Buda and Pest — Two Cities in One

GUEST POST OVERVIEW: The Hungarian capital Budapest is in fact two cities, Buda and Pest, divided by the river Danube. The two parts of the city could not be more different, as Aleix describes in this week’s guest post.

Special thanks to Pedro Szekely for the amazing Budapest photography featured on this post. I plan to visit the country soon and can only hope to capture shots as elegant as these 🙂

Budapest is one of the great cities in Europe, one which is an ideal destination if you want to go somewhere with plenty of history, beautiful architecture and, of course, the most beautiful river on the continent, the Danube.

Hungary also has the added factor that it’s a country that’s not very expensive, especially compared to those cities like London in Western Europe, and therefore if you’re traveling from the west, you won’t find it expensive, especially not the Budapest apartments that you can find as accommodation.

Etymology of the City Name: Buda & Pest

Budapest however has only been a city for a couple of hundred years, since the cities of Buda, Pest and Obuda united.

Today, the city can clearly be distinguished into two: Buda and Pest, divided by the river Danube that splits the city into two. The origin of the name Buda comes from Bleda, the brother of Attila the Hun, who according to legend founded the city in the Middle Ages.

However, there’s the other theory that Buda is in fact a word that derives from voda, which means water, and it would be a modern translation from the name of the Roman settlement where the city is today, Aquincum, with clear references to the Danube. Pest also has many readings.

Some say that it derives from Pession, which is what the settlement was known as back in Roman times. Others say that it derives from the Slavic word for cave, peshtera, due to the burning caves that used to be there.

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Budapest ::: One City = Two

Despite the similarities in the different origins of the name, Buda and Pest are two clearly different parts of the city. Buda is the one on the left bank of the river Danube, the part of the city that proudly holds Buda Castle, one of the main attractions in Budapest. Since it’s on a hill, Buda has many narrow and winding roads that make it hard to circulate with a car, so going by foot up and down the hills is a much better option.

Also, this means that it’s a much more beautiful view of the city, since it’s on a hill, and seeing the Danube, the bridges and the Parliament Building on the Pest side is something you won’t forget in a hurry. All the monuments are in Buda too: the palaces, the churches, the temples… and the architecture ranges from all times, from Gothic to Baroque and even modern art.

Meanwhile, in Pest

Pest is the more modern part of the city, where there are no hills and getting around is easy on any kind of transport, whether it’s the metro, buses or cars. This is where you can find all the shops and the social life, where Budapest really comes alive and where you can enjoy a more modern experience as opposed to the more historical of Buda.

Pest also has some of the most interesting museums, such as the House of Terror or the Jewish Museum among others. Budapest is a really up and coming city, definitely something that is happening in Pest and not Buda. Heroes Square, the Parliament and the Szechenyi Baths are all here, which, Buda Castle aside, are considered the main landmarks in Budapest.

For a city that has two names, that has two sides to it and that is so beautiful in such different ways, Budapest really should be considered up there with Rome and Paris in terms of beauty.

Whether you prefer the more photogenic Buda or the more modern Pest, rent apartments in Budapest and enjoy these two ‘cities’ for an experience that’s different to anything the West can offer.

About the Author: Aleix Gwilliam is a 24 year old from Barcelona who looks English but thinks like a Catalan. He enjoys travelling, especially on old Czech trains, and trying to start conversations in Hungarian with people at Pecs station, even though his Hungarian is as good as his Bulgarian, in other words, not very good. He’s a trier.

Have you visited Pedro Szekely‘s site yet? He’s the photographer behind the stunning images featured on this post. Also, Pedro has a great flickr page