Fin-de-siècle landmark gets a spruce-up

This grand palace of steam is slowly getting the renovation it badly needed. Opened in the 1880s when Budapest was twin capital of a great empire, Keleti pályaudvar is the depature point for trains to Moscow, Istanbul and Berlin.

Behind an ornate façade decorated with statues of British rail engineers James Watt and George Stephenson, backpackers, violinists, hustlers, lovers and commuters rush between platforms. Alongside, the Baross terrace restaurant overlooks the action, although sadly there's no longer a house pianist.