Budapest is one of the most beautiful European cities on the map. Built on the banks of the Danube, the fairytale capital of Hungary separates the Buda from the Pest, while connecting them again with the most imposing bridge of the country built in 1849, the Chain Bridge.
However, Budapest is not only the river and the Buda Castle, which are important monuments of cultural and heritage of UNESCO, but also its vibrant life, its special local recipes and its colourful, classic architecture.
In the West Bank of “Small Paris” is Buda. Green hills and cobbled streets under the musical supervision of gypsy violins will make you believe that it is a small life so that someone has not visited the picturesque Budapest. While on the east bank, Pest does not stop to charm every passerby with the beautiful streets, the luxurious mansions and the nightlife that fascinates!
The Danube and the city’s attractions
Part of the impressive landscape of Budapest is also the islet located in the middle of the Danube, Margaret Island. There you can enjoy the beautiful natural beauty, full of flowers, statues and fountains, in which locations there were monasteries just before the invasion of the Turks in Hungary.
Baroque buildings, Art Nouveau mansions and romantic shops make up the mosaic of the city, and you should not miss the “pass” from Budapest’s largest square. Heroes Square is located on the east side of the city and impresses with how big it is. At its centre is the Millennium Monument, with the Archangel Gabriel on top of it. About 35 meters high and framed by semicircles with statues of Kings, this monument was erected in 1896 to celebrate the millennium from the arrival of Magyar in Hungary.
It is also worth visiting the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Buda Castle. On the hill of the castle you will find the most hip Baroque neighborhood with cobblestone streets, where you will find secondhand stores with nostalgic games, Matryoshka, old trains and music boxes with list melodies. In the studio of Hungarian artists and souvenir shops, you can buy authentic Hungarian traditional costumes and unique boxes. All of this, of course, in a neighborhood that is highly touristy, you cannot avoid.
The traditional cuisine and the special night life of the city
Frog legs, exuberant goulash, Hungarian chicken with paprika, veal with potatoes in red spicy soup, fois gras with butter taste and goose liver cooked with various sauces, are just some of the special recipes of Hungarian cuisine. Of course, all of the above are accompanied by gypsy violins and picturesque restaurants, either floating or in the garden of a Baroque villa. To book your meal, visit the season patisseries on the pedestrian Váci, so you can enjoy a slice of the dobos cake with chocolate, cream and caramelized brown sugar.
The actual expiration of your exit though, will be clubbing in a romkocsma, i.e. “pubs in ruins”. The latest trend in the fun of Hungarians is the transformation of the desolate buildings and cellar of pest into bars with lots of drinks, live music and retro decadence atmosphere. A completely unprecedented experience that you will surely not regret.
Source: cnn.gr
