Hungary Travelers Recommend

Nothing compares to the romance of cruising the River Danube at night and seeing the twinkling lights of central Europe’s most beautiful city. Deserving of its nickname, "of the East", Budapest's magnificent buildings and monuments are at their spectacular best when brilliantly illuminated at night. The Danube is the second largest river in Europe and is as iconic as the urban landscape that surrounds it. Once the dividing line between two cities, Buda and Pest, the Danube now slices between Budapest’s most outstanding buildings and illustrates the great periods in the history of the Hungarian capital. A tour along the Danube is a must and the chance to gain a unique perspective on the city's illuminated sights. From Pest's Danube Promenade to the Buda Castle district, learn the history and heritage of the city’s great buildings and the personalities that helped to shape them.

Explore the fascinating past and dynamic present of Hungary’s capital. First, get your bearings. The Danube follows a roughly north-south route through the middle of the city, separating Buda from Pest. On the Buda (west) side of the Chain Bridge, ascend via funicular to Castle Hill. In the monumental Royal Palace, visit the Budapest History Museum to put the rest of your visit in context. Stroll Buda’s lovely winding streets to Matthias Church, where you can admire the lavishly frescoed interior and the Hungarian crown jewels. Outside you’ll find Fisherman’s Bastion with its whimsical turrets and sensational views of the city. If you’re up for art you’re just next door to the Museum of Fine Arts, otherwise head through City Park (detouring via the whimsical Vajdahunyad Castle) to the grand Széchenyi Baths, where you can soak in warm therapeutic waters all year round. From the park, head back to the center via the showcase boulevard Andrassy Ut.

Budapest celebrates Christmas in style, with several markets opening in mid-November and staying in business until after New Year. The city dresses in its festive finery, with twinkling Christmas lights strung across the major arteries such as Andrássy Boulevard, yuletide displays in all the store windows and Nativity scenes in all the churches.. Christmas markets spawn throughout Budapest, each with their own decorative Christmas trees and wooden chalet-style stands offering stocking fillers and local foods. They can be found outside St Stephen’s Basilica, on Franz Liszt Square, in Gozsdu Courtyard, on Deák Ferenc utca, and at Vajdahunyad Castle in City Park, where there are also festive concerts and puppet shows for all the family. But the main show stopper in Budapest is the bustling Christmas Market in Vörösmarty Square, where more than 120 stalls create a wonderful holiday atmosphere.