David Maddox
ASTROLL along the Pest-side bank of the Danube on a sunny day in Hungary’s capital city is perhaps the closest a traveller can get to experiencing a live art gallery.
It’s one of the most beautiful short city walks in Europe. Your eyes are fixed across the water at the marvels of Buda steadily moving from one Baroque architectural masterpiece to another.
The experience lifts the spirit. At the heart of things is the magnificent Buda Castle which was the royal palace of the AustroHungarian empire.
But Budapest, with its rich 1,100-year history as the home of the Magyars, is more than just another Habsburg adventure. It’s worthy of a long weekend or even a whole week.
With daily direct flights of three hours or less from Heathrow, Luton, Stansted, Gatwick, Manchester and Edinburgh, the city is easy to reach and fairly inexpensive.
Hungary is a country in love with its traditions and identity. And it’s keen both politically and economically to keep close ties with Britain post-Brexit, and is very welcoming to British tourists. Once there, visitors can experience the sort of quality of stylish hotels, restaurants and attractions you would expect at the higher end in London but at around half to two thirds the price.
I stayed at the InterContinental Hotel on the banks of the Danube with a fantastic view of Buda Castle from my window. It was within easy walking or at least short taxi distance from most of the attractions in the centre.
This is one of many high quality hotels populating the banks of the great river and the city centre.
Another great hotel can be found in a building which represents Britain’s long links with this historic nation – the recently restored Gresham Palace.
It’s a stunning Art Deco building originally constructed in 1904 by the Gresham Life Assurance Company of London.
The building itself represents one of the cultural triumphs of Hungary after it threw off the shackles of communist tyranny in 1989.
Visitors to Budapest, like me in the 1990s, were impressed by the Buda side of the river which had managed to mostly survive the ravages of war and communism, but
‘‘ Hungary is in love with its traditions, and is keen to keep close ties to Britain