Tours in Budapest

Walk down to the Danube embankment on the Pest side in the evening and you will see where the city actually spends its time. People sit on the stone edge with their legs over the water, looking across at the hill on the other bank. Budapest is really two towns facing each other over a wide river, and you feel that every time you cross.

Pest is flat, busy and made for wandering. Boulevards run out in wide arcs, courtyards open behind heavy doors, and the cafes spill onto the pavement as soon as the weather allows. St. Stephen's Basilica sits in the middle of it, and the square in front is a good place to stand and get your bearings. Not far off, the Parliament stretches along the river, and it looks even better from a distance than from beneath it.

Buda is the other mood. Climb up to Castle Hill and the streets narrow, the lanes turn cobbled and quiet, and Matthias Church and the Fisherman's Bastion give you the view back over Pest. The Chain Bridge links the two sides, and walking across it at dusk, with the lights coming on, is one of the easiest things to do here and one of the best.

In the weeks before Christmas the squares around the Basilica fill with wooden stalls, hot wine and the smell of chimney cake. That is the season we have a tour for: a photo shoot with a local photographer who knows where the light falls on the bridge and the promenade. Beyond that, the thermal baths, the ruin bars of the old Jewish quarter and the big market hall are all worth asking a local guide about, and a request is always welcome.