Budapest, dramatically situated on the Danube, is a city that makes an immediate impression on the visitor. It exhibits all the scale, grandeur and excitement of a major capital, yet it is a city absorbed by nostalgia, and openly scarred by its history. The contradictory nature of Budapest issuch that a fuller understanding of its rich and idiosyncratic culture can greatly enhance the traveller's enjoyment of the city.The first part of Michael Jacobs's cultural guide features lively essays, interwoven with some of the author's own experiences, and dealing with key aspects of the city's life, history, and culture, from its Turkish baths to its food, from its Renaissance splendour to the repressive years prior tothe Uprising of 1956. The second half of the book is made up of six `walks' arranged by district, enabling visitors to experience the city's evolution for themselves, and featuring all the major sites and a personal selection of less well-known, often neglected ones.