Historic and happening: discover the best of Budapest
Wander along the Danube that separates the original cities of Buda and Pest and you'll come to one of Europe's most awe-inspiring creations, the Hungarian Parliament Building. Neo-gothic on the outside, neo-Renaissance within, this magnificent building sets the stage for Budapest's captivating collection of baroque and art nouveau structures.
Just a short two-and-a-half-hour flight from London with British Airways, the city is ideal for a weekend away, or a longer break, when you can take in the architecture at a more leisurely pace.
One of the most enjoyable introductions to Budapest is a ride on the city's distinctive yellow trams, specifically line 2. This runs all along the Pest embankment, giving you superb views of Buda across the river. Hop off at the 19th-century Chain Bridge and take the cute Sikló Funicular up to the Vár (Castle Hill), home to some of the city's most grandiose buildings.
Visitors can't resist Fisherman's Bastion, a 19th-century fortress with ornate towers and turrets – not to mention fabulous views of the city. Its equally ornate neighbour, the gothic Matthias Church, dazzles with its intricately patterned tiled roof and soaring spires. In the midst of all this splendour is the enormous Buda Castle, which originally dates from the 13th century and now houses the Hungarian National Gallery and its vast collection of Hungarian and international art and artefacts over the past millennium.
Cross the Danube to Pest for more cultural treasures, notably the Museum of Fine Arts, an impressive neoclassical building housing more than 100,000 by European masters and one of central Europe's most significant collections of Egyptian antiquities. Its setting is just as impressive – right beside Heroes' Square, the largest in Budapest, which was built in 1896 to commemorate the millennium of the Hungarian settlement of the Carpathian basin. Here in this handsome open space, people gather regularly for cultural events and festivals.
It's also the gateway to City Park (Városliget), which has some of Budapest's most enticing attractions spread across 121 hectares (300 acres). One not to be missed is the Széchenyi Thermal Baths, whose thermal springs flow into indoor and outdoor pools set within a fantastically lavish neo-baroque complex painted in vivid yellow. Wallowing in thermal baths is a Hungarian pastime as important as stopping for a coffee, a cake and a good gossip in a coffeehouse, and Széchenyi is one of the most delightful places to soothe the body and spirit. If you're in Buda, you could take in the Rudas Thermal Bath, which has a 16th-century Turkish bath as its centrepiece, as well as a contrasting modern rooftop pool overlooking the Danube.
Don't be in too much of a rush to leave City Park, however. In the summer, go boating on City Park Lake. When Budapest turns into a winter wonderland later in the year, the frozen lake becomes a magical setting for ice-skating. Music lovers, meanwhile, will be enthralled by the House of Music Hungary, a unique futuristic music museum designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto and which has proved a hit since it opened in 2022. Under an undulating roof surrounded by trees, it combines a music museum with an open-air stage, concert halls and exhibition spaces – typical of the creative spirit that flows through the city.
As you make your way back towards the centre of the city, you'll walk along Budapest's grandest avenue, Andrássy Avenue, which combines stately villas with major cultural institutions including the grand Hungarian State Opera House. Shoppers know Andrássy Avenue as the place to browse luxury boutiques such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci. Throughout this district runs bustling Váci Street, the main pedestrianised artery lined with shops and restaurants.
Head to the Central Market Hall, whose stalls showcase mouthwatering local produce in a splendid neo-gothic hall. Or, alternatively, make the most of the city's burgeoning Michelin-starred restaurant scene. You'll find a two-star venue in modern Hungarian, Stand and six one-star offerings, from Salt to Borkonyha Winekitchen. There are also Bib Gourmand options in Goli (the nickname locals gave to the historic building), with its Mediterranean and Middle Eastern mix, and N28 Wine and Kitchen, where 95% of the wines are Hungarian.
In the midst of buzzing Pest is another of Budapest's architectural highlights, the imposing 19th-century St Stephen's Basilica. Not just a place of worship, it also hosts weekly concerts and other cultural events within its glittering interior. Climb to the top of its dome and you'll be rewarded with panoramic views of Budapest, including the beautiful green and gold Zsolnay-tiled roof of the art nouveau Postal Savings Bank.
Save one of Budapest's most relaxing sights for last – the green oasis that is Margaret Island in the Danube is ideal to jog around or explore by bike. Lose yourself in nature within wooded trails and landscaped parks, before going for a swim in the thermal waters of Palatinus Strand Baths.
There's no better way to enjoy the stunning panoramic views of the city than to take time out on the island with a picnic. With that in mind, don't forget to pack a bottle of the country's fine Tokaji white or a rich red wine – it's the perfect way to savour them.
Find out more and book your Budapest trip at ba.com. When you fly with British Airways, you'll enjoy a generous hand-baggage allowance and best of British service. You'll also be able to book an ATOL-protected holiday package with British Airways Holidays, with the option of low deposits and flexible payments
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The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
British Airways flight attendant wins discrimination claim after being fired for being unable to fly
A long-serving British Airways cabin crew member has won a discrimination claim after she was fired when she became unable to fly due to stress and anxiety. Jennifer Clifford worked for the airline for almost 40 years, but developed symptoms of stress and depression in September 2021, leading to a period of sick leave. She was temporarily moved to a ground role, but was dismissed after she was still unable to return to her flying role at the end of 2022. Ms Clifford said her condition was minimised by the company, with managers having described her as having 'just a little bit of anxiety'. A tribunal has accepted her discrimination claim, with it concluding the airline should have considered redeploying her to an alternative ground role rather than dismissing her. Ms Clifford began working as cabin crew for British airways in 1983 before rising to become an inflight manager by the Covid-19 pandemic. She was placed on furlough in April 2020 and was told she would be made redundant in August. However, she was then offered the alternative role of cabin crew, two grades below her previous job, and launched a grievance about this. In September 2021, she began her period of sick leave, her first in almost 40 years working at the airline. She told her bosses she would be comfortable committing to a phased return in a ground role in Gatwick Airport, which was closer to her home than her usual Heathrow base. She was offered a role in the Heathrow Help Hub and began a phased return to work two days a week here in September 2022. When this increased to three days a week, Ms Clifford told BA that she found this overwhelming and that the long commute to Heathrow and the fast-paced and noisy environment was having a significant impact on her wellbeing. Her line manager here, Nigel Landy, asked her multiple times why she felt overwhelmed and described her as having 'just a little bit of anxiety'. The tribunal also heard how Mr Landy told staff: 'If you don't like working here then leave.' When she was still unable to fly by the end of 2022, her termination date was set for March 2023 but she left in December 2022. Ms Clifford's complaint was upheld by the tribunal judge Emma Hawksworth, who said: 'The claimant needed a phased return in a ground duties placement before returning to her full contractual flying role. 'That was because of the need to rebuild her confidence and to give time to adjust to working again, and these requirements arose from her disability. She had problems working at the help hub because of the busy environment, arising from her anxiety and depression causing her to feel overwhelmed. She struggled with the long commute because that increased feelings of stress and anxiety arising in consequence of her disability. 'She remained unable, because of anxiety and depression, to return to her flying role when required to do so by the respondent at the end of the resourcing and recruitment placement.' The judgement added: 'The claimant had very long service with the respondent. She had had a lengthy period of absence from work, in part because of things for which she was not responsible: a long period of furlough and a long period when the respondent was considering her grievance. 'A reasonable employer would have given the claimant a longer and more suitable phased return and would, in line with its policy, have considered redeployment to a ground based role before deciding to dismiss her.' Ms Clifford's additional claim of sex discrimination was dismissed.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
British Airways air stewardess sacked for being too scared to fly wins discrimination claim
A long-serving British Airways flight attendant has won a discrimination claim after being sacked when she became too anxious to fly. Jennifer Clifford worked for the airline for almost 40 years before the Covid-19 pandemic, an employment tribunal heard. However, during a period of furlough and sick leave, she developed symptoms of stress and depression, leading to her being declared unfit to fly. After being temporarily moved to a ground role, Ms Clifford was still unable to take to the skies by the end of 2022 and was fired. She sued BA claiming that a manager had 'minimised' the severity of her condition by describing it as 'just a little bit of anxiety'. And she is now set for compensation after the tribunal found the airline should have given her more credit for her long service and considered a different role for her that didn't involve flying. The hearing in Reading, Berks, was told Ms Clifford began working for BA in 1983 as a member of cabin crew. She had risen to the rank of inflight manager by the time of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and was placed on furlough leave in April. During her period of leave she was told that she would be made redundant in August 2020. This was later revoked and she was offered a role as cabin crew, two grades below her previous rank, a move she launched a grievance about. Ms Clifford remained on furlough until September 2021 but then started a period of sick leave, based on depression and work-related stress. This was her first period of sick leave in her almost 40 years at BA, the hearing was told. Ms Clifford later proposed a phased return from Gatwick Airport, rather than her normal base at Heathrow, as this would reduce her commuting time. She also asked to work on the ground two days a week. In September 2022 she was told that if she did not make herself fit to fly then a termination date for her to lose her job would be set. She was later offered a role in the Heathrow Help Hub, an area which help flyers and disabled passengers within the airport. During this time her manager Nigel Landy described her as having 'just a little bit on anxiety' and said 'if you don't like working here then leave', the tribunal heard. A termination date was set for March 2023 due to her inability to fly, but she left in December 2022. Upholding her claims of disability discrimination, failure to make reasonable adjustments and unfair dismissal, Employment Judge Emma Hawksworth concluded: 'Ms Clifford needed a phased return in a ground duties placement before returning to her full contractual flying role. 'That was because of the need to rebuild her confidence and to give time to adjust to working again, and these requirements arose from her disability. 'She remained unable, because of anxiety and depression, to return to her flying role when required to do so by [British Airways] at the end of the resourcing and recruitment placement. 'Mr Landy telling [Ms Clifford] she had "just a little bit of anxiety" was clumsy and suggested to [Ms Clifford] that he was minimising her condition. It came across as an attempt to dismiss how she was feeling. '[Ms Clifford] had very long service with [BA]. She had had a lengthy period of absence from work, in part because of things for which she was not responsible: a long period of furlough and a long period when the respondent was considering her grievance. 'A reasonable employer would have given her a longer and more suitable phased return and would, in line with its policy, have considered redeployment to a ground based role before deciding to dismiss her.'
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Telegraph
Why a river cruise is the most underrated parent-and-child break
On our third day afloat, a realisation surfaced: river cruising is much like watching a magic trick unfold in tantalising slow motion. The night before, I'd drawn the tasselled velvet drapes on Vienna's urban waterfront, the sun dipping behind glassy skyscrapers. By morning, a theatrical tug of the curtains revealed an entirely different scene – ta da! – turreted fortresses and rolling vineyards in storybook Dürnstein, some 50 miles further along the snaking River Danube. Best of all, not once had I needed to ferry my daughter from A to B, as the logistics of travel had been covertly orchestrated on our behalf. And all while we slept soundly in plump Savoir beds. I had set sail with eight-year-old Indiana on Uniworld's Enchanting Danube tour, a week-long voyage weaving through Hungary, Slovakia, Austria and Germany. The cruise was part of Uniworld's Generations Collection: all-inclusive river journeys departing during school holidays, tailored to families with daily outings, baking and mocktail making workshops, and a kid's cinema lounge stacked high with games. We had signed up for the Austria to Germany leg of the tour, joining the S.S. Maria Theresa in the port of Vienna. Not too big, not too small, the boat's size felt just right for this duo of novice cruisers, with three floors accommodating 130 passengers. Stepping onboard, it quickly became clear these trips aren't just popular with parents and children. They're a hit with the older generation, too, as most families had brought grandparents along for the ride. Following a suitably regal welcome – a concert of Mozart and Strauss in the gilded halls of Vienna's grand Heeresgeschichtliches Museum – our coaches rolled out the next morning, bound for one of the city's crown jewels: Schönbrunn Palace. Said to house some 1,444 rooms (though who's counting?), this magnificent Baroque residence was once the summer playground of a young Marie Antoinette. We were there to explore her aristocratic childhood and to contrast it with the far less pampered lives of her contemporaries, in the palace's charming Children's Museum, tucked away in a side wing. Far from a dusty relic, this immersive museum feels more like an imperial play park. We were greeted with closets overflowing with fancy court costumes and towering wigs for dressing up. The children – there were 23 in our group ranging in age from four to mid-teens – made their way to the lower-ground exhibits by whizzing down a slide, no less. Winding our way through chambers dripping in gold, we all tried our hand at scrubbing laundry in an iron tub, staggering around on wooden stilts and decoding the oh-so secret language of fan etiquette. For the grand finale, a royal dining table was laid out in its Sunday best, which the children promptly took over, serving up delicacies such as plastic lobster to the adults. 'It's even better than Buckingham Palace,' Indiana announced as we left, declaring the wig salon, where children get to style 18th-century coiffures with feathers, the show-stealer. Back on board, the transition from palace grandeur to passenger ship was a startlingly seamless one. The boat's fabulously splashy interiors almost rivalled the fairy-tale mansions that kept appearing just beyond the portholes. This was no accident, hotel manager Ruben Santos explained, as we toured the ship. Every detail, from hand-painted trompe-l'œil murals and sumptuous fabric wallpaper to marbled bathrooms and canopied beds, pays homage to the Habsburgs, a mighty dynasty that ruled Austria for more than 600 years. All this opulence is anchored by a sweeping staircase framed by a portrait of the formidable ruler Maria Theresa, twinkling under a Venetian Murano glass chandelier in the boat's lobby. Less generic hotel, more Versailles on water, it's an aesthetic vision that would make the heart of any maximalist sing with joy. Speaking of warbling, and buoyed by a leisurely day drifting along the Danube and meandering through medieval towns, we soon found ourselves warming up the vocal cords on a Sound of Music -themed excursion, having docked in Linz in Northern Austria. 'That film has been the best marketing campaign imaginable for our region,' said our no-nonsense guide, Sandra Preiss, crackling through the coach's microphone. With a shrug, she added that the musical barely caused a ripple in Austria, despite being largely filmed here 60 years ago. 'The hills are alive/with the sound of music,' came the singsong over the speakers as we rounded a bend into the lakeside town of Mondsee. Here, we were met with a scene seemingly plucked from the film's poster, minus the von Trapps twirling across the grassy meadow. Craggy Alpine peaks rose above mirrored lakes, their reflections broken only by gingerbread-style cottages dotting the shore. We ducked into Basilika St Michael, the brooding Gothic church where Maria wed the Captain, before settling into a dinky café for an apple strudel roughly the size of a brick. Thirty minutes later we were in Salzburg, waltzing through a city forever (for Brits and Americans, at least) linked to singing nuns and sweeping scores. At the Residence Fountain, considered one of Europe's finest baroque monuments, we channelled Maria, splashing our hands just as she did while declaring 'confidence in confidence alone', as horse-drawn carriages trip-trapped past. Winding through alleys flanked by frothy rococo facades, we arrived at the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, born in 1756. In homage, Indiana insisted we pop into a sweet shop that's been hand-dipping Mozartkugel (Mozart balls) since 1865. We savoured the marzipan-and-chocolate confections beneath the whitewashed castle that once played the part of Maria's convent, before yodelling our way back to the boat. For the cruise's final act, the curtain lifted on the penultimate day in the staggeringly pretty town of Passau, in Germany's Lower Bavaria. We joined the other families, by now feeling rather like the von Trapp collective, for a treasure hunt through the old town, led by tour guide Dominik Jesser in full lederhosen. As we dashed between clues, he deftly slipped in historical nuggets: this is the 'City of Three Rivers', where the now-familiar Danube meets the Inn and Ilz, and was also once a key Roman trading post. But it was all delivered with such a light touch, the children barely noticed they were learning. Watching the sun set from the deck later that evening, I realised that this was really the cruise's greatest sleight of hand. For a river journey that's taken in Unesco World Heritage sites, classical concerts and more historic palaces than you can shake a laced fan at, it had somehow transformed centuries of European high culture into something that felt entirely like play. Essentials Zoey Goto travelled as a guest of Uniworld, which offers the eight-day Enchanting Danube trip – one of its dedicated Generations departures – from £2,665 per person (based on two sharing; the price is the same for adults and children). This includes seven nights on an all-inclusive basis (including premium wines and spirits at any time), return flights, a full programme of activities for both adults and children, and a dedicated children's host. There are two departures next year during UK school holidays: July 19 and 26.
