Budapest has a grand history in music, ranging from virtuoso pianist Franz Liszt (whose playing frequently induced the ladies to swoon but who was not, in fact, Hungarian) to the operas of Ferenc Erkel. In the early 20th century, Béla Bartók (1881-1945) and Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967) scoured the country to capture its vanishing folk songs. Their work has enriched today's vibrant Hungarian music scene.

Listings in English are provided in The Budapest Sun (website: www.budapestsun.com) but for more comprehensive coverage, in Hungarian, consult the weekly freebies PestiEst (website: www.est.hu) and Exit (website: www.exit.hu), or Pesti Műsor (website: www.pestimusor.hu), all available at news stands.You can buy tickets for most cultural and sporting events from TEX Ticket Express, I Déli pályaudvar, VI Andrássy út 18, and other locations, or ordered online at www.tex.hu.

Music: The relatively well funded Budapest Festival Orchestra (tel: (01) 355 4015; website: www.bfz.hu) is among the few to reach international standards and regularly features international soloists and conductors.

The Palace of Arts, IX Komor Marcell utca (tel: (01) 555 3300; website: www.mupa.hu), is Budapest's latest cultural centre. It features two concert venues: the Bartók National Concert Hall seats 1700 while the smaller Festival Theatre has a capacity of 452.

Zeneakadémia, VI Liszt Ferenc tér 8 (tel: (01) 462 4600; website: www.zeneakademia.hu), is Hungary's most attractive music venue and also houses the Ferenc (Franz) Liszt Music Academy - tickets are difficult to get, with most events being sold out many days in advance. Friday evening chamber concerts, given by Hungary's best musicians, are performed in Bartók Memorial House, II Csalán utca 29 (tel: (01) 394 2100; website: www.bartokmuseum.hu), the former residence of the great composer and now a museum in his honour. The Hungarian State Opera splits its repertoire between the prestigious Opera House, Magyar Állami Operaház, VI Andrássy út 22, and the enormous Social Realist Erkel Színház, VIII Köztársaság tér 30 (tel: (01) 333 0540).

Theatre: The Nemzeti Szinhaz (National Theatre), XI Bajor Gizi Park 1 (tel: (01) 476 6800; website: www.nemzetiszinhaz.hu), is the city's largest centre for theatre. It stages mainly domestic and international musicals/dramas. Katona József Szinház, V Petofi Sandor utca 5 (tel: (01) 318 6599; website: www.szinhaz.hu/katona), is reputed to show the best Hungarian theatre.

Dance: The Hungarian State Folk Ensemble, perform at the Buda Concert Hall, I Corvin tér 8 (tel: (01) 317 2754; website: www.hungariakoncert.hu), and put on professional performances of traditional dancing and music. Fans of modern dance can catch performances at the Trafó House of Contemporary Arts, IX Liliom utca 41 (tel: (01) 456 2040; website: www.trafo.hu).

Film: While Budapest has over 30 cinemas, only approximately 5% of films shown are Hungarian - a clear advantage for the traveller, especially as foreign films are often subtitled (rather than dubbed). There are many large mainstream cinemas and a wide range of art house cinemas.

The major annual multicultural, multilingual event is the Titanic International Film Festival (see Special Events) in April. Because of shortages of financing, joint productions are flourishing, such as the Hungarian-French Simon Magus (1999), which caused a sensation at the 1999 Hungarian Film Festival. Films shot in Budapest include a short sequence in The Music Box (1989), for which Jessica Lange won the Oscar for best actress; the funeral scene in Evita (1996); and Underworld (2003), a vampire-meets-werewolf movie starring Kate Beckinsale.

Literary Notes: Shakespeare used the word 'hungarian' in The Merry Wives of Windsor (circa 1600), as an adjective connoting beggarliness and thievishness. Perceptions of Hungary and Budapest have changed over the centuries but fascination has been an enduring factor. As early as 1840, English visitor Julia Pardoe wrote: 'There is such a constant variety and movement in (Pest's) streets, such a blending of the Oriental with the European and such a holiday look about the whole population that it is impossible to feel ennui in the chief city of the Magyars.' Dictator Admiral Miklós Horthy described 1920s Budapest simply but unforgettably as a 'sinful city'. British perceptions of modern Budapest are well described in Marion Merrick's Now You See It, Now You Don't (1998), while Michael Jacob's Budapest: A Cultural Guide (1998) offers a well-researched analysis of the city's cultural history.