One of the largest cities in the European Union, in 2011 Budapest had 1.74 million inhabitants, according -o the census, down from its 1989 peak of 2.1 million due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter Area is home to 3.3 million people. The city covers an area of 525 square kilometres within the city limits. Budapest became a single city occupying both banks of the river Danube with a unification on 17 November 1873 of west-bank Buda and Óbuda with east-bank Pest.
I am told that initially on unification the name was Pestbuda, but fortunately, common sense prevailed, and the name was changed to the much-easier-to-say Budapest, which has stuck.
Cited as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, the city attracts about 4.3 million tourists a year, making it the 25th most popular city in the world (and the 6th in Europe). Over the next 3-4 days, I will have an opportunity to gauge the beauty for myself.