Hungary — The Dispatches
Budapest
Two cities knitted across the Danube — hilly old Buda on one side, flat and buzzing Pest on the other, only stitched into one in 1873. Ottoman-era thermal baths, a neo-Gothic Parliament lording it over the water, and ruin bars thrown up in the shells of the old Jewish quarter. Gets properly lively after dark.
Visited June 202347.50°N 19.04°EAPT BUD
Top recommendations
3 picks
Buda Castle
The royal palace crowning Castle Hill — now the National Gallery. Walk up for the Danube panorama across to Pest.
Fisherman's Bastion
The white terraces beside Matthias Church, looking across the river to Parliament.
Széchenyi Thermal Baths
Soak in the steaming outdoor pools of a grand neo-baroque palace — locals playing chess in the water included.
Where to drink
2 entriesWhat to do
4 entriesThe gallery
4 postcards
