Central Europe
Grand boulevards, thermal baths, and ruin bars till dawn.
Hungary is Central Europe with a swagger all its own — a language like no other, a taste for paprika and pálinka, and a capital that ranks among the most beautiful in the world. Budapest is the whole reason most people come, a grand imperial city split by the Danube with hot springs bubbling up beneath it, but the wine country and the great plain reward a longer stay. Affordable, atmospheric, and built for a long weekend of baths, bars and Belle Époque grandeur.
What things cost: Hungary is mid-range and one of the best-value city breaks in Europe — a soak in a grand thermal bath, a bowl of goulash and a glass of Tokaji all cost a fraction of Western prices. Budapest's tourist strip is dearer than the rest; a couple of streets back, it's cheap. When a zone below says 'low', that means low for Hungary.
Sometimes the event picks the city for you.
The country's winemakers pour their best up in the grounds of Buda Castle, with the whole city spread out below — Tokaji, Bull's Blood and more, plus food and music over a long September weekend. The prettiest wine tasting there is.
Budapest · Buda Castle
The markets at Vörösmarty Square and St Stephen's Basilica are among the loveliest in Europe — mulled wine, chimney cake, folk crafts and a light show projected onto the basilica. Follow it with a steaming outdoor bath in the cold.
Budapest · Vörösmarty Square & St Stephen's Basilica
Hungary's biggest arts festival — a fortnight of classical music, opera, dance and theatre across the grandest venues in the city, from the Opera House to the Palace of Arts. A cultured, elegant reason to visit in spring.
Budapest · Citywide
One of Europe's biggest music festivals — a week-long 'island of freedom' on Óbuda Island in the Danube, with hundreds of acts across dozens of stages and a global crowd camping on site. Book everything; the whole city fills up.
Budapest · Óbuda Island
