☰Andrássy Avenue

Andrássy Avenue is Budapest's grandest boulevard, a UNESCO-listed stretch of neo-Renaissance mansions and plane trees running arrow-straight from the city center to Heroes' Square. The Hungarian State Opera House, a lavish neo-Renaissance gem, is the architectural highlight — catch a performance or take a guided tour of its gilded interior. Further along, the House of Terror at No. 60 occupies the former headquarters of both the Arrow Cross fascists and the communist secret police, delivering one of the most powerful museum experiences in Europe. The avenue terminates at Heroes' Square, where the Millennium Monument's colonnade frames statues of Hungarian kings and behind it, the tranquil City Park with Vajdahunyad Castle and Széchenyi Baths. Underneath it all runs continental Europe's oldest metro line, the M1, itself worth riding for its tiny wooden-paneled stations. Walk the full length at least once — it's the spine of Pest.