Hungary

A successful marriage of contemporary and Baroque style, the Art'otel in Budapest is in the perfect location for a weekend break to the Hungarian capital.The building is a shrine to the American contemporary artist Donald Sultan and is dominated by over 600 pieces of his artwork.Occupying four 18th-century houses as well as one newer building, guest rooms are divided between all five. Their colour schemes are modern, in bright red and metallic grey.With 165 rooms just a short walk from all the main tourist attractions and on the banks of the River Danube, the hotel is extremely functional and is suitably referred to as a 'lifestyle hotel'.The hotel houses a fantastic restaurant, serving traditional Hungarian food in a grand dining room.Visitors to the Hungarian capital should ensure they check out the nearby landmarks overlooked by the hotel including the parliament, Chain Bridge, Matthias Church and the Fishermen's Bastion. It is also just a ten minute walk to the Buda Castle and the main shopping area of the city.

A luxury hotel chain is expanding into the hotels in Budapest by developing a 200 bedroom five star golf resort. The Corinthia Budapest Gate Hotel will be the third CHI Hotels & Resorts in the city in addition to five star offerings Corinthia Grand Hotel Royal and Ramada Plaza Budapest.The Corinthia Budapest Gate Hotel consists of 280 acres of land, which includes a golf course, and comes in addition to a tranche of investments made by the Maltese company in Egypt and Russia.Why Budapest?This city is steeped in culture, dating back to the 13th century when King Bela ordered more fortifications after the invasion of Hungary by the Mongols. The whole of the Andrassy has been recognised as a world heritage site by Unesco, which includes the Castle District (one of King Bela's fortresses) and the embankments of the River Danube. This year Budapest city has been nominated as the Best City Break Destination at the British Travel Awards 2008. Stay in one of the best hotels in Budapest to take advantage of the thermal baths, museums and Buda Castle.What's on?The Turkish city has plenty of events all year round that are easily accessible from the affordable accommodation in Budapest. It has a celebrated opera scene and good museums and galleries. Showing off the antique and contemporary in November is the Budapest Art Fair, which has been described as one of the most significant art exhibitions and shows off traditional Hungarian paintings as well as more modern affairs. This year sees the introduction of books and films on art history in the Auditorium of Mucsarnok. Watch the staging of improvisational Lifegame, which has appeared in London and Stockholm. In total 70 galleries present the best of their work in the Art Fair at the end of November.Corinthia Grand Hotel RoyalCHI Hotels & Resorts transformed the old Grand Hotel Royal into a new and improved five star venue, located in the centre of the city. The architecture has been made even more elegant, the exquisite interior has been carefully restored and it now sports luxurious ... Read More

Fine-tune your Budapest break by sampling the delights of the city's annual summer music festival.Celebrating its 17th year in 2008, the event begins on July 2nd with an Operett Gala before Gounod's Romeo and Juliet brings the festival to a rousing close a month and a half later on Margaret Island.Other opera on the bill includes Puccini's celebrated Manon Lescaut, also on Margaret Island.Dominican Court in the castle district and the Basilica are among other venues showing classical concerts well into the summer evenings.The Hungarian capital is often lauded for its commitment to music; its autumn festival draws contemporary acts to the city while a spring festival combines all genres.However, the musical calendar is crowned at Christmas when the Lights of Christmas festival fills Budapest's magnificent Matthias church with seasonal concerts.

He painted the USA, walls around the world and even the body of singer Grace Jones. Now his work is being exhibited in Budapest. Keith Haring was a graffiti legend – after studying graphic design in Pittsburgh.Had he not died of Aids he would have been 50 years old this year.But sadly he died two years after he was diagnosed in 1990.To commemorate his contribution to the art scene, the Ludwig Museum is hosting an exhibition of his famous work until November 16th.A pal of Andy Warhol, he travelled the world to see other graffiti artists, meet more people and check out the world of pop art.Some of his most famous characters the 'radiant baby' and the 'barking dog' are still widely-known today.The show will display 11 of his paintings from between 1979 and 1989, and 80 of his graphics.Haring's philosophy was to get art to as wide an audience as possible. He was famous for always sticking with the original idea and never altering any earlier sketches.MTV filmed him drawing on stage with Duran Duran keyboardist and friend Nick Rhodes.Ludwig Museum has a rich collection of American pop art and work from German, French and North American artists active in the 1980s.There's also plenty of Hungarian art from the 1990s. Book one of the cheap hotels in Budapest.

Named after the train station situated round the corner, the Bahnhof (meaning station in German) Music Club is a popular disco in Budapest constantly packed with trendy-young-things.Located in Pest, the two dance floors are generally heaving with people making shapes to the mainstream dance, pop and house music.There are also thematic music nights, featuring music from reggae to rock.Referred to by Frommers as a "people-watchers' paradise", those who stop to have a look around will notice the train-inspired decor throughout the venue.Full of 20 and 30-somethings, the club is opened from Thursdays through to Sundays from 21:00 to 04:00 local time, guaranteeing a fun-filled, if perhaps a little smoky, night.This will come complete with friendly service and cheap beer.Trendy, rock, jazz and gay, Budapest is filled with a host of nightclubs to suit everyone's tastes.These include the water-based A38 ship, the cheap outdoor Zold Pardon and live jazz at Fat Mo's Music Club.