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Hungary is a country with a complex sense of identity - not generally regarding itself as Balkan or Slavic, but Western. The country’s
assortment of cultures can be traced back through its history. A history that has seen it settled by the Magyars (a Finno-Ugric tribe who arrived via Russia in the ninth century) and ruled by the
Arpad Dynasty, devastated by a Mongol invasion in the 13th century, ruled by the Turks in the 16th and 17th centuries and
later allied to Austria.
Being landlocked, this mosaic of cultures and lineage can also be explained by the country’s shared borders with the Slovak Republic, Ukraine, Romania, Croatia, Serbia,
Austria and Slovenia. Yet despite being landlocked, Hungary contains some beautiful stretches of water (such as Lake Balaton) and pulsates with hot, medicinal springs.
Hungary has also managed to retain its unique language and customs. Immense pride in their homeland may lead Hungarians to persuade the tourist in Budapest to spend some time also
exploring Hungary’s thousands of acres of vineyards and orchards, plus 11 national parks and hundreds of protected areas. Not to mention its historic urban centres like Eger, Szentender, Estergom and Sopron.
Nevertheless, Budapest is a fantastic capital city in its own right, situated on a beautiful stretch of the Danube. The city is made up of two parts
- Buda, the older, more graceful and cobbled part, and Pest, the commercial centre. The capital is a lively city that has long been a haven for writers, artists and musicians. And Hungary has a lot of them, with rich traditions in folk and classical music, the birthplace of Liszt and Bartók. Budapest
is also filled with the strains of much more modern music, which spills out of nightclubs, trendy bars and discos.
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Overview 
