Budapest is no longer just the tatty gem of old, the Danube pearl tucked away behind Vienna, cherished by a handful of curious and discerning travelers. Now an EU capital, Hungary’s flagship city has added cosmopolitan luxury to its five-star hotel stock, the latest treatments to its modernized spa centers, inventive reductions, drizzles and sauces to its cuisine, and designer vroom to its cafés. Without losing the charms of yesteryear, nor hiking up the ticket prices for a swift transport network, grand opera or a visit to the most ornate of cinemas, Hungary’s capital is amiable and affordable. Using a pool of resident writers who have lived through the changes from immediately post-Soviet to EU metropolis, this seventh edition of Time Out Budapest evaluates the contemporary city and suggests how a rapidly increasing number of visitors can best enjoy it.