Budapest is a city of two halves divided by the mighty River Danube and sewn together by a collection of beautiful, elegant bridges. The most famous is the Szechenyi Chain Bridge, the first permanent crossing to link the two halves of the city. The two parts of the city are very different; the flatter, lively region of Pest looks across the water to its older, historical neighbour, the hilly Buda that rises up away from the banks of the river.
Pest is the busy, modern part of the city, with excellent shopping, trendy bars and modern restaurants. Buda has a distinctly medieval atmosphere, with beautiful old buildings and cobbled streets. Budapest was once the joint capital of the Austro-Hungarian Habsburg Empire. The city and its buildings have been restored to their very best in what is now one of Europe's finest, grandest and most picturesque cities. Budapest is known for its baths - the hot bath water is said to flow from a hundred streams. Home to the city's famous bathing chess players, the Széchenyi Bath is Budapest's most famous outdoor baths, which was built in New Baroque style and is open all year round.
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Buda Castle
Standing impressively on the banks of Buda Hill, overlooking the Danube, is Buda Castle. The historic castle and palace complex, which was completed in 1265, has UNESCO World Heritage status and was home to the Kings of Hungary. The complex contains some fascinating museums including Budapest Historical Museum, the Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art and the National Gallery.
Hungarian opera
Budapest rivals Vienna as an international Opera capital.
The city's fantastic neo-Renaissance opera house, the Hungarian
State Opera House, was built in 1884 and is worth visiting even if
you don't enjoy opera.
Statue Park
One of Budapest's most remarkable (and controversial)
attractions is the Statue Park (Szoborpark), located in a quiet
suburb of Buda. Described as a "Communist Theme Park", it contains
(among others) a gigantic statue of Lenin and Cubist statues of
Marx and Engels.
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