Orientation

Budapest is 249 km south-east of Vienna, exactly halfway between Sofia and Berlin. The Danube is Budapest’s main artery, dividing historic Buda from commercial Pest.

All the eight bridges now spanning the Danube at Budapest were destroyed during WWII and were rebuilt.

Most visitors will arrive at one of the three main train stations: Keleti (east) or Nyugati (west) in Pest or Déli (south) in Buda. All are on the metro lines which converge at Deák tér on the northern edge of the city’s ‘inner town’.

From Deák tér, leafy Andrássy út runs Northeast to City Park (Városliget), while the ‘little ring road’, composed of Károly körút, Múzeum körút and Vámház körút, swings around to Szabadság Bridge and Gellért Hill. The ‘big ring road’ is made up of Szent István körút, Teréz körút, Erzsébet körút, József körút and Ferenc körút. Important crossroads in the city include the following squares: Baross tér before Keleti Railway Station; Blaha Lujza tér, where Rákóczi út meets Erzsébet körút; and Moszkva tér, just north of Déli train station and Castle Hill. Óbuda is at the western end of Árpád Bridge north of Buda, and Aquincum beyond that.

Budapest is divided into 22 kerület (or districts). The Roman numerals preceding the street name in all addresses indicate which district it is in.

The best folding map to the city is Cartographia’s Budapest City Map available everywhere for about $1. If you plan to see the city thoroughly or stay beyond a few days; the; Budapest Atlas, also from Cartographia, is indispensable. It has 40 detailed; maps of the city, an index with all the new street names and some descriptive information in English.