Budapest

Budapest is the capital city of Hungary, split into 23 districts. The city is effectively split into two halves - Buda and Pest. It is often considered to be one of the world's most beautiful and romantic cities, and as such, is very popular with tourists from around the world.

Most of Budapest's most important and popular attractions are situated on Castle Hill. Within this area, the main attractions are the Royal Palace, the National Gallery, the Fisherman's Bastion and Matthias Church.

Highlights include experiencing the opera in the Opera House, as well as the Buda Hill Labyrinth.

Many of Budapest's attractions are easily accessible by foot. The urban area is well connected by metro lines and buses, although public transport is relatively expensive, not particularly clean and not especially reliable.

Budapest is well connected in overland travel terms, with a railway that serves a variety of European countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Russia and Slovenia. There are also numerous national connections to the rest of Hungary.

The main railway stations are Keleti palyaudvar (Eastern Railway Station), Deli palyaudvar (Southern Railway Station), and Nyugati palyaudvar (Western Railway Station). Transferring between these stations shouldn't take more than 15 minutes, but build in a comfortable window if connecting between trains.

National and international bus services travel to/from the city' bus stations, which are located outside the city centre, but still are very accessible. International bus services are operated by Eurolines. Orangeways also offer international services to Budapest. The Hungarian national bus service is operated by Volan Association.