Only two decades ago Budapest was trapped in a communist-era time warp, but these days it is a city seriously going places. It has moved from an Eastern European backwater to the capital of a European Union member state, and once again crowds of Europeans are discovering the charms of a city that not only boasts beautiful architecture, but also offers visitors first rate attractions.

Modern Budapest was born in 1873, when Buda, Óbuda and Pest were officially joined. Today, the city is composed of 23 districts (kerületek), each designated on maps, street signs and addresses by Roman numerals (I to XXIII). Buda and Pest still remain distinct, however, creating a fascinating west bank-east bank contrast. Hilly Buda in the west is laced with narrow cobbled streets and packed with a mixture of medieval and neoclassical buildings almost totally reconstructed after WWII. Flat Pest lies to the east, its wide boulevards and art nouveau structures testimony to the boom Budapest experienced in the years before WWI. In between are remnants of Turkish and Communist occupation, creating a crazy mosaic of mismatching styles.

Despite its current contemporary outlook, the key to Budapest lies in its history, marked by alternate periods of great wealth and prosperity and devastating eras of political and social upheaval. The Magyars view their history not in black and white but in gold and silver. The first Golden Age coincided with the reign of Renaissance King Matyás (1458-90). The second Golden Age was symbolised by the 1896 millennium celebration in City Park and the Silver Age was the 20th-century inter-war period, when the likes of Evelyn Waugh and the Prince of Wales frequented Budapest's spas and casinos.

Balanced against the good times, however, there is the Turkish victory over the Hungarians in 1526 (with the ensuing rebuilding of Buda as a Turkish capital); the Hapsburg rule that continued to deprive Hungary of its autonomy until 1867; the devastation caused by WWII; and Russian control, only lifted in 1989.

These significant events have turned the Hungarians into a flexible and resilient race, proud of their national heroes. Even though the young in this city of almost 2 million are eager to adopt Western European values, they still retain a deep relationship with Hungary's fascinating past and value the traditions and history of the Magyar people highly. This has made Budapest a wonderful mix of old and new, and the political, intellectual, commercial and cultural capital of Hungary.