Hungary
Thermal baths by day, ruin bars by night
Budapest straddles the Danube with grand stages on both banks — the MVM Dome and Papp László Sportaréna host the big tours, while summer brings Sziget Festival to an island in the river. Prices are friendly and nights stretch until sunrise.
Where it is in Hungary
At a glance
The unmissables
A soak at Széchenyi or Gellért thermal baths.
Insider tip in the PDF
Sunset from Fisherman's Bastion, looking across to the Parliament.
Insider tip in the PDF
A night crawl through the ruin bars of the Jewish Quarter.
Insider tip in the PDFHistory
Budapest was born in 1873 when three towns — Buda, Óbuda and Pest — merged into one capital.
It flourished as the twin capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, survived wars, the 1956 uprising and decades behind the Iron Curtain, and today wears its grand boulevards and bullet-scarred facades side by side.
A paprika-rich beef soup — the real thing is a soup, not a stew.
Deep-fried dough topped with sour cream and cheese, perfect after a gig.
Sweet spiral pastry roasted over coals and rolled in cinnamon sugar.
Ruin bars, street food and nightlife on your doorstep.
Central and walkable, close to the river and the Parliament.
Quiet cobbled streets and the best views, a short bus ride from the action.
Everything above is the teaser. The downloadable guide goes deep — the stuff locals know and first-timers miss, ready on your phone offline.
…and much, much more.
Sort out the essentials in a couple of taps — compare hotels, book things to do and grab a car for the trip.
Live from Ticketmaster — tap any event to plan the trip.
