyás templom, aka Church of Our Lady). Dominant neogothic church crowning Budapest's cityscape - nowadays is under reconstruction.
Other museums on the Castle Hill:
- The Historical Museum of Budapest
- The Music Museum includes a collection of musical instruments and and the Bartók archive.
- The Military Museum
- Marzipan Museum
- Pharmacy Museum
- Museum of Medieval Judism
The Danube bridges, especially the Chain Bridge (Széchenyi Lánchíd) are really attractive and make it worthy to promenade along the river bank. Lánchíd (pronounced “laance heed”) means chain bridge and the suspension structure of the bridge is made of chains whose links are huge dog-bone shaped metal bars linked by pins at their ends.
You can have a superb glimpse over the bridges from the Citadella on the top of Buda's Gellert Hill (Gellérthegy). Riding a boat is very recommended since you can enjoy both riverbanks at the same time - they are very spectacular at night.
Margaret Island (Margitsziget) and its large parks (see Buda) is a very pleasant place to relax and wander. Perfect for a sunny afternoon!
Downtown (Belváros) of Pest is the administrative and business centre of Budapest and the whole of Hungary. The main sights here are:
- The Parliament Building (Országház). A neogothic jewel, beautifully situated overlooking the Danube.
- St. Stephen Cathedral (Szent István Bazilika). The main church of Budapest is an important example of neoclassical architecture, recently renovated.
- Great Synagogue and the Jewish Museum (Dohány utcai Zsinagóga) The biggest Synagogue in Europe.
Museums in the city centre:
- Museum of Ethnography
- National Museum
- Museum of Applied Arts
- Natural History Museum
- Ludwig Museum of Modern Art
- Holocaust Memorial Centre
- Museum of Transport
- Natural History Museum - mainly minerals on display
- Jewish Museum at the main synagogue
- Bible Museum
The Andrássy út boulevard in Pest stretches from Downtown (Belváros) to the City Park (Városliget). It is listed on UNESCO's World Heritage List and has some important sights along it, including:
- The State Opera House
- The House of Terror (Terror Háza). Housed in the secret police headquarters, this museum objectively documents the terror of the Nazi and communist eras. Visiting is hard work, but essential for anyone wishing to understand Hungary's recent past.
- The Hopp Museum of East Asian Art. Nearby is another similar collection, namely Gyorgy Museum.
- Ernst Museum Contemporary Hungarian art.
The City Park (Városliget) at the far end is probably the most pleasant of Pest's districts and features several interesting if low-key attractions which are often overlooked:
- Heroes' square (Hősök tere) - with the Millenium Monument
- Museum of Fine Arts (Szépmuvészeti Múzeum) has an incredible range of European artwork from Greek and Roman times to the present. Especially valuable is its collection of Spanish Baroque painting.
- Vajdahunyad Vára is a castle on a little island on a lake built for the 1898 World Fair. In winter, the lake is turned into the city's biggest ice rink.
On Buda side there are:
- Aquincum was a city in the Roman times, its remains are turned into a great open-air museum. It is situated in the Óbuda district of northern Buda.
- Gül Baba Türbéje is the shrine where Gül Baba (literally Rose Father, from whom the Rózsadomb (Rose Hill) was named) lies. He was a rich Turkish merchant in the Ottoman times. It offers a nice view and the little street which leads down the hill from there contains more houses that won the "House of the Year" award.
- Victor Vasarely Museum shows many works of the famous Hungarian-born post-modern painter Vásárhelyi Gyozo (1908-1997).
- Kiscelli Museum - The Budapest Picture Gallery
- Kassak Museum at the Zichy Castle shows works of the modern Hungarian artists as well as modern Hungarian art
Music related Museums:
- Kodaly Museum
- Liszt Museum
- Bartók's House
Additional Museums:
- Fashion Museum
- MEO Budapest's art fair.
- House of the Future Multimedia art
