Budapest

Hungarian cooking is hearty and built around pork, beef, poultry, onions, sour cream and paprika. Stews and soups are central, and lunch is often the main meal of the day. Pickles, fresh bread and seasonal vegetables often accompany meals.

Budapest also has a strong baking and café tradition, with layered cakes, strudels and pastries that owe much to Central European influences. Street snacks such as fried dough and chimney cake are widely sold, and markets offer sausages, cured meats, cheeses and produce.

Hungarian wine is a good match for the food, with regions such as Tokaj and Eger well known, and fruit brandy called pálinka is a traditional spirit. Many modern restaurants also give regional dishes a lighter, contemporary treatment.

The area was settled in Celtic times, and the Romans founded the town of Aquincum in the first century AD in what is now Óbuda. Magyar tribes arrived in the late ninth century, and the medieval towns of Buda and Pest grew into important centres of the Kingdom of Hungary, with Buda becoming a royal seat.

Ottoman forces took Buda in 1541 and held the area for about 145 years, leaving behind bathhouse traditions. Habsburg-led forces retook it in 1686. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the cities grew rapidly, and in 1873 Buda, Pest and Óbuda merged into a single city. The 1896 millennial celebrations spurred much of the monumental building still seen today.

The twentieth century brought heavy losses in both world wars, including the siege of 1944 to 1945, followed by decades of communist rule. The 1956 uprising against Soviet control was a defining event. Hungary moved to a multiparty system in 1989 and the city has since restored much of its historic fabric.

Hungarians tend to be formal on first meeting, with a handshake and a polite greeting. Hungarian is unrelated to most neighboring languages, so a few words such as köszönöm for thank you are appreciated, though English is commonly spoken in tourist areas.

In baths, swimwear is expected in most pools and a towel and sandals are useful. Some baths have single-sex or nude sections on set days, so check rules before going. On public transport, give up seats to older people and validate tickets as required.

Tipping in restaurants is customary, and check whether a service charge is already added to the bill. Clinking beer glasses is traditionally avoided in Hungary, a custom linked to the 1849 executions after the revolution, though many people no longer observe it strictly.