Along the banks of the Danube between Margaret island and Market Hall is one of the most picturesque walks you will find anywhere. Boats ply the river constantly and several are permanently docked there to serve as floating restaurants. Some boats offer one hour, half day or all day tours of the major points of interest visible from the river. The usual arrangement is to provide each passenger with a headset that can be tuned to the language desired.

On the left bank, one street off the river, you will find street vendors, gift shops and fashion stores all competing for tourist dollars. There are a lot of fun things to experience but there are also reasons to be cautious. Single men in particular are occasionally targeted by attractive young ladies who subsequently invite them into a nearby bar "for drinks." When the bill comes, instead of the twenty or thirty dollars one might expect to pay for a round of drinks, the charges may be ten to twenty times that or even more. It is a deceptive but technically legal practice that the government discourages but still takes place. In some cases tourists who claimed the inability to pay the exorbitant charges have been escorted to the nearest ATM and coerced into withdrawing all their available funds.

On the right bank is the Castle district where you can experience the tunneled fortifications and battlements designed to defend the city against invaders from the south. Today those ancient walls surround modern shops, restaurants and a 5-star hotel. From the sentry towers there is a nearly aerial view of the Danube and the city sprawling to the north, east and west. For a modest fee you can walk through the maze of tunnels beneath the fortifications and visit the gift shop found there.