Újlipótváros

What it is

The southern part of District XIII, immediately north of the Parliament and separated from Lipótváros by the Grand Boulevard.

It was built up mostly in the 1930s, which makes it architecturally distinct from everything around it: modernist and Bauhaus apartment blocks rather than nineteenth-century tenements, with flat façades, corner windows and balconies.

What is here

Szent István park, a strip of green along the river with one of the best views of Margaret Island. Pozsonyi út, the neighbourhood's spine, lined with small shops, bookshops and cafés. The Hungarian Railway History Park is further out. There is little in the way of major sights, and that is the point.

What it is like

Residential, comfortable and unhurried — the district Budapest residents name when asked where they would live. It has a village-like commercial life along a few streets and almost no tourism.

During the war this area held a number of the protected houses under Swedish and Swiss diplomatic cover, including those associated with Raoul Wallenberg; several carry plaques.

Practical

Tram 4 or 6 along the Grand Boulevard and the M3 metro both put the centre five to ten minutes away. Walking to the Parliament takes about fifteen minutes along the river.

For accommodation this is the value option among genuinely convenient districts: the same money buys noticeably more room than in District V, and the streets are quiet at night.