When you say “Boulevard de Paris”, everyone immediately thinks of the wide avenue in the city of love, which breathes space and freshness. But this idea will definitely take over when you visit Budapest. The Paris of the East, as Budapest is called, has very wide streets and squares, almost everywhere. It really touches your eyes.

The fact that no building in Hungary can be taller than 96 meters adds to the feeling of space. Only two beauties had grown this tall. Hungarian Parliament Building and St. Basilica The famous Stephen. It was no coincidence that the two of them were of the same height. Their equality symbolizes that no value they represent is more important than another. The chosen number 96 also has magical meaning. The Hungarians founded the Kingdom of Hungary in 896.

Budapest is a city that is not only very fun, but also mysterious and fun. It hides a cave beneath its foundation. The local underground world consists of more than two hundred cavities. Many of them are open to tourists. You can see with your own eyes where Vlad Tepe, known as Count Dracula, was imprisoned, where were command posts during the Cold War with military hospitals, or where prehistoric people lived.

The Pauline monks, in turn, run a cave church on Gellért Hill, which was inspired by a similar stone structure from Lourdes, France. But the Paulines didn’t always find peace and quiet here. In 1951, on Easter Monday, the entire order was arrested by state security and charged with high treason. The head monk was executed and the rest of the staff ended up in a labor camp. To get the job done, the Communists made an entrance. The cave church did not see the light of day again until the fall of communism in 1989.

A local rarity is the flood of bronze statues of all sizes, the historical value of which is not dizzying. Among very popular officials, for example, the character actor Peter Falk aka Detective Colombo with his trademark cigar between his fingers and a hand on his forehead as a gesture of understanding. His loyal canine companion is nearby.

If you are interested in the world of film, you will also stop by Bud Spencer whose depiction is very masculine. A fat, motionless cop whose big belly spoke of delicious Hungarian cuisine, also seemed like a nice guy. You will meet him on your way to the basilica. Before the opera, you will find a man with two faces. On the other hand, the statue of Ronald Reagan faces the American embassy.

That’s just a brief mention of the statues, which you are guaranteed not to miss. Now we will stop at those that are only fifteen centimeters in size, but they are literally the bronze treasures of the Hungarian capital. Dozens of guerrilla statues were placed in public without official permission by Hungarian artist Mihály Kolodka, who is from Uzhhorod in Transcarpathia.

She moved back to Budapest with her family a few years ago and has been decorating it systematically ever since. The first statue is the 15-inch Fokukac worm, which is opposite the parliament. This fairy tale character is very important to its creator personally, as he learned the Hungarian language while watching it on television. His unauthorized collections include, for example, the dead squirrel, Lisa Simpson or the Rubik’s Cube, which wanted to attract the attention of its discoverer, as well as the Hungarian Ernö Rubik.

The reason for frequent visits to Budapest is its hot springs. Not to mention you won’t find a city in the world that has more healing water. This is really. Underneath the city there is an enormous supply of springs, which produce hot water, even hippos from the local zoo roll over in warm baths.

If you want to admire UNESCO monuments, you will come here. But behind one of them, you have to go underground again. This is the local metro M1 line, which is the oldest continental line in Europe and has worked flawlessly since its construction. Another European Championship that the Hungarian capital can be proud of is the Jewish tabernacle. The Great Synagogue was the largest synagogue on the Old Continent.

If you want to see the city from above, choose the dome of St. Stephen’s Basilica. Take a look at the interior before leaving one of the lifts. In addition to the beautiful Venetian mosaics, you’ll also see the mummy fist of the founder of the Hungarian state, St. Stephen himself.

The thousand year old hand had traveled a lot in the past as its owner changed frequently. He was first sent to Dubrovnik for safekeeping. It is believed that at this time the fist was separated from the arm. While the upper part went to Lemberg (now Lviv), the lower part went to Vienna. That each branch of the church should not envy themselves. Over time, Sacred Rights were also found in Schönbrunn and during the war in Salzburg.

Anyone who travels a lot knows that they usually have to prepare for higher expenses than at home. Sweet lovers will definitely not enjoy themselves in Prague because they will enjoy sweets in Budapest for the same money. The sight of a freshly baked cake decorated with calligraphic precision is guaranteed to impress.

You can really enjoy festively in the castle district on the Buda side of the Ruszwurm pastry shop. Empress Sissi also regularly threw herself out of her nails. The equipment has barely changed here for nearly two hundred years, and it was here that they made Linz’s cake for the first time. Just a few steps away is Coffee House Korona, where everything tastes really good.

Of course there are many floating villages in the world, but of course they will not be typical of Central Europe. An even more unusual spectacle can be found at Lake Bokod, less than 80 kilometers from the metropolis. More than four hundred long wooden piers lead to the typical fisherman’s houses on stilts.

Not only the beautiful floating house is unique, but the entire lake, where the water never freezes. This is due to a nearby power plant, from which hot water flows into the lake. Therefore, this lake is ideal for year-round fishing. It’s not crumbs either. Bordered by two villages. The first of the same name on the west side and Oroszlány on the east. This page is the most beautiful. Just watch out for the owner. They don’t like it when someone runs under their window.