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Sightseeing

The pock-marks of bullets and shrapnel on a few buildings are a reminder of Budapest’s violent past, but extensive renovation work is gradually returning the city to its 1896 grandeur, when it was hailed as Central Europe’s Paris. The grandness of the city can best be appreciated on the promenade along the east bank of the Danube. From here the National Palace and castellations of the Fisherman’s Bastion provide a dramatic backdrop for this historic river. Museums and galleries are cheap, but there are also discounts for children, students, or free entry for holders of the Budapest Card mentioned above. The grand Gothic-style parliament on Kossuth tér is worth a visit, and the Ethnographic Museum opposite has a permanent exhibition about the life and regional costumes of some of the hill peoples described in this guide. On Hősök tere (Heroes’ Square) there is a magnificent monument to the Magyar conquest, but if you are interested in some of the less durable heroes of Hungarian history the city’s socialist realist monuments can now be viewed at the rather bizarre open-air Statue Park west of Budapest.