Car Hire Budapest - Mini guide to Budapest

Often referred to as the Paris of the East, Budapest retains signs of glorious Magyar legacy, with fine old buildings, a lovely location and remnants of its great Hapsburg heyday.

Hungary’s capital is divided into two ‘cities’, with Buda being the more historic and interesting. It sits on a distinctive ridge, south of the Danube, affording an excellent view of the newer, flatter, Pest.

The walled Castle district in Buda should be your first stop. It includes the medieval Old Town; Royal Palace, Budapest Historical Museum, Hungarian National Gallery and Library and 700-year-old gothic St Matthias Church.

The more recent, turreted, Fishermen's Bastion offers superb views across the river. Gellért Hill, near the Buda citadel, has a curious chapel inside a cave, and nearby are the Gellert baths – most prestigious of the many hotspring baths for which the city is famous.

Cross the Danube on the famous Chain Bridge to Pest with its Gothic Parliament buildings, looking uncannily like Britain’s Westminster. Fine examples of neo-classic architecture are numerous and attractions include; Opera House, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Post Office Savings Bank, Museum of Applied Arts and St. Stephen's Basilica. The National Museum, located in a stately 18th century building, gives a fascinating insight into Magyar history.

Strolling along Andrássy Boulevard reminds one of Paris, while the magnificent Heroes' Square is more Eastern-European with its statues of Hungary's greatest leaders. All the Soviet-era statues have been banished to a curious park out of town.

Budapest is proud to have the second oldest underground and funicular rail in the world.