16 Fun and Fascinating Facts That Will Make You Fall in Love With Budapest
From steamy spas to secret tunnels, here are 16 fun, weird, and wonderful facts that will make you want to book that flight immediately.
Let's start with the nightlife. Szimpla Kert, located in the Jewish Quarter, isn't just a bar—it's a cultural icon. This quirky spot was rated the #3 best bar in the world by Lonely Planet and is the top bar in Budapest. With mismatched furniture, surreal décor, hookah pipes, and dirt-cheap beer, Szimpla feels more like a wild house party in a post-apocalyptic art gallery than a typical bar. You'll find street food stalls, live music, and plenty of locals hanging out. Trust us—you'll never forget your night here.
Surprise! Budapest is the result of merging Óbuda, Buda, and Pest into one city in 1873. Originally called Pest-Buda, the name was later flipped to Budapest, probably because it sounded better. The majestic Széchenyi Chain Bridge was the first to link the hilly Buda side with the flat Pest side across the Danube—and it's still one of the most iconic sights in the city.
If you're thinking of exploring both sides of this vibrant city, take a look at some top-rated Budapest hotels to find the perfect spot to stay, whether you're into boutique charm or luxury relaxation.
The maddening little puzzle cube that's stumped millions? You can thank Budapest for that. The Rubik's Cube was created by Ernő Rubik, a local architect and professor. It became a worldwide craze in the 1980s and remains one of the best-selling puzzles of all time. And yes, most of us still can't solve it.
The Dohány Street Synagogue is the largest synagogue in Europe and the second largest in the world. It seats 3,000 people and was built between 1854 and 1859 in a stunning Moorish Revival style inspired by Spain's Alhambra. It's not just a place of worship—it's a moving monument to Hungarian Jewish history.
You wouldn't guess it from the shiny modern stations, but Budapest's metro system is the oldest in continental Europe, operating continuously since 1896. Only London's is older. Also, a pro tip: if you're 65+ and an EU citizen, you ride public transportation for free—trams, buses, even riverboats.
After the fall of communism, many buildings in Budapest were left abandoned. Locals began transforming them into 'ruin pubs'—creative, gritty spaces filled with found furniture, graffiti, plants, and weird art. These spots became hubs for artists, musicians, and partiers. Now, they're a must-see feature of Budapest nightlife.
Hungarian is one of the hardest languages in the world, and it's not even Indo-European. Unlike its neighbors, it shares no real roots with Slavic, Germanic, or Romance languages. Its closest relatives are Finnish and Estonian, but even those links are distant. Linguists still puzzle over its mysterious origins.
Both St. Stephen's Basilica and the Hungarian Parliament Building stand exactly 96 meters tall. This height isn't random—it's a symbolic reference to the year 896, when the Magyars founded the Hungarian state. No other building in the city is allowed to be taller.
In Hungary, paprika isn't just a spice—it's a lifestyle. Locals reportedly consume over 500 grams of it per year, per person. While the pepper it comes from was imported centuries ago, paprika was refined and turned into a national treasure in Budapest. Visit the markets—you'll see it in every shade of red.
Before Budapest became Hungary's political heart, the capital was Esztergom, a charming city on the Danube that still holds spiritual significance. Today, it's best known for its impressive basilica and as the birthplace of the country's first king, St. Stephen.
Thanks to geothermal activity, Budapest is built over more than 200 caves and tunnels. One of the most fascinating is the Budavári Labirintus, a 6-mile-long cave system beneath Castle Hill. It's been a prehistoric shelter, medieval prison, WWII hospital, and Cold War command post. Today, you can tour it—torchlight recommended.
Budapest is rightly called the 'City of Spas.' It boasts the highest number of thermal springs of any capital city. Iconic bathhouses like Széchenyi, Gellért, and Király use mineral-rich waters said to have healing properties. And in summer? Join a 'Sparty'—a full-on DJ party in a 100-year-old bath.
Inside Gellért Hill, you'll find the Sziklatemplom, or Rock Church. Founded in 1926 by Pauline monks, the chapel is literally carved into the side of the mountain. It's one of Budapest's lesser-known religious sites, offering a quiet contrast to the city's more grandiose churches.
The Hungarian Parliament Building is the third-largest of its kind in the world. And it's immaculately maintained—thanks to a team of 150 people who clean, repair, and restore everything from roof tiles (scrubbed twice a year!) to flags that are constantly inspected and replaced. Now that's attention to detail.
As you wander through the city, look closely at older buildings. You might notice small round marks—those are bullet holes from the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, when citizens rose up against Soviet oppression. Many of these scars remain untouched as a quiet tribute to the city's fight for freedom.
In the Buda hills lies the tomb of Gül Baba, a 16th-century Turkish dervish who died in 1541. His octagonal tomb, built between 1543 and 1548, became a place of Islamic pilgrimage and is considered the northernmost holy site in the Islamic world. It's a peaceful spot with stunning views of the city.
Whether you're soaking in a thermal bath, dancing in a ruin pub, exploring caves, or reading bullet holes on centuries-old walls, Budapest reveals itself layer by layer. It's a city of contrasts—elegant and gritty, modern and ancient, relaxing and electrifying—all at once.
So next time you're deciding between the usual European hotspots, remember: Budapest doesn't just tick boxes—it breaks the mold.
Need help planning your itinerary? I've got you covered.
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VRBO, another major short-term rental provider, did not respond to a request for comment. Pedro Homar knows this pressure well. As tourism director for Visit Palma, he's caught between visitors behaving badly in the Spanish city, and residents demanding action. 'We need to ensure that tourism is a sustainable industry, not just from an environmental point of view but also from a social and economic point of view,' he says. 'Our economy depends on tourism, so we either make sure we're physically sustainable or we will not have a future.' Since the pandemic, Palma has stopped promoting itself outright. Instead, it runs 'image campaigns' to shape perceptions — even running ads to call out antisocial behavior in certain resorts. In 2022, the city capped cruise ship arrivals at three a day, even though the port can handle six (Barcelona has followed suit, announcing in July that it will close two of its seven cruise terminals from 2026). It banned short-term rental apartments and Airbnbs in city-center residential buildings and has set a cap of 12,000 hotel beds: for a new hotel to open, another must close. Palma has also built up a 50-million-euro ($58 million) fund to buy and remove outdated hotels from circulation — typically cheaper properties that tend to attract budget tourists. 'It's a way of taking out of the market all these obsolete and old hotels that are no longer competitive and not the kind of product that we want for the destination,' Homar says. Palma's approach raises a question: Who has the 'right' to travel? Some destinations have long used high costs to deter mass tourism. Bhutan charges a $100-a-day 'sustainable development fund' fee. A gorilla-trekking permit in Rwanda costs $1,500 per person. Even Venice's 10-euro day-tripper fee has drawn criticism from locals for selling the city to the wealthy. Homar argues that destinations should have the right to choose their visitors, likening it to deciding whom to invite to dinner. 'I really do believe that as mature destinations, we have the right to choose the tourists that we want, and don't want,' he says. 'We want tourists that respect our personality, our way of living, our traditions. 'If you are thinking of coming over without a respectful point of view, we say, respectfully, we don't need you.' Josephides is blunter. 'They don't want the rabble anymore,' he says. 'It sounds awful to say so, and everyone's entitled to a holiday, but the numbers just keep growing. The whole thing is out of control. I can understand the democratization but it's up to the destination if they want clients without any money,' he adds. 'I'd like to drive a Ferrari, but I can't afford it.' For now, he says, most European destinations seem focused on capping numbers rather than pricing out budget travelers entirely. Restoring the goodwill of residents is just as important as tackling the crowds. 'A city where residents are not satisfied is a city that doesn't work,' says Ruben Santopietro, CEO of Visit Italy, a marketing company for various destinations across the country. 'It loses its identity completely. Residents feel excluded and neighborhoods become touristic.' Born in Naples, which saw protests over lack of housing and growing short-term rental numbers in March, Santopietro has watched his hometown surge in popularity — and housing prices — over the past decade. He warns that if growth continues unchecked, 'in five years, 50% of the città d'arte (Italian cities of culture) will become inaccessible.' Rome, Florence and Naples, he says, are already 'suffocated by tourism' almost to the point of no return. Visitors, he adds, actually want locals around. 'Venice belongs to the Venetians. If locals aren't there, they won't go. Putting residents at the center of tourism models is the only way to preserve our cities from becoming open-air museums.' Homar agrees, echoing the same phrase — 'putting residents at the center of the tourist strategy' — when talking about Palma's new five-year plan, adopted in 2023. Some hotels the city buys will be replaced with green spaces or converted to housing. In November, Palma will launch free cultural activities for locals — organ recitals, children's days in the old atelier of artist Joan Miró, theater concerts organized by Spanish national radio stations, guided architectural walks around the city — to 'uplift the sense of belonging and the pride of being a citizen.' 'All these initiatives will be in spaces that residents for some reason believe are just for tourists,' he says. 'We're seeing that the sense of belonging that residents used to have about being in Palma, they were slowly losing that and we need to change that dynamic.' Redistributing visitors can also help. The problem in Italy, Santopietro says, isn't that the country can't handle the numbers — it's that everyone goes to the same places. This summer, his agency launched a campaign, 'The 99% of Italy,' encouraging travelers to visit lesser-known destinations from Genoa to Tropea (some of which were their clients, but not all). 'We used social media platforms as they have created these imbalances,' he says, adding that they expect tangible results in the long term, as regional marketing campaigns take longer to take effect. Santopietro says that even in the busiest destinations, steps can be taken to disperse visitors. He suggests incentives — for example, discounted tickets to Rome's Colosseum for those who've already visited the ancient coastal town of Ostia Antica. In the short term, protests are likely to spread, says Estrella Diaz Sanchez, associate professor of marketing at Spain's University of Castilla-La Mancha. 'Some locals are frustrated about the number of tourists they receive, but I think the main factor is skyrocketing rents, driven by short-term holiday lets, pushing locals out of the housing markets,' she says. 'The solution isn't to reject tourism; it's to make it more inclusive and respectful.' Even Josephides, the tourism industry doomsayer, thinks recovery is possible. He points to Estoril, on the Lisbon coast, which in the 1970s was a mass-market destination. Authorities decided to push it upmarket, and succeeded. 'You can recover, but it takes time,' he says. 'It's much easier for a destination to control its growth rather than repair it afterwards.' See Full Web Article
