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Chain Bridge in Budapest, Hungary
Chain Bridge, Budapest
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With echoes from the past, a diverse, modern Hungary delights.

Hungary Vacations

Discover the Pearl of the Danube, the Paris of the East, in Budapest.

Budapest is one of the great cities of Europe. It’s a striking capital, and with a stroll down to the banks of the Danube you’ll be on an ancient waterway used or crossed by Marcus Aurelius, Attila the Hun, Vlad the Impaler, and Charlemagne. 

The Great Synagogue is located in what is known as the Jewish Quarter and features Moorish, Romantic, and Gothic influences in its architecture. There is a beautiful ark that houses Torah scrolls and a Holocaust Memorial that commemorates victims and serves as a poignant reminder of the tragedies of WWII. The synagogue celebrates and promotes interfaith dialogue and is a centre within Budapest known for bringing people together.

The Basilica of St. Stephen in Budapest is a sacred church. It houses, the mummified right hand of the church’s patron saint, King St. Stephen, a highly revered relic. The dome at its centre is massive and features mosaics of biblical scenes, saints, angels, and beautiful abstract designs.

The Hungarian State Opera House, also in the capital, is a symbol of Hungary’s cultural identity.

The impressive building sits on a main thoroughfare. Designed in 1884, it’s a prime example of neo-Renaissance architecture with grand and ornate designs. It has outstanding acoustics where many world-class operas and ballets have been held. The interior opulence features chandeliers, gilded moldings, and rich furnishings. 

The country of Hungary, located in central Europe, is landlocked and shares borders with Slovakia to the north and Ukraine to the northeast. Romania is in the east, while Austria and Slovenia are in the west where the Carpathian Mountains run. Croatia and Serbia are on the southern border.

More than half of the country is dominated by the flat and gently rolling Great Hungarian Plain, known as the breadbasket of Hungary. Its fertile soil is ideal for farming with its warm summers.

Most tours of Hungary begin in Budapest. The country is home to biosphere reserves, the second-largest thermal lake in the world, largest medicinal bath in Europe, and the largest natural grassland in Europe.

At a Glance
Population10,127,763
LanguagesHungarian
CurrencyHungarian Forint (HUF)
CapitalBudapest

The Culture

Contemporary Hungarians value family, good food, and have a healthy respect for their resilient past. Evidence of it is everywhere across the country and alive in its traditions

Parliament in Budapest is housed in a Neo-Gothic style building that opened in 1902. The interior includes ten courtyards, thirteen passenger and freight elevators, twenty-seven gates, twenty-nine staircases, and six-hundred and ninety-one rooms (including more than two-hundred offices). The building has more than two-hundred sculptures on its walls. They depict national heroes, monarchs, allegorical figures like wisdom and knowledge, military leaders, and decorative sculptures like angels and mythical creatures. The building sits on the east side of the River Danube.

Hungary has been ethnically diverse from its beginnings. Today over 90% of the population is ethnically Hungarian, but there are also pockets of ethnic and cultural Slovaks, Romanians, and Germans

Hungary is a predominantly Christian country and more than half of the population are Roman Catholic. There are also other small groups of Calvinists, Lutherans, Greek Catholics, Orthodox, and Jews.

The Hungarian thermal baths are no joke. The wellness practice of dipping and lounging in hot water heated with geothermal energy feels like a connection to the Earth itself. Whether you’re easing aches and pains, meditating, or out on a weekend with friends, the mineral-rich waters are associated with various health benefits. Let yourself loose and completely succumb to a full spa treatment at one of the many spas across the country. There are over a thousand thermal springs in the country (100 in the Budapest area).. The first of these baths were erected by the Romans more than two-thousand years ago, and they remain a mainstay of everyday life in Hungary today.

Travel Stories

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