Budapest is two cities — hilly Buda and flat Pest — stitched together by grand bridges over the Danube. It's a place of thermal spas, faded grandeur and a nightlife hidden in crumbling courtyards. Hungarian is hard, so any effort earns big smiles.
- The Széchenyi thermal baths — soak in steaming outdoor pools in a grand yellow palace, locals playing chess in the water around you. Utterly Budapest, summer or snow.
- The Parliament building — a neo-Gothic riverfront wonder, stunning by day and floodlit at night. Best seen from the Buda side or a Danube boat.
- Fisherman's Bastion & Buda Castle — fairytale white turrets on Castle Hill with the finest view over the river and Pest. Free to wander outside ticketed hours.
- The Chain Bridge at night — the elegant lion-guarded bridge lit up over the water. Walk it after dark for the classic Budapest photograph.
- The ruin bars — Szimpla Kert and its kin: bars built inside derelict buildings, all mismatched furniture and fairy lights. Weird, wonderful, unmissable.
Try "köszönöm" (thank you) and "egészségedre!" (cheers — good luck!) and locals will cheer you on. Meet a Hungarian speaker below and take on one of Europe's trickiest, most rewarding languages.
