Budapest

Budapest

This enchanting and exotic capital of Hungary straddles the banks of the Danube and is divided into two distinct parts, traditional Buda and more modern Pest. Budapest is aptly called "Paris of the East," for its beautiful evening illumination and reflected lights in the Danube's waters.

Attractions

The old city features amazing examples of architecture such as Buda Castle, the baroque Parliament building, Chain Bridge and Matthias church, where the coronation ceremonies of Hungarian Kings were held. Gellert Hill, high above the city, offers not-to-be missed views.

Activities

Everyone can find their choice of sports in Budapest. The most popular place in Budapest for sports is the Margaret Island - even the Prime Minister of Hungary is often seen jogging on some early mornings with his entourage. Hungarians have always been avid sports people: during the history of the summer Olympics, Hungarians have brought home 460 medals, of which 158 are gold. The top events in which Hungarians have excelled are fencing, swimming, canoeing, wrestling and track & field sports. Their affinity to water sports is unmistakably due to the presence of the Lake Balaton and the Danube, which have provided ample practice grounds since the beginning of times. Beside classic sports, recreational modern sports such as bowling, pool billiard, darts, go-carting, wakeboarding and squash are very popular in Budapest, and extreme sports are also gaining ground.

Shopping

Budapest offers plenty of options and venues for shopping. Since the early 1990-s, large shopping malls have popped up and a lot of new shops opened, not only in the malls but the existing shopping streets too. Certain vendors, such as antique dealers, have clustered around specific areas of the city. There are six large busy market halls; these are the best places to get a feel of everyday Budapest. The markets' popularity is unaffected by the rapid expansion of supermarkets. The city centre of Pest has the most famous pedestrian shopping street of Hungary, called Váci utca, and also the newly built Fashion Street, an extension of the shopping street between Vörösmarty tér and Deák tér. Opening hours of most shops are generally between 10 AM and 6 PM on workdays, and until 1 PM on Saturdays. The shopping malls are a general exception, as their opening times are uniform for all shops in a given mall, and are longer than usual: Monday through Saturday 9 AM - 9 PM, Sunday 10 AM - 7 PM. Some larger supermarkets, such as Tesco, have units that are open 24 hours a day. Gift ideas from Hungary Hungarian products make great gifts. You can find a lot of Hungarian specialties, such as foodstuffs (goose liver, paprika, and wine), porcelain (world famous brands Herend and Zsolnay) and folk art (handmade embroidery, tablecloths). Also, keep an eye out for older Hungarian women, dressed in traditional folk clothes and with kerchiefs around their heads.

Food

Budapest is famous for its excellent food, as traditional Hungarian cuisine is among the best and richest in Europe. Traditional Hungarian restaurants offer tasty food, often accompanied by traditional Gipsy musicians, who come to your table to play Hungarian tunes directly into your ear. It is a common misconception that Hungarian food is all goulash (Gulyás) and spicy paprika meals, just as not everything that's Italian is pasta, and not everything that is Indian is spicy. Hungarian food has an unmistakable character, often rich with sour cream, onions, eggs, butter, fresh produce and wine. Vegetarian cuisine, however, is not the strength of Hungarian cooking, but there are a couple of characteristic vegetarian meals, such as fried cheese and fried mushrooms which are widely popular. These days every type of cuisine is available in Budapest, so there is a great selection of Italian, French, Chinese and even Mongolian restaurants in the city.

Currency

The unit of currency is Hungarian Forint (HUF).

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