Introduction:

The lengthy series of changes and renovations which the city of Budapest has undergone has made this capital unique of its kind and highly distinctive in each of its three parts.
Budapest's history is revealed in each area of the city. In Buda we find evidence of its political and imperial past, with the Royal Palace and the National Gallery, the embodiment of the history of the Hungarian people, marked by defeats and victories which have, however, left national pride intact. Near Óbuda, on the other hand, we find Roman ruins and those of the first Hungarian dynasty, the Árpáds, whilst in Pest we can discover the city's contemporary face, its more modern and up-to-date side. The city was unified on 1st January 1873. Nowadays Budapest is a large Middle European city: the romanticism which still pervades it, the endless search for its own identity, its proud sense of isolation and, at the same time, its commitment to the ideal of becoming an integral part of western culture make it a city which can undoubtedly teach us a great deal. Drink in its atmosphere and forget the traffic and the crowds of tourists: wander through the historic streets and squares where so many important events have taken place, walk along the Danube, the undisputed star of the city, give in to the allure of its thousands of outstanding cultural events and spectacles, bask in the waters of its therapeutic thermal baths, famous world-wide, and you will agree that Budapest really is a city with something for everyone.