Most North Americans choose Prague as their first foray into Eastern Europe, but the true powerhouse of the region is Budapest, capital of Hungary. Budapest can be challenging and complicated, but it鈥檚 a cosmopolitan place of unexpected elegance, fascinating and rewarding.
Sprawling across the banks of the Danube River, the city is two towns in one. The west side is stately Buda, with its Castle Hill and remnants of Hungary鈥檚 glory days. On the flats across the river is Pest, with prickly spired buildings and the commercial town centre.
Although modern-day Budapest is fully European, there鈥檚 something exotic about the place. This area has absorbed wave after wave of migrating ethnic groups.
First came the Magyars, who stampeded in from Central Asia about a thousand years ago to settle the region. They were followed by Turks, Germans, Slavs, Jews and Roma, creating a cultural goulash that鈥檚 still simmering today. I swear I heard a dozen different languages the last time I visited.
Budapest boomed in the late 19th century, after the Habsburg rulers made it co-capital 鈥� with Vienna 鈥� of their vast Austro-Hungarian empire. Because of this heritage, Budapest feels more grandiose than you鈥檇 expect.
That boom peaked with a flurry of construction in anticipation of a citywide party in 1896 鈥� the 1,000th anniversary of the arrival of the Magyars. Not wanting to play second fiddle to Vienna, Budapest used the millennial celebration as an excuse to remake the capital with grand squares, heroic monuments and even a subway (the continent鈥檚 oldest).
Many of the city鈥檚 finest landmarks date from this era, including the neo-Gothic Hungarian Parliament, the opulent State Opera House, and the voluminous Central Market Hall. It鈥檚 worth touring these buildings to ogle their magnificent interiors.
By the end of the First World War, though, the Habsburgs and their golden-age elegance were gone. Soon after Hitler came to power in Germany, Hungary ignobly allied itself with the Nazis. Their reward was to be 鈥渓iberated鈥� by the Soviets, who installed a communist government after the Second World War.
If communism was a religion during the postwar years, Budapest was sin city. While Soviet rule was harsh, Hungary managed to fashion a milder, yet still-acceptable-to-Moscow 鈥済oulash鈥� communism. Allowing a little private enterprise, easier travel, and less censorship, Hungary was the envy of its more strictly controlled neighbors.
Wannabe shoppers came from all over Eastern Europe to drool over Nikes, Reeboks and fine capitalist cuisine long before any of these Western evils were available elsewhere behind the Iron Curtain.
Nowadays twentysomethings shop in trendy, one-of-a-kind boutiques and flock to nightclubs featuring everything from Romany rap to cool jazz.
Instead of disposing of its statues of Stalin, Lenin, and their local counterparts, an entrepreneur collected them into an open-air museum. The result is Memento Park, a jumble of communist all-stars.
While communists closed down the city鈥檚 once vibrant caf茅s, fearing a dissident breeding-ground, they鈥檙e now being restored, with red-velvet chairs and columns dripping with Habsburgian nostalgia.
You can also relax in one of the city鈥檚 famous thermal baths. Of two dozen or so traditional baths, Szechenyi is the most accessible and fun place to take the plunge. Magyars of all shapes and sizes strut their stuff. Paddle in the aristocratic outdoor pool, soak in indoor thermal baths, or steam in the sauna all day for less than $20.
The city boasts marvellous vistas as well. Ride the cute Buda funicular up to Castle Hill, or cap a day of sightseeing with an evening cruise on the blue Danube.
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Rick Steves (ricksteves. com) writes European travel guidebooks and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio. Email him at rick@ ricksteves.com and follow his blog on Facebook.
