CITY INFORMATION
Budapest is the capital and most populous city of Hungary and one of the largest cities in the European Union, with a population of 3.3 million (comprising 33 percent of the population of Hungary).
Budapest became a single city occupying both banks of the Danuber river with the unification of Buda and Obuda on the west bank, with Pest on the east bank on November 17, 1873.
Budapest is an Alpha- global city, with strengths in arts, commerce, design, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, services, research, and tourism. Its business district hosts the Budapest Stock Exchange and the headquarters of the largest national and international banks and companies. The city has a gross metropolitan product more than $100 billion in 2015, thereby the city is among the Top 100 GDP performing cities in the world and making it one of the largest regional economies in the European Union. It is the highest ranked Central and Eastern European city on Innovation Cities Top 100 index. Budapest attracts 4.4 million international tourists per year, making it the 25th most popular city in the world and the 6th in Europe.
Among Budapest's important museums and cultural institutions, the most visited art museum is the Museum of Fine Arts, as well as the Hungarian National Gallery, which is noted for one of the largest collections of all periods of European art and comprises more than 100,000 pieces. The central area of the city along the Danube River is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has many notable monuments, including the Hungarian Parliament, Buda Castle, Fisherman's Bastion, Gresham Palace, Széchenyi Chain Bridge, Matthias Church and the Liberty Statue.
Budapest is home to numerous museums, galleries, libraries, sporting events and other cultural institutions, including the Hungarian National Museum, House of Terror, Franz Liszt Academy of Music, Hungarian State Opera House, National Széchényi Library and Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Budapest is cited as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, ranked as the most liveable Central and Eastern European city on EIU's quality of life index.
It has around 80 geothermal springs, the world's largest thermal water cave system, second largest synagogue, and third largest Parliament building.
Budapest has a humid continental climate that closely borders a cold semi-arid climate, with relatively cold winters and warm summers.
Winter can be cold and the city receives little sunshine. Snowfall is fairly frequent in most years, and nighttime temperatures of −10 °C (14 °F) are not uncommon between mid-December and mid-February, but have a long summer – lasting from May until mid-September – it is warm or very warm. While. Budapest has as much summer sunshine as many Mediterranean resorts.
