Thermal baths, ruin bars, and stunning architecture along the Danube — very student-budget friendly.
Formed in 1873 from the union of Buda, Óbuda, and Pest, Budapest sits on a site inhabited since Roman times and was later shaped by centuries of Ottoman and Habsburg rule. That layered history shows today in its natural thermal springs (used for bathing since Roman days), the grand Hungarian Parliament Building, and a lively "ruin bar" nightlife scene built into once-abandoned buildings.