See Budapest's grandest boulevard with a private local guide, ride Europe's oldest underground metro to Heroes' Square, then soak in Széchenyi's 38°C outdoor pools. Bath entry with locker included.

Meet your local guide in central Pest and walk up Andrássy Avenue, Budapest's answer to the Champs-Élysées, past the gilded Hungarian State Opera House. Then ride the M1, the oldest underground railway in continental Europe, its wooden-panelled stations little changed since 1896. Step out at Heroes' Square, where Hungary's founding chieftains stand beneath the Archangel Gabriel, and cross into City Park to Vajdahunyad Castle, a fairy-tale building that copies landmarks from across historic Hungary, built for the same celebration.

After this relax at Széchenyi Thermal Bath, a yellow neo-Baroque palace opened in 1913. Széchenyi's 18 thermal pools fed by a spring 1,256 metres underground, from 38°C outdoor pools where locals play chess in the steam to saunas and plunge pools inside.