Also in the Marriott portfolio is the Dorothea Hotel, with its 216 rooms and glamorous rooftop restaurant. The art deco W Budapest-formerly a palace and on a UNESCO World Heritage-listed street-opened in July 2023 opposite the Hungarian State Opera. New builds such as the spectacular House of Music Hungary and the National Athletics Centre (the central stadium for 2023’s World Athletics Championships) are testament to a city with optimism for its next 150 years. The Chain Bridge-the city’s oldest and a “symbol of togetherness,” according to Mayor Gergely Karácsony-has fully reopened after a two-year restoration, granting excellent views of Buda Castle and the Hungarian Parliament Building. November 2023 marks 150 years since the previously divided cities of Buda, Pest, and Obuda were unified, as well as a series of cultural events. The city also buzzes with creativity, which spills over into the vibrant nightlife the ruin bars district is a tangible example of crafting opportunity from the ashes of adversity following the brutality of Communist rule. And then there are the mineral-rich thermal baths, featuring ornate design flourishes. Renowned for its architecture, the Hungarian capital is home to everything from art nouveau and neoclassical to gothic and baroque, with the Blue Danube connecting it all like a ribbon.
