The best Hungarian city nicknames – part 1

If you are following our series featuring the Hungarian county seats, then you already know why some cities bear their particular names. But did you know that several cities in Hungary have very beautiful nicknames? If Hungarians hear one of these, they immediately know which city to think about. In the following, we will present some of the best nicknames that were given to Hungarian cities.

Budapest – A hidak és vizek városa – The city of bridges and waters

Budapest, the Hungarian capital city, is usually referred to as the City of Bridges or sometimes even the City of Waters. Both names are justified, since thanks to the Danube crossing the city, several bridges had to be built, which since have become tourist attractions, especially the Chain Bridge. Another important bridge in the city’s cultural and touristic life is the Liberty Bridge, which was closed down in 2016 due to renovation and quickly became a favourite picnic spot for the citizens. Following this, last June the city management closed it down for a couple of days on request.

It is fairly obvious why Budapest is the City of Waters, as there are dozens of baths both on the Pest and Buda side of the city.

These are tourist-favourites, a lot of people come to Budapest especially to try out the healing waters.

Szeged – A napfény városa – The city of sunshine

Szeged is located in Southern Hungary, and the south is usually associated with warm and sunny weather. But Szeged is not nicknamed the City of Sunshine as to romanticise it or to lure tourists there. Although bearing this title is quite flattering, there is also a technical reason why it is referred to as the City of Sunshine:  Szeged is blessed with the most sunshine in Hungary, more exactly with 2100 hours of sun each year.