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Budapest: A Cultural Guide
Budapest, dramatically situated on the Danube, is a city that makes an immediate impression on a 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. A travelers enjoyment of the city will no
doubt benefit from a fuller understanding of Budapests rich and idiosyncratic culture. A Cultural Guide is a personal and informative introduction to Budapest, mingling history with anecdote, exploring past and present.
Travel writer Michael Jacobs begins his cultural guide with lively essays, interwoven with some of the author's own experiences, dealing with key aspects of the city's life, history, and culture. Jacobs also includes a series 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. Rich photos provide an introduction to Budapests beauty for the armchair traveler, and detailed maps plot out the nuances that make this Eastern European city one of
the most popular tourist sites of the 1990s.
doubt benefit from a fuller understanding of Budapests rich and idiosyncratic culture. A Cultural Guide is a personal and informative introduction to Budapest, mingling history with anecdote, exploring past and present.
Travel writer Michael Jacobs begins his cultural guide with lively essays, interwoven with some of the author's own experiences, dealing with key aspects of the city's life, history, and culture. Jacobs also includes a series 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. Rich photos provide an introduction to Budapests beauty for the armchair traveler, and detailed maps plot out the nuances that make this Eastern European city one of
the most popular tourist sites of the 1990s.
238 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 6, 2020
Lovely book
An unusual combination of short essays on Hungarian culture and history and walking tours which were extremely informative and covered aspects of Budapest I had not come across before.
Having read a lot about the history and cultural life of Budapest I was a little skeptical about whether reading this book would tell me anything new. There was a good chance it would just trot out all the cliches that other tourist books cover. But no! Jacobs writes intelligently and strays from the standard touristy cliches to explore lesser known aspects of the city.
And the walks are more like geographical essays. No need to walk the streets . They were still enjoyable and informative while reading them a thousand miles away in London.
Interesting side note : Jacobs mentions Fidesz a few times. Written in the mid 90s this has taken on new meaning with the rise of Ordan since then. A faint whiff of descriptions of the Nazi party in the 20s before they rose to power
An unusual combination of short essays on Hungarian culture and history and walking tours which were extremely informative and covered aspects of Budapest I had not come across before.
Having read a lot about the history and cultural life of Budapest I was a little skeptical about whether reading this book would tell me anything new. There was a good chance it would just trot out all the cliches that other tourist books cover. But no! Jacobs writes intelligently and strays from the standard touristy cliches to explore lesser known aspects of the city.
And the walks are more like geographical essays. No need to walk the streets . They were still enjoyable and informative while reading them a thousand miles away in London.
Interesting side note : Jacobs mentions Fidesz a few times. Written in the mid 90s this has taken on new meaning with the rise of Ordan since then. A faint whiff of descriptions of the Nazi party in the 20s before they rose to power
April 25, 2012
One of the better guides that I have used when exploring this fascinating city.
The author knows the Budapest and its people well, and shares his fascination and love of the place.
The author knows the Budapest and its people well, and shares his fascination and love of the place.
December 8, 2012
good introduction to budapest
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews