
There are some who fall in love with the place after the first glimpse, there are others who become devotees of the city only after a long acquitance, but of one thing all are agreed: this is one of the most beautifully situated cities in the world.
The broad Danube runs through the middle of this metropolis, dividing hilly Buda from the plain of Pest; the Danube panorama has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Budapest was founded by the Celts in the 5th centrury a.d; the Romans had his last fortress along the Danube in the North East here - Aquincum, capital city of province Pannonia. Ruins of former military and civil settlements are still to be seen in the oldest part of the city - buda (Old Buda). Two Roman amphitheatres - one in each part of Aquincum are the most interesting sights from this period.
Several Turkish thermal baths remember the 150 years of the Ottoman rule in Hungary - some of them are still in use (Kirly - King's Bath the well preserved one)
1873 is the year when the three former sister settlements - Buda, Pest and buda - were united forming Budapest.
Baroque and characteristically Hungarian Art Nouveau ('Secession') buildings remember the period of the Austrian Habsburg rule and the later Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, among them Europe's largest Parliament, the more than 100-year-old Neo-Gothic palace facing the river Danube on the Pest side.
Budapest is the only capital in the world where underground cave system exists in the city itself - you can visit them easily in the Buda Hills.
Lovers of the culture will find their only difficulty choosing what to see: 237 historical monuments, 223 museums and galleries,40 theatres, 7 concert halls, some 200 places of entertainment with a wide variety of of programmes all offer a rich choice to meet every requirement.
Public transport also includes some interesting features: the continent's first underground railway has linked the Downtown with the City Park for more than 100 years; the Children's Railway running into the Buda Hills is operated with the assistance of children aged between 7-14.