Margaret Island is Budapest’s biggest green oasis – accessible by foot from the yellow Margaret Bridge. Climb up to the Citadella and Budapest’s Liberty Monument on Gellért Hill for a rewarding view. Climb the 193 steps (or take the elevator) to the basilica’s dome for some of the best views of Budapest.
Microsoft Activation Scripts (MAS)
All links to the Hungarian millennial celebrations of 1896, when this was built. Why we love it Relaxing by day, romantic after dark when the bridges light up like pearl necklaces, the Danube plays to your inner Strauss, for hour-long sightseeing tours, all-day cruises and more. The Danube defines and delineates Budapest into its twin components, Buda and Pest.
Budapest is the highest ranked Central and Eastern European city in the Innovation Cities' Top 100 index. The retail market of the city (and the country) is also concentrated in the downtown area, among others, in the two largest shopping centres in Central and Eastern Europe, the 186,000 sqm WestEnd City Center and the 180,000 sqm Arena Plaza. Budapest is home not only to almost all national institutions and government agencies, but also to many domestic and international companies.
Spend a day on Margaret Island
Other festivals include the Budapest Fringe Festival, which brings more than 500 artists in about 50 shows to produce a wide range of works in alternative theatre, dance, music and comedy outside the mainstream. The Budapest Wine Festival and Budapest Pálinka Festival, occurring each May, are gastronomy festivals focusing on culinary pleasures. The Sziget Festival is one of the largest outdoor music festival in Europe. The biggest casino in Budapest and in all of Hungary is the Las Vegas Casino at the Corvin promenade. There are 11 casinos in Hungary (11 is the maximum number of casinos allowed by law), and five of them are located in the capital. The Budapest Opera Ball is an annual Hungarian society event taking place in the building of the Budapest Opera (Operaház) on the last Saturday of the carnival season, usually late February.
Seconds of Summer to perform in Budapest in 2026
Further along the bank lies the Neo-Renaissance building of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (1862–64) and the Vigadó, a large hall built in the Romantic style (1859–64). The Lukács (Lucas) Bath at the foot of the hill is frequented by Budapest’s literati. To the south of Castle Hill rises the higher Gellért Hill rolletto casino registration (771 feet), a steep limestone escarpment overlooking the Danube, which provides a panoramic view of the whole city.
- Wide and graceful, the river is linked by a string of beautiful bridges, and traversed by cruise ships, barges, fire-red speedboats and waterborne lines on the city’s transport network.
- According to Eurostat GDP, per capita in purchasing power parity is 147% of the EU average in Budapest, which means €37,632 ($42,770) per capita.
- The previously separate cities of Buda, Óbuda, and Pest were officially unified in 1873 and given the new name Budapest.
- Budapest is also renowned for its nightlife, with ruin bars playing a significant role in it, moreover the city has become a center for Hollywood film production in recent years.
- The most well-known sight of the capital is the neo-Gothic Parliament, the biggest building in Hungary with its 268 metres (879 ft) length, also holding (since 2001) the Hungarian Crown Jewels.
- As the capital of Hungary, Budapest is the seat of the country’s national government.
- The Rudas Baths are centrally placed – in the narrow strip of land between Gellért Hill and the River Danube – and also an outstanding example of architecture dating from the Turkish period.
Infrastructure and transportation
A constant inflow of migrants in recent years has fuelled population growth in Budapest. The European Observation Network for Territorial Development and Cohesion says Budapest's population will increase by 10% to 30% only due to migration by 2050. Continues this semicircle in northernmost Pest, but the V. district is in the very center of Pest and inaugurates a new circle that then loops back through Pest to Buda as the VI., VII., VIII., IX., XI., and XII.
Some of the city's districts are also twinned to small cities or districts of other big cities; for details see the article List of districts in Budapest. Deák Ferenc Square is a central square of the capital, a major transport hub, where three Budapest subways meet. Budapest has an above-average proportion of people commuting on public transport or walking and cycling for European cities. Budapest is among the 25 most visited cities in the world, welcoming more than 4.4 million international visitors each year, therefore the traditional and the congress tourism industry also deserve a mention, as they contribute greatly to the city's economy. Budapest is the most populous city in Hungary and one of the largest cities in the European Union, with a growing number of inhabitants, estimated at 1,763,913 in 2019, whereby inward migration exceeds outward migration. The pressure towards the high-rise buildings is unequivocal among today's world cities, but preserving Budapest's unique cityscape and its very diverse architecture, along with green areas, forces Budapest to balance between them.
- Budapest also became an important center for the Aromanian diaspora during the 19th century.
- The Liberty Square is located in the Belváros-Lipótváros District (Inner City District), as one of Budapest’s most beautiful squares.
- If you’d rather sit back with a drink and enjoy a front-row seat to all of Budapest, try any of the city’s many rooftop bars.
- At first it was a military settlement, and gradually the city rose around it, making it the focal point of the city’s commercial life.
- Continues this semicircle in northernmost Pest, but the V. district is in the very center of Pest and inaugurates a new circle that then loops back through Pest to Buda as the VI., VII., VIII., IX., XI., and XII.
An interesting part of Budapest is the less touristy Óbuda, the main square of which also has some beautiful preserved historic buildings with Baroque façades. During the Turkish occupation (1541–1686), Islamic culture flourished in Budapest; multiple mosques and baths were built in the city. Budapest has architecturally noteworthy buildings in a wide range of styles and from distinct time periods, from the ancient times as Roman City of Aquincum in Óbuda (District III), which dates to around 89 AD, to the most modern Palace of Arts, the contemporary arts museum and concert hall. Budapest has been a popular spa destination since Roman times and is considered the spa capital of Europe, with more than 100 medicinal geothermal springs and the largest thermal water cave system.