The picturesque city of Budapest in Hungary opens its arms to hundreds of tourists every year in summer, offering its typical central eastern European panoramic views, amazing architecture, interesting history and rich culture. The city in comparison to its neighbouring tourist destinations like Paris, Geneva, Rome and Venice offers a great deal of attractions to its visitors. Hungary, being part of the polyglot Austro-Hungarian Empire, which collapsed and fell under communist rule following World War II, has a rich, worth-knowing history. This country led a movement to dissolve the Warsaw Pact and steadily shifted towards multi-party democracy and a market-oriented economy. In the 1990s it developed close political and economic ties to western Europe and is a front-runner in the future expansion of the EU.
We luckily managed to hit the city on one of its national holiday of Saint Stephen’s when it was brimming with tourists because of several colourful festivities as part of the celebrations. Saint Stephen being the first and most popular king of Hungary, there were a lot of cultural happenings in the city. Starting from the eye-catching air shows to the fabulous fireworks and concerts by the side of the river Danube, everything entertained the tourists on this particular day.
Budapest is a European city that has all the beautiful eastern features with a western touch
A grand mass and prayer marked the start of the celebrations and the famous Hero’s Square in the centre of the city welcomed us with numerous people. Having a central location in the city this place offers its inquisitive visitors a visual journey into the history of its heroes. The statues of the kings and knights are distinguishably scattered all around the place and tell the stories of those who fought for this region in the past century. It was an interesting starting point to get into the mood of history also accompanied and balanced by the entertaining colourful festivities of the day.
Another popular tourist recommendation was the therapeutic waters of Budapest. The city is known for its medicinal baths which are said to have the healing effects and cures, especially for the people with weak limbs. However, it is an expensive luxury and cannot be afforded all that conveniently. Therefore, we decided to move to a less expensive option of visiting a Liberanth (labyrinth) which had an interesting haunting environment with a drum beat in the background in half darkness. With an hour spent in the humid darkness of the Liberanth and discovering its fountain of free wine, we were ready to get out and discover more of the colours and sunshine of the city.
We managed to visit churches like Mathias and Basilica which are considered not-to-be-missed buildings. They vehemently speak of the arrival and spread of Christianity in this region and let its visitors experience its graceful and calming aura. Designed in Gothic style, these churches give one the feeling of going back in time and make one appreciate the ways they are kept and maintained in their original form and shape with no signs of vindication. However, nothing can be compared to the famous building of the Parliament House that features in most of the post cards one gets in Budapest.
This building is an outcome of a contest between the architects when the winning architect’s creative model was made into the Parliament House. It was built nearly a hundred years ago and captures the attention of its visitors completely. A guided tour in English answers most of the questions in tourists mind and provides them with interesting information and historical details. The two buildings around the Parliament House are the ones considered to be the second and the third best in the contest. However, when these old huge buildings remind us of history and old times, the newly-built modern glass cut square plazas and shops give a sharp comparison to the eyes. According to some of the locals it depicts the globalized trends towards architecture which seem to be effecting the way Budapest look to its visitors.
Another amazing sight is the river Danube hovered by the old Chain Bridge. This is the river which divided Buda and Pest in two cities in the 18th century. As heart of the city the river-side hosted all the important festivities for the Saint Stephen’s day including enchanting fireworks and live free concerts. The dancing coloured lights in the river and the music along with the fireworks in evening were something which concluded the celebrations of the Saint Stephen’s day in a romantic manner. The cafes alongside the river offered a good amount of food and drinks with the added touch of traditional Hungarian music.
Budapest is a completely non-western experience specially for the Asians like me who would consider this country as part of the West. However, for the westerners here and most of the citizens of Hungary they are not “westerners” but eastern Europeans. Keeping aside of which category we put this place in, one surely feels the warmth and friendliness of the city and its people and the originality of its culture which seems to be standing on its own proudly. This surely is a recommended European destination when one plans one’s holidays.
The picturesque city of Budapest in Hungary opens its arms to hundreds of tourists every year in summer, offering its typical central eastern European panoramic views, amazing architecture, interesting history and rich culture. The city in comparison to its neighbouring tourist destinations like Paris, Geneva, Rome and Venice offers a great deal of attractions to its visitors. Hungary, being part of the polyglot Austro-Hungarian Empire, which collapsed and fell under communist rule following World War II, has a rich, worth-knowing history. This country led a movement to dissolve the Warsaw Pact and steadily shifted towards multi-party democracy and a market-oriented economy. In the 1990s it developed close political and economic ties to western Europe and is a front-runner in the future expansion of the EU.
Another popular tourist recommendation was the therapeutic waters of Budapest. The city is known for its medicinal baths which are said to have the healing effects and cures, especially for the people with weak limbs. However, it is an expensive luxury and cannot be afforded all that conveniently. Therefore, we decided to move to a less expensive option of visiting a Liberanth (labyrinth) which had an interesting haunting environment with a drum beat in the background in half darkness. With an hour spent in the humid darkness of the Liberanth and discovering its fountain of free wine, we were ready to get out and discover more of the colours and sunshine of the city.
This building is an outcome of a contest between the architects when the winning architect’s creative model was made into the Parliament House. It was built nearly a hundred years ago and captures the attention of its visitors completely. A guided tour in English answers most of the questions in tourists mind and provides them with interesting information and historical details. The two buildings around the Parliament House are the ones considered to be the second and the third best in the contest. However, when these old huge buildings remind us of history and old times, the newly-built modern glass cut square plazas and shops give a sharp comparison to the eyes. According to some of the locals it depicts the globalized trends towards architecture which seem to be effecting the way Budapest look to its visitors.
Another amazing sight is the river Danube hovered by the old Chain Bridge. This is the river which divided Buda and Pest in two cities in the 18th century. As heart of the city the river-side hosted all the important festivities for the Saint Stephen’s day including enchanting fireworks and live free concerts. The dancing coloured lights in the river and the music along with the fireworks in evening were something which concluded the celebrations of the Saint Stephen’s day in a romantic manner. The cafes alongside the river offered a good amount of food and drinks with the added touch of traditional Hungarian music.
