Central & Eastern Europe 
Area Destination Guides

Budapest, the capital of Hungary, was created in 1873 by the merger of three cities: Buda, Óbuda, and Pest. It is the administrative, cultural, scientific, economic, trade and transportation center with about 2-million inhabitants. The town spreads on the banks of the river Danube and is administratively divided into 23 districts, 16 of which are located on the Pest side, 6 in Buda and 1 on Csepel Island in the Danube. Buda extends to the hills on the west bank of the Danube and Pest on the left bank of the river in the lowlands. In Buda, the 235-m high hill (Gellért-hegy) rises from the river bank and offers a remarkable view of the whole city.

Shaped by its position on the Great Hungarian Plain, those occupying the territory of present-day Hungary have historically practiced forms of nomadism.

St. Petersburg is the second-greatest major city in Russia next to Moscow. By 2012, there were nearly 5-million residents in the town, and that population has only continued to increase. Surrounded by the Baltic Sea and located along the Neva River, there's so much beauty to behold. Visiting St. Petersburg, you'll see luscious gardens, monuments, palaces, detailed architecture, and admirable pieces of artwork created by the most well-known artists throughout history.

Istanbul, Turkey, was founded about 660 BC as Byzantium. The city has changed names numerous times and was initially known as Byzantium. It was the capital city of the Eastern Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman empires and was led by rulers such as Alexander the Great, Septimius Severus, and Constantine the Great. The city became known as Istanbul after falling to Ottoman rule in the 15th century. It once carried the title of the world's most crowded city. Today, it has a population of more than 15-million. Interesting fact: part of the city lies in Europe, and the other part is in Asia..