On the recent weekend of European Union accession, Budapest was taking it all in its stride. There were street parties, festivals and the museums were free for two days. But nowhere in this handsome city did it feel like a blissful new dawn.
Then again, why should it? As a phlegmatic local remarked, “Hungary is already in Europe.” You can see it in the architecture, which spans the great European styles, from the frilly Gothic of the Parliament building, the Byzantine central synagogue and the fantasy medieval of the Fisherman’s Bastion viewpoint — all delightfully bisected by the Danube river running right through the centre.
European then, but also exotic. For Budapest has a multilayered history, from the mysteries of its tribal Magyar beginnings through imperial grandeur and then years under communism. There are remnants of the Ottoman empire in a few Turkish baths, whose low roofs loom like turtle shells from beneath palms. The southern light, accordion players, extant Trabants and trams all give Budapest destinational bite.
And it offers two cities for the price of one. On the west side of the river is hilly, picturesque Buda; on the east, low-lying Pest: a fin-de-siècle downtown of neoclassical boulevards and commercial energy.
Oh, and it’s fun. As well as the museums, parks, spas and galleries, there are restaurants and pubs galore. You may well encounter foreign stag-nighters staggering around in search of beer and strippers, but then you’ll turn a corner and suddenly step into a scene from an old photograph, where elderlywomen peddle flowers, coal barges ply the Danube and the sun glints off cobbles. It is a good time to see how this great city and its two million-odd inhabitants will regain their rightful place in the heart of Europe.
So, how do you spend a perfect day in Budapest?
Because it has always been a café society, kick-off with a coffee and cake: you’ll do a lot of walking here, so shouldn’t worry about the fat content. There’s the Gerbeud coffee shop on Vorosmarty Square — high ceilings, marble tables and notoriously slow service. The Central appeals to retro-Bohemians while the Lukacs Confectionery at Andrassy was once infamous as the haunt of the secret police.
Nearby is Andrassy Avenue, Pest’s key boulevard, which climaxes in Heroes Square and the City Park, with all amenities for a day’s fun: boating lake, zoo and outdoor concerts in the summer. Catch a cab or tram over the river to Buda’s Castle District then take the Siklo funicular railway up to the pedestrianised medieval quaintness and key sights: Matthias church, the old Royal Palace complex housing the National Gallery, and the Fisherman’s Bastion — a compulsory vantage point for the snap happy.
There are more panoramic views over Gellert Hill and its hilltop Citadella, then come back down via the Gellert hotel and its art nouveau baths, and walk back over the green Chain bridge, the first proper link between Buda and Pest, built by a Scottish engineer and one of nine bridges here.
For lunch-lovers, heavy Hungarian food will sustain the most serious monument-bagger. The national cliché dish is goulash; you’ll also encounter goose liver, veal and pork, as well as freshwater fish such as carp, pike-perch — vegetarians have to be creative. Paprika, a hangover from the Ottoman empire, keeps the food buzzing.
Mid-afternoon is a good time to go and see the Parliament building, then continue to St Stephen’s Basilica in a paved café-rich square, from where you can go on to the Central Synagogue, so grand it wasn’t used in winter because it was too big to heat.
Or just walk: Budapest is a flâneur’s city. Most will at least stroll Vaci utca, the key tourist drag, where shops sell Tokaj wine and frilly tablecloths. Follow it to the end and you’ll get to the central market, where you can stop for a fried snack and a beer (on the lower level a supermarket called Match sells cheaper foodstuffs).
The House of Terror Museum is a conceptual museum in an old secret-police centre, which displays the depredations of Hungarian fascism and communism in a manner more art installation than artefact collection. It’s open until 7.30pm and costs about R100.
Chill-out time is best savoured on the Margaret Island, a sliver of park in the middle of the river where men fish for carp from the banks, there is a rubberised jogging trail and a fountain surrounded by speakers playing Liszt. The water tower is a Gothic folly and the whole fantastical prisoner-like atmosphere is enhanced by hiring a “Bringo”: a bike with two seats.
Perhaps the single-most crucial part of an itinerary is a wallow in a spa. The most famous is the Gellert, part of the hotel of the same name. Of course, it is also the most expensive, costing about R75 just for a look.
Instead, I went to the Szechenyi Thermal Baths in City Park: it is mostly open air, and set in palatial ochre buildings inside which lurks a labyrinth of pools, saunas and steam baths — you may even have a wet game of chess.
Take swimsuit and towel, and don’t be fazed by the baffling system of locker attendants and timed tickets. — Â