Budapest

The Romans built the town of Aquincum here, enjoying the area's hot springs. Magyar tribes arrived in the late ninth century, and Hungary became a Christian kingdom under Saint Stephen around 1000. The Mongols sacked the area in 1241, after which King Béla IV fortified Buda's castle hill. The Ottomans ruled for nearly 150 years from 1541 and left behind several bathhouses still in use today. In 1873 the towns of Buda, Óbuda and Pest merged into Budapest, which flourished as the second capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The twentieth century brought war, the Holocaust, and the 1956 uprising against Soviet rule, crushed by tanks. Since 1989, Budapest has become one of Europe's most vibrant capitals.

Bathing is a Budapest tradition: locals play chess in the open-air pools of the Széchenyi baths, even in winter. The city's ruin bars, set up in abandoned courtyards and buildings, have become a symbol of its creative energy. Hungarian food is warming and paprika-rich: goulash soup, chicken paprikash, lángos (fried flatbread) and chimney cake. Classical music runs deep, from Liszt to Bartók, and the State Opera House is one of Europe's finest.