Hungary and Budapest have been going through a period of constant change and development in the past few years. The renewal of the inner city is proceeding at a rapid pace, with new restaurants and shops opening every day. Tourists and business travellers can find increasingly better facilities in Budapest. Budapest is called "the Pearl of the Danube", it is one of the fineset cities in the heart of Europe. The Danube River cuts through the city for 28 kilometers. On the west bank lies hill-covered Buda with its thousands of villas with lovely gardens. In contrast, there is Pest on the east bank of the river, a flat area consisting of official offices and the business district. Budapest has a population of over two million people. A unique feature is that not only is the city a cultural center, but it is also a health resort and spa at the same time. There are many mineral and thermal waters where people can take relaxing cures.

Pest:

The shopping streets, the banks, Parliament, the ministries, the theatres, the cinemas, even the Budapest Grand Circus, are all in Pest. The present center of the city, Vörösmarty square, was once just to the north of the mediaeval town wall. The old town walls, some four metres high, can still be seen in many places, for example, at the corner of Veres Pálné and Bárstya streets. The enclosed area of around six square kilometers falls into two parts with entirely different characters. The main street of both parts is the famous Váci Street.
The Budapest Parlament building was originally built for a far larger country than today's Hungary. The National Bank and other major banks are found here, as well as the country's biggest church, Saint Stephen's  Basilika with space for 8500 persons. The Holy Right Hand, belived to be the right hand of Saint Stephen, the first king of Hungary who converted the country to Christianity (on Christmas of the year 1000), is preserved here.
One of Pest's obvious charms is Andrassy Avenue, perhaps the most attractive and uniform road in the whole Hungary. It runs from the Basilica to Heroes' Square and City Park, where the tired traveller who heads straight for this part of the city will find museums and luxury restaurants.  A unique open-air museum of architecture known as Vajdahunyad Castle is also found in the City Park. It was built for the famous Millenary Exhibition of 1896, originally of timber and canvas, with the aim of representing Hungarian architectural styles over the ages. Some people criticised it as mere kitsch, but the majority liked it so much that a fund-raising campaign was launched and it was built in stone and mortar. It really is very impressive when is is illimnated in the evening. The pond beside the castle is a boating lake in the summer and a skating rink in winter. It is almost certainly the most romantic skating rink in the world. Pest is an open city. You can stroll practically everywhere.

Buda:

Buda brings to mind trees and hills. But Castle Hill is also part of Buda, as is the romantic old Waterside Town on the slopes of Castle Hill with its little, winding, cobble-stone streets.  The Castle Hill rises to a height of 50-60 metres above the river and streaches out one and a half km in a north-south direction.  The civilian town lies to the north and the Royal Palace to the south. It is quite different from the bustling city of Pest. Some people conside that the real spirit of the city can be found in it. At the end of the Second World War the entire Castle District lay in ruins (it was the thirty-first siege of the town). The destruction revealed that there were medieval facades and window openings behind the 18th centurys plaster on many of the walls. The Royal Palace was completly rebuilt after the war: it now houses major museums. One can spend hours gazing at the great Hungarian historical paintings. The many unknown histroical figures, the many heroes, the many tragedies make a deep impression on the viewer. The National Gallery, the Museum of Recent History, the Museum of Budapest History, and the Ludwig Colleciton are all found up here in the Castle. The little that has remained of the renaissance royal palace can also be seen here. If you want to enjoy the most magnificent view of Budapest, stroll up to the Buda Castle Hill and stand on the Fishermen's Bastion. As you survey the panorama spread out before you, you will feel something of the charm and atmosphere of Budapest. Buda Castle is the Hungarian capital's open-air museum. Almost every period of Hungarian history has left its imprint here. Practically every building is of histortical note and most of them are protected monuments. Matthias Church is more than 700  years old and has witnessed the coronation of a number of Hungarian kings.  When the great storyteller, Hand Chrisian Andersen of Denmark visited Hungary in the last century, as he walked beside the river on the Pest side, he gazed at Buda and remarked: "What a view! But how could one possibly describe it in words?"