Hungary: Itinerary Planning Guide

Hungary's capital Budapest is one of the great surprises of European travel — a city of grand 19th-century architecture, thermal baths fed by 123 natural hot springs, ruin bars built in abandoned Jewish quarter courtyards, and one of Europe's most vibrant food and nightlife scenes, all at prices significantly below Western European capitals. The city straddles the Danube — flat Pest on the east bank, hilly Buda on the west — connected by eight bridges. The Hungarian Parliament Building, completed in 1904 and the third-largest in the world by floor area, dominates the Pest riverfront. The Széchenyi and Gellért thermal baths are functional institutions used daily by locals, not tourist traps. Ruin bars in the VII District's former Jewish Quarter have become a defining feature of Budapest's nightlife since Szimpla Kert opened in 2002. Beyond Budapest, Hungary is often overlooked. The Tokaj wine region in the northeast was the world's first formally classified wine region in 1730 — predating Bordeaux by 125 years — and produces Tokaji Aszú, a botrytized dessert wine of international reputation. Eger's baroque city centre, wine caves carved into volcanic hillside, and medieval castle make it an excellent addition to a Budapest itinerary. Lake Balaton, Central Europe's largest lake, attracts Hungarian summer holidaymakers to its wine towns and beaches.