4 Best Sights in Budapest, Hungary

This fascinating complex comprises the reconstructed, extremely evocative remains of a Roman settlement dating from the first century AD. Careful excavations have unearthed a varied selection of artifacts and mosaics, providing a tantalizing glimpse of what life was like in the provinces of the Roman Empire. A gymnasium and a central heating system have been unearthed, along with the ruins of two baths and a shrine once operated by the mysterious cult of Mithras. The Aquincum múzeum (Aquincum Museum) displays the dig's most notable finds: ceramics; a red-marble sarcophagus showing a triton and flying Eros on one side and on the other, Telesphorus, the angel of death, depicted as a hooded dwarf; and jewelry from a Roman lady's tomb. There are reconstructed Roman board games, interactive video games, and a reconstruction of an ancient Roman musical organ in the basement level. The museum also manages the Thermae Maiores or 'Great Bath' complex as part of the Roman Baths Museum, an ancient spa now incongruously located in a pedestrian underpass by Flórián tér station. It's free to visit.

Near the main Aquincum ruins—but functioning separately—a fine third-century Roman dwelling, Hercules Villa, takes its name from the myth depicted on its beautiful mosaic floor. The ruin was unearthed between 1958 and 1967 and now stands, rather incongruously, among a large housing estate. Worth popping your head in after the Aquincum visit if you feel the need for more ruins; admission is free.

Probably dating from the second century AD, Óbuda's Roman military amphitheater once held some 16,000 people and, at 144 yards in diameter, was one of Europe's largest. A block of dwellings called the Round House was later built by the Romans above the amphitheater; massive stone walls found in the Round House's cellar were actually parts of the amphitheater. Below the amphitheater are the cells where prisoners and lions were held while awaiting confrontation.

The ruins of this Dominican Cloister once served as the home of the Holy Saint Margaret, patron saint of the island. According to legend, King Béla IV honored a vow he made to give his child to the church if he was successful in battle against invading forces. He founded this nunnery on the Island as the convent home to his daughter Margaret who lived here from the age of 10 until her death. She was canonized long after her death by Pope Pius XII in 1943. Being an important figure in Hungarian historical lore, Margaret is usually depicted in artwork wearing a nun's habit and holding a white lily and a book. Her one-time grave, marked by a red marble tombstone, can be found in the middle of the excavated building site, to this day covered in fresh wreaths and flowers.