2 Best Sights in Budapest, Hungary

Turn-of-the-century Andrássy út links Erzsébet Square with the Városliget and makes for one of Budapest's most pleasant walks, with lots of places to stop along the way. Modeled after Paris' Champs-Élysées, from its starting point at Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út, you can see all the way up to its end at Hősök tere. Lined with spectacular neo-Renaissance mansions and town houses featuring fine facades and interiors, but also shady green trees, it was recognized as a World Heritage Site in 2002. Today, it’s a high-end promenade filled with cafés and restaurants, embassies, and hotels. It's no accident that the city's oldest metro line goes all the way up it, with direct stops at the Opera House and other significant sites in its vicinity.

Running south from Vörösmarty Square to Elizabeth Bridge is Váci utca, Budapest's best-known shopping street and most unabashed tourist zone. This pedestrian precinct with electric 19th-century lampposts has a lot of chain outlets, souvenir stores, and overpriced cafés, but also springs the odd surprise with high-quality china shops, independent bookstores, and folk-craft emporiums. Most notable of all is the architecture, which is consistently beautiful: look out for Philanthia Virág at number 9, a tacky flower and gift shop set within a beautiful Art Nouveau building blessed with original tiles, frescoes, and arches. Other notable Art Nouveau buildings along Váci utca include the four-story Thonet House (no. 11/A) by renowned architect Ödön Lechner, and—somewhat surprisingly—the McDonald's on the corner of Régi posta. It was Hungary's first, and remains one of Europe's most beautiful.