Spread out on both sides of the Danube in north central Hungary, the capital city of Budapest incorporates the once-separate towns of Buda, Pest, and Óbuda. The historic domed Parliament Building, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and other attractive buildings are located on the elegant boulevards of the city’s east bank. Castle Hill, site of an ancient fort and the Royal Palace, is one of the wooded hills on the west bank. Eight bridges connect Budapest’s eastern and western sections, which together cover 525 square kilometres (203 square miles).