The Buda Castle

Pictured above, Buda Castle is another symbol of the unified, independent Hungary being the ancient capital of the Hungarian Kingdom. However, it was not the only, not even the first capital. The only Hungarian royal family, the Árpáds didn’t even have a seat here. It was later in the 14th century that the kings of the Angevin house invited to the throne from France moved to Buda. Through the centuries the castle and the palace was ruined and rebuilt many times by different invaders, such as Turks, Habsburgs and Germans. The present-day structure of the palace was established under the Habsburg Empress, Maria Theresa, during the 18th century. The palace and the castle district became a World Heritage Site in 1987.

Széchenyi Spa

The Széchenyi Medicinal Bath is one of the biggest bath complexes in Europe and it is a great representation of the richness of Budapest, due to geothermal water. The building was constructed at the beginning of the 20th century and replaced the temporary bath facilities set up in the 1860s. The beautiful, modern neo-Baroque bath was the manifestation of the spa culture celebrated by the Hungarian bourgeois, which became wealthy and increasingly influential as the result of the industrial boom in the second half of the 19th century. Originally there were separate sections for men and women, now all the indoor and outdoor are coed.

Rudas Spa

As opposed to the “Bourgeoisie” spa culture of the Széchenyi Bath from the end of the 19th century, the Rudas Baths or Rudas fürdő represents a different bath tradition in Hungary. It was built by the Turks in 1550 after the occupied Buda, thus establishing the Turkish bath culture in Hungary. This is the westernmost original Turkish bath of Europe. However, it incorporated some of the elements of the local traditions as well; it has more pools than the ones found in Turkey and the massage place was moved from the centre to separate rooms. The main bath area is octagon-shaped, with five pools of different temperatures between 28-42 degrees Celsius. The weekdays are split into men or women-only days, while the weekends are coed.

Vajdahunyad Castle

Vajdahunyad Castle is another example of the output of the Millennium celebration in 1896. It is mostly a copy of an existing Castle in Transylvania— and it was built in an eclectic style combining features of Romanic, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture. Originally it was built only for the celebration— and it was made of cardboard. However, it was so popular, that they finally rebuilt it of stone.

Andrássy Street

By now it should not be a surprise that just like many of the other famous sites of Budapest and most parts of the impressive downtown boulevard, the Andrássy Street was also built for the Millennium. The first attempts for creating a major avenue here were made in the early 1970s, but the majority of the Art-Nouveau mansions were built in the 1890s. Furthermore, the first continental subway was built under Andrássy Street for the Millennium. It was designed after Champs-Élysées, running into Heroes Square, similar to the Concorde Square. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 2002.