The Queen of the Danube. The Paris of the East. Both are easy formulas to refer to Budapest, but understandable, since it is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, and, for centuries, a cultural center of elegant buildings and lively street life. Reborn after the tsunami of the two totalitarianisms of the 20th century (Nazism and Communism), it has been modernized without losing its splendor from the times when it was the apple of the eye of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
This 2023 marks the 150th anniversary of the promulgation of the law that unified the three independent cities of Buda, Pest and Óbuda. To celebrate, the Hungarian capital has become (even) more beautiful, and its streets, museums, parks and stages host concerts, plays, exhibitions, shows and outdoor activities: the Tenth International Theater Olympics, the Festival of Spring, the Sziget Festival, one of the biggest open-air musical events in Europe… It all adds up to make the trip a great experience.
The city straddles the majestic Danube, which in its wake ranges from 200 to 1,000 meters wide. The Romans built Aquincum on top of a Celtic settlement in what is now the northern part of the capital; In the 9th century, the Magyar tribes occupied this ruined enclave and called it Óbuda. Centuries later, they founded the fortified Buda a little further south, on the hills on the right bank of the river; and Pest on the left, on flat ground
To admire the beauty of the capital and its location, you have to go to the top, to the Buda castle district, impeccable thanks to the national Hauszmann program, launched in 2014 to regenerate this urban area with more than 750 years of history, badly damaged during World War II. It is worth going up in the funicular that starts next to the spectacular Chain Bridge, the most famous and oldest in Budapest: inaugurated in 1849, it was rebuilt just a century later, since the Nazis blew up all the bridges that connected Buda with Pest.
From the white balconies of the Neo-Romanesque and Neo-Gothic Fisherman's Bastion, finished in 1902, the Danube appears like a vision, and, on the other bank, Pest and the enormous Hungarian Parliament; Built in the Gothic Revival style between 1895 and 1904, reminiscent of the UK Parliament. Its interior, which can be visited, does not detract from the exterior.
The bastion is attached to the church of Matías, founded around 1250; the views are memorable from its tower. Before getting lost in the narrow streets of the district, the royal palace of Buda awaits us, of medieval origin and completely rebuilt in the mid-18th century; a neo-baroque display of Habsburg power. On the outside, the Castle Gardens Bazaar has much more than plants: its halls host exhibitions, concerts, plays and other shows. This year, many allude to the 150th anniversary of the unification of the city
After descending from Buda (on the funicular again), we cross the 375-meter Chain Bridge and stand on the Pest plain, very close to the neo-Renaissance St. Stephen's Basilica, inaugurated in 1905. Its dome rises to 96 meters high, the same as the Parliament. Inside is the Holy Right Hand, the mummified hand of Stephen I, the first Christian king of Hungary, canonized a few decades after his death in 1038.
We took advantage of the visit to San Esteban to start from there the tour of the famous Andrássy avenue. Along the 2.3 kilometers of "Budapest's Champs Elysees" we become aware of the power (and money) that existed here between the last third of the 19th century and the First World War, murderer of the Austro-Hungarian empire and matron of the Hungarian independence. Palaces and mansions with beautiful facades follow one another, most of them restored and some still with the traces of the battle in which the Soviets seized the city from the Nazis in February 1945.
The communist era, which ended in 1989, did not help the conservation of these "decadent and bourgeois" buildings. Its status improved with the restorations following the incorporation of Hungary into global capitalism. In return, luxury shops have become part of the avenue's landscape, as have haute cuisine restaurants. The subway line under its sidewalks (the M1), opened in 1896, makes this subway the second oldest in the world after London (1863).
Hungary has given great musicians to the world. The most famous of all, Franz Liszt, is still alive on Andrássy Avenue. Next to it opens the pleasant tree-lined square that bears his name, presided over by the statue of this romantic composer, who died in 1886. It is appreciated stopping on the terrace of one of his charming bistros and cafes.
At the corner of Andrássy and Vörösmarty street we have the Franz Liszt Memorial Museum. The musician lived for the last five years in an apartment on the first floor of the building: his furniture and belongings, his two pianos, autograph scores and his library are preserved. The set is completed with period pieces. Just over five minutes away is the Franz Liszt Music Academy, founded by the artist himself in 1875. Its headquarters are a 1907 building, considered a masterpiece of Hungarian modernism, with an amazing Art Deco auditorium.
Continuing along the most stately street in Budapest, we arrive at the Hungarian National Opera, reopened in March 2022 after its restoration. Neo-Renaissance, it was inaugurated in 1884, and its night lighting makes it especially beautiful. Exploring the gorgeous interior and catching a concert from one of its 1,261 seats is the closest you'll get to feeling like a wealthy Magyar nobleman.
All these classic temples of music program numerous shows alluding to the century and a half that Budapest is celebrating, and also new ones, such as Müpa Budapest, a modern cultural center that opened its doors in 2005.
Our steps along the boulevard end in style, in Heroes' Square, with its two rows of columns and its statues of the most important rulers in the thousand years of Hungary, dominated by a sculpture of the Archangel Gabriel on top of a 36 meter column.
The square is the entrance to the City Park, much loved by the Aquincenses (name of the inhabitants of Budapest) and their children. It is understandable, because there is a zoo, a small amusement park, a spa (the Széchenyi, for many the best in the city), and a castle, that of Vajdahunyad, built in wood in 1896 and later rebuilt in stone on the shore of a lake that, depending on the season, can be covered in a rowing boat, or with ice skates.
The park is facing a renovation (the Liget project) that aims to make it one of the best cultural spaces in Europe. Its change has begun with the opening in 2022 of two avant-garde buildings: the House of Music, which integrates harmoniously with the surrounding vegetation and offers spaces for exhibitions and concerts, teaching and study; and the impressive Ethnographic Museum that contains more than 250,000 pieces. With these and other initiatives already underway, the area of the national park will be one of the liveliest in the city.
In Budapest there are 118 springs from which more than 70 million liters of water gush out every day at temperatures between 20 and 80 ºC. The phenomenon has allowed the proliferation of spas. The most famous is the Gellért, due to its beautiful main pool filmed over and over again. It belongs to the hotel of the same name, located on the leafy Gellért Hill, the highest point of the city. From the fortress (the Citadel) erected there in 1854, memorable views are obtained, especially at dusk and at night, when the lighting enchants the banks of the Danube.
Other spas seem more attractive to us. For example, the Rudas, built in the mid-16th century at the foot of Gellért Hill, during the Ottoman occupation. Its main hall is worthy of a sultan, with its octagonal pool, its four side pools with water at different temperatures, and its ten-meter-diameter Turkish dome supported by eight pillars. But if we could only go to one spa in Budapest, it would be the aforementioned Széchenyi. Opened in 1913, it has 15 pools, three of them (the largest) outdoors: you have to try the sensation of getting into its hot waters while it's freezing cold. Inside, massage rooms and saunas await the most gourmets.
Those with a sweet tooth have a hard time not gaining weight in Budapest, no matter how much they walk or pedal (I attest). His confectionery is a permanent temptation. Nothing like trying it in its nineteenth-century cafes and sweet shops. The Ruszwurn opened in 1827, near the Buda Castle. It preserves its old recipes and original decoration, and serves great coffee, although it is difficult to get a table. And the sweets… it's a shame to choose. The Esterházy cake (chocolate and almond), the classic Sacher cake (cake, chocolate, jam), the Rigó Jancsi, typical of Hungary and served in cubic portions… Please, get me out of here!
Another classic is Café Gerbeaud, in top shape at 165 years old. Located in Vörösmarty square, known for its Christmas market, it is a sumptuous and elegant place where it is embarrassing to enter wearing shorts or a tracksuit. Their Dobos Cake is delicious –apparently the favorite of the Empress Elizabeth of Bavaria, better known as Sissi–, created by the Hungarian pastry chef József Dobos in 1884. A work of art made up of six thin layers of cake interspersed with as many layers of cream chocolate and butter, and topped with a caramel coating. A short-lived orgy, unfortunately.
