Budapest Hotels
Mini guide to Budapest
    
The extraordinary atmosphere in Budapest is pervasive everywhere. This remarkable
city is a wonder of sights, a catalyst of man's achievement and imagination,
with winding boulevards that stretch around the city's many neighbourhoods,
resplendent with architectural delights. The scents of the city's many local
foods are redolent of Grandma's home cooking. In this city, beer is served as
early as 7am, which is testament to the laid-back atmosphere and the hearty
spirit of the people.
The city is split into two parts: Buda and Pest. Strolling around Buda, you'll
come across such sights as: The Royal Palace, Budapest Historical Museum, Hungarian
National Gallery and Library, and the 700-year-old Gothic St Matthias Church.
There are many smaller interesting sights to be seen, such as vintage pharmacies
and quiet courtyards, along with market halls and medieval walls.
If you are travelling by car, the outlying areas of Budapest are almost as
worth visiting as the great city itself. Within a couple of hours, you can be
in the historic town of Szentendre or lying on your back drifting down the Danube.
Budapest is situated just north of the Danube Bend, which is the flow of the
Danube that enters Hungary from the northwest and flows in a south-easterly
direction for a time, forming the border with Hungary's northern neighbour,
Slovakia. After Esztergom, about 40kms north of Budapest, the river turns south.
This is the beginning of the Danube Bend region.
The city of Budapest first began with the occupation by the Romans in the 1st
century. They were followed by the Magyars, who resided beside the river Danube,
in the 9th and 10th centuries. The Turks came in the 16th century and devastated
the city; however, they left behind the splendid Turkish baths. The city's golden
era peaked during it's heyday as the city sister to Vienna in the great Austro-Hungarian
empire, but the Habsburg grandeur was frozen in time from the end of the second
war as forty years of communism gripped the country.
The best routes by car to Budapest are from Vienna and Zagreb. Trains in Hungary
arrive from Austria and Slovenia, and, although they are somewhat slow and dated,
their rustic value suits the undulating countryside that passes by. Travellers
by air will find Budapest's international airport, Farihegy, is serviced by
as many as 30 international airlines.
Selection of hotels in this region:
Danubius Grand Hotel Margitsziget | | Erzsebet Hotel | | Kempinski Hotel Corvinus | | NH Budapest | | Astoria Hotel | | Stadion Hotel | | Hotel Taverna | | Grand Hotel Hungaria | | Carlton Hotel | | Hotel Atlas | | Art Hotel | | Hotel Inter-Continental Budapest | | K+K Hotel Opera | | Radisson SAS Beke Hotel | | Hilton Budapest | | Le Meridien Budapest | | Art'otel Budapest | | Novotel Budapest Centrum | | Mercure Korona Budapest | | Mercure Budapest Museum | | Mercure Budapest Metropol | |
Click below for a
full list of hotels and online booking
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