An old port, an old haven, an old royal free borough whose rich past reaches back to the distant centuries of the Roman Empire, Budapest lies on two banks of the Danube, the most beautiful river in Europe. And although this city is located deep within the heart of Europe, the Danube connects it, like so many others, with the sea. Originally, Budapest was three separate towns-Obuda, Buda and Pest, which were united in 1873, and which, through the years, became a truly major capital city. But even before the Romans came, the caves of Buda, its forests rich in game and vegetation, the thermal springs of its gently rolling hills sloping down to the Danube attracted many settlers.