Pest Centre
This district is the central core of Pest. It comprises five districts.
Belváros (5th district) is the central core of Budapest. It's also one of the city's wealthiest districts. The district took off in the 19th century, when Pest became the economic capital of the country. Bounded by the old medieval fortress, whose walls have now almost entirely disappeared, it remains the district most frequented by tourists (a street adjoining Váci Street has even been christened "Shopping Street", as if to better cater to the needs of foreign shoppers). The delightful promenade(korzó) along the Danube allows you to admire the Chain Bridge and Buda Castle. And let's not forget all the narrow streets with their Magyar charm: Szerb utca, Bástya utca, Veres Pálné utca and the long, almost entirely pedestrianized Október 6.
Like all the city's former suburbs,Lipótváros (also in the5th arrondissement) owes its name to a member of the Habsburg royal family. The Leopold district developed later than its neighbors, at the end of the 18th century. From the mid-19th century onwards, this part of the5th arrondissement became home to the ministries, banks and administrative offices that are still to be found here: the district, which is partly residential, is rather empty at weekends, with the exception of the delightful Szabadság tér square and the area around St. Stephen's Basilica. Here you'll find some of Budapest's greatest monuments: the Parliament, the Basilica, the Academy of Sciences and the Gresham Palace.
Erzsébetváros (7th district) , formerly a suburb of Pest. The Elisabeth district was home to Budapest's very first cinema. The tradition lives on, and can still be found here, along with dozens of small boutiques, restaurants and bars. The southern part of Erzsébetváros comprises the heart of the old Jewish quarter, once a suburb of Pest and now the central district of Pest's Jewish community in the 19th-20th centuries. It was between Király utca, Akácfa utca and Dohány utca that Budapest's 220,000 Jews were parked within the ghetto walls during the Second World War. Although Budapest's Jewish community is now alive again (some 80,000 people), it is far smaller than it was before the war, and many of the buildings are now derelict. In short, a place of remembrance, ideal for discovering the city's cobbled streets, synagogues, superb facades, inner courtyards, passages awaiting restoration (or already restored) and intense nightlife. Király Street, Kazinczy Street (refurbished) and the area around Oktogon are lively, day and night. Beyond the körút (the main boulevard on which streetcars 4 and 6 run), the district extends as far as Városliget (the XIVth), or Bois-de-la-Ville: the area becomes residential and ceases to be festive.
Terézváros (6th district), located in the northeastern extension of Erzsébetváros, lives at a much more frenetic tempo. Inhabited by merchants and craftsmen, it became Pest's largest suburb in the 1830s. Since the end of the 19th century, it has been crossed by one of the great boulevards of the same name (Teréz körút), where a few examples of classical and imperial architecture triumph. The overflowing activity of the boulevard, from the delightful Place Liszt to the crossroads at Oktogon, makes it a dynamic and youthful district. Budapest's Champs-Élysées, Andrássy út, leads from Deák tér to Heroes' Square and heralds the Bois-de-la-Ville (Városliget).
Városliget, "the City Woods" (14th district), is the end of Andrássy Avenue. Formerly a hunting reserve donated to the city by Leopold I, it became a public garden in 1799 (and remains so today). This is where Budapest's families spend their Sundays, and where people come to enjoy the delights of the baths (Széchenyi). For the Millennium celebrations in 1896, Vajdahunyad Castle and Heroes' Square, Budapest's most imposing square, were added to Városliget.
Újlipótváros(13th district), north of Pest, runs alongside the Danube. As its name suggests, it is the new(új) district(város: "city") of Leopold (Lipót), grandson of Empress Maria Theresa. Before the war, Ujlipótváros was the district of the Jewish bourgeoisie. Beautiful 1930s buildings overlook Marguerite Island, notably at Szent István Park. Újlipótváros is alive with neighborhood life, especially on Pozsonyi, Visegrádi and Hollán Ernő streets, not forgetting the popular Lehel tér market.
Józsefváros and Ferencváros
These two districts to the east of Pest are much larger than the previous ones. Their streets, close to Pest's city center (the National Museum for one, Kálvin Square for the other), are the tip of an urban iceberg full of curiosities, which is undergoing an accelerated transformation since the arrival of metro 4.
Józsefváros (8th district) is a district full of contrasts, one of the most interesting in Budapest, often overlooked by visitors. Named after Emperor Joseph II. Formerly a farming village, it didn't become urbanized until the early 1800s. Divided in two by the imposing József körút, the 8th arrondissement comprises the "Gypsy" district to the north of József körút, which is rather popular, and the student district, doubled by the mansion district - which earns it the name "palace district"(palotanegyed) - to the south of the boulevard. The two meet at Blaha Lujza tér, the district's somewhat decrepit heart, which will be renovated in 2022. Further west, Keleti station is an architectural curiosity, now renovated. The many universities (including ELTE University on the Múzeum körút) and the Szabó Ervin Library have fostered a concentration of cafés and bars that make the surrounding area lively and pleasant.
South of Józsefváros, Ferencváros (9th district) saw its first houses built in the 1760s. The Ferenc körút that runs through it is the last stretch of road leading to the Danube. The district has been impoverished since it was first laid out, at a time when the construction of the Parliament tipped the balance of fine neighborhoods towards Lipótváros and Buda. Today, however, it is enjoying a certain revival. A major tourist attraction is Ráday Street, where you'll find the main market and one of the most sumptuous Art Nouveau buildings, the Museum of Decorative Arts. Also of note are MÜPA and the new National Theatre at the foot of the Rákóczi Bridge. Balna, a modern whale-shaped building inaugurated in 2013, adds to the district's gastronomic and artistic offerings.
Much further south of the previous two districts are Kőbánya and Kispest (10th and 19thdistricts ). Kőbánya and Kispest will delight urban explorers or anyone keen to see real Hungarian daily life and a few other well-hidden treasures. Kőbánya's specialty is its tile and brick factories, as well as its beer factory (Dreher). An industrial district in eastern Budapest since the 19th century, Kőbánya has preserved its working-class character, with its 1970s housing estates. Like Kőbánya, Kispest (further south, on the road to the airport) is a working-class district, as evidenced by the beautiful Wekerle-telep garden city built from 1908 onwards. The distant Ecseri flea market is a great place to go angling for antiques.
Margaret Island and Óbuda
Opposite Újlipótváros (central Pest, 13th district), to which it is linked by the Árpád bridge, Margitsziget (Marguerite Island), a piece of land in the middle of the Danube, forms the junction between Pest and Buda. Margitsziget is the lungs of the city: it's entirely pedestrianized (except for bus routes) and pleasant all year round, especially when the weather's fine! In summer, you can party until dawn.
Óbuda (3rd district) faces Marguerite Island, on the Buda side. You reach Óbuda by continuing along the Árpád bridge from Pest (or by crossing the Marguerite bridge, further downstream). This is the oldest part of the city. The Romans founded the city of Aquincum here in 20 B.C., of which significant remains remain, including two amphitheatres. Óbuda is also home to a number of museums, well worth a visit in this slightly out-of-the-way district, partly disfigured by the large blocks of flats built during the communist regime. A paradise for cyclists and Sunday outings, the large island of Óbuda (Óbudai - Hajógyári sziget), once a shipyard, is the summer venue for the famous Sziget Festival.
Buda
Located on the right bank of the Danube, south of Óbuda, Buda comprises a few main districts listed below, plus a host of others of minor interest (not listed here).
Várhegy (1st district) or "Castle Hill". It is only 1,500 m long and 500 m wide. It was only after the Mongol invasion of 1241 that King Béla IV's court abandoned the damaged Pest and Óbuda for the 500 m high hill to protect itself from further assaults. The town grew and a castle was built. Alas, it was almost entirely destroyed by the Turkish invasions. Rebuilt in the Baroque spirit of the 18th century, this is how the castle and its immediate surroundings now look: yellow, pistachio-green or pink middle-class facades. Strolling through the maze of cobbled streets, between the Mátyás Church and the two "royal" museums, is a real pleasure. A pleasure shared by all, since it's also one of the most visited places in Budapest!
Széll Kálmán tér ex-Moszkva tér (2nd district) is to Buda what Blaha Lujza is to Pest: a transient district with a charm of its own that's not immediately obvious. Nothing to do with the elegant villas of the very peaceful "Rose Hill" (Rózsadomb, also 2nd district) further north. It was the Turkish dervish Gül Baba, whose mausoleum can be visited, who introduced the cultivation of the famous flower to the area. Still Turkish, the Lukács, Veli Bej and Király baths are among the city's most authentic.
Gellérthegy (11th district) is a district named after the tutor of Stephen's son (István), the Benedictine Gerard (Gellért). In 1046, he had to endure a revolt by Hungarians who, forced to convert to Christianity, threw him off the hill. The citadel can be reached via the Jubileumi Park, and you can walk down the narrow lanes to the Erzsébet Bridge, past the Szent Gellért monument. From the top of Mount Gellért, the view of Budapest and the Danube is dazzling. The Art Nouveau baths at the bottom of the mountain - attached to the famous Hotel Gellért - are a beautiful place to relax. The pleasant surroundings of Kosztolányi Dezső and Móricz Zsigmond tér (further along) are ideal for students (several faculties and colleges).
Between Mount Gellért and Castle Hill, two districts, Tabán (1st district) and Krisztinaváros (1st-12th districts), form a narrow valley. In the 17th century, Tabán took its name from the Turkish tabágháne ("tanners' workshops"). The tanners have since disappeared, and the district is now home to a park and the splendid Rácz baths, a combination of Turkish and 19th-century baths on a single site. The Rudas baths, an authentic Ottoman spa, are located nearby in the Víziváros district (2nd arrondissement), beyond the Erzsébet bridge. Krisztina, named after one of Maria Theresa of Austria's daughters, only began to develop in 1750, and really took off at the beginning of the 20th century with the construction of Krisztina Boulevard, which arcs around Castle Hill.
