The city glories in 223 museums and galleries, which presents several memories, not only the Hungarian historical, art and science ones, but also the memories of universal and European culture and science. Here are the greatest examples among them: the Hungarian National Museum, the Hungarian National Gallery, the Museum of Fine Arts,the House of Terror, the Budapest Historical Museum, the Memento Park and the Museum of Applied Arts.
In Budapest there are forty theaters, seven concert halls and an opera house. Outdoor festivals, concerts and lectures enrich the cultural offer of summer, which are often held in historical buildings. The largest theater facilities: the Budapest Operetta and Musical Theatre, the József Attila Theatre, the Katona József Theatre, the Madách Theatre, the Hungarian State Opera House, the National Theatre, the Vigadó, Radnóti Miklós Theatre and the Comedy Theatre.
Since the fall of Communism in 1989, there has been a modest spiritual revival. In 2003, the first Orthodox Rabbi was ordained since the Holocaust. In 2004, a Holocaust Memorial Center was established that pays tribute to the victims of the Hungarian Holocaust. Hungary also has a number of synagogues, including the Dohány Street Synagogue, the largest synagogue in Europe. Jewish education is well organized: there are three Jewish high schools in Budapest and Hungary is also home to the Jewish Theological Seminary, University of Jewish Studies.
The Jewish Quarter in Budapest is located in the City Center, roughly between Király utca - Károly körút - Dohány utca - and Erzsébet körút. Much of this compact neighborhood is rapidly changing, but there are still some wonderful sights to see that hint to Pest's once prosperous Jewish life. Look for faded remains of the names of former Jewish stores, Jewish symbols and menorah decorations on balconies in Kazinczy utca, Holló utca, Dob utca, Nagy Diófa utca, Wesselényi utca and Klauzál tér.
Hungarians are especially passionate about their meat stews, casseroles, steaks, roasted pork, beef, poultry, lamb and game. The mixing of different varieties of meats is a traditional feature of Hungarian cuisine. Goulash, stuffed peppers, stuffed cabbage, and Fatányéros (Hungarian mixed grill on a wooden platter) are all dishes that can combine beef and pork, and sometimes mutton. Goulash is a stew with more gravy or a soup using meat with bones, paprika, caraway, vegetables (typically carrots and parsley root) and potatoes or various tiny dumplings or pasta simmered with the meat. Other famous Hungarian meat stews include paprikás, a paprika stew with meat simmered in thick creamy paprika gravy, and pörkölt, a Hungarian stew with boneless meat (usually beef or pork), onion, and sweet paprika powder, both served with nokedli (small dumplings). In old fashioned dishes, fruits like plums and apricots are cooked with meat or in piquant sauces/stuffings for game, roasts and other cuts. Various kinds of noodles and dumplings, potatoes, and rice are commonly served as a side dish. Hungarian sausages and winter salami are a major part of Hungarian cuisine.
Other characteristics of Hungarian cuisine are the soups, desserts, and pastries and stuffed crepes (palacsinta), with fierce rivalries between regional variations on the same dish (like the Hungarian hot fish soup called Fisherman's Soup or halászlé, cooked differently on the banks of Hungary's two main rivers: the Danube and the Tisza), palacsinta (pancakes served flambéed in dark chocolate sauce filled with ground walnuts) and Dobos Cake (layered sponge cake, with chocolate buttercream filling and topped with a thin slice of caramel).
Goulash (Hungarian: gulyás) is a soup or stew of meat, noodles and vegetables, seasoned with paprika and other spices. Originating within the historical Hungarian ethnic area. Beef chuck is slowly stewed with onion, garlic, tomato paste and sweet Hungarian paprika for a tender, mildly spicy comforting dish. It is eaten all year round but especially during the winter months
Hungarian is the official language of Hungary and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. Outside Hungary it is also spoken by communities of Hungarian people in neighboring countries—especially in Romania, Slovakia, Serbia and Ukraine—and by Hungarian diaspora communities worldwide. Like Finnish and Estonian, it belongs to the Uralic language family, and is one of only a few of the languages of Europe that are not part of the Indo-European family. 97% of those in Budapest speak Hungarian with 31% of the population speaking English as a second language. Students and those younger than 30 that are educated tend to know English.
A lot of libraries have unique collections in Budapest, such as the National Széchenyi Library, which keeps historical relics from the age before the printing of books. The Metropolitan Szabó Ervin Library plays an important role in the general education of the capital's population. Other libraries: The Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Eötvös University Library, the Parliamentary Library and the National Library of Foreign Literature.
There are many universities located in Budapest. The most prestiges universities in the country are located in the capital including; Corvinus University of Budapest (where I attended in my time there), The Hungarian University of Fine Arts, and Central European University.
If we mention cultural events, Hungary's the largest outdoor festival is the Sziget Festival, which is really popular in all over Europe, as well. Other major events: Budapest Spring Festival, Budapest Autumn Festival, the Budapest Wine Festival and the Budapest Pálinka Festival.