Budapest

Introduction

Sign at the Royal Palace in Budapest

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An intoxicating blend of European and Turkish culture, Budapest, the capital of Hungary is the kind of city that has something to offer any traveller. The Danube river divides the city into two parts; on the west bank, Buda and on the east, Pest. The leafy hills of Buda are home to some of the main tourist sights at Castle Hill. The busier, more commercial Pest has plenty of tourist appeal of its own though: St Stephen's Basilica, the Opera House, the Terror Museum and the second largest Synagogue in the world among them. And after a long day of taking in the sights, nothing is more rewarding than "taking to the waters" in one of the numerous Turkish baths that the city is famous for.

Neighbourhoods

The city is divided by the Danube into two major parts: Buda and Pest.

Buda

Pest

Sights and Activities

Thermal Baths

Szehenyi Gyogyfurdo Spa

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One of the undisputed highlights of Budapest are its many thermal bath houses. Be sure to allocate some of your time in the city to visiting one of these spas. For more information also see the Budapest Spas website.

• Gellért Bath (XI Gellert ter.) - Bathe in Budapest's most famous bathhouse, in a beautiful Art Nouveau setting next to the Gellert Hotel. Since its building in 1918, the Gellért spa was one of the most prestigous thermal bath on the Buda side of the city. Gellért spa is famous for its main hall with gallery and glass roof, sparkling bath and open- air pool with artificial waves.
• Kiraly Bath (II Fõ utca 84) - Dating back to the 1600s, these medieval steam houses offer a traditional middle eastern experience. Kiraly's main pool features a stain glassed dome. Men and women are allowed in at alternate times, so check before you go.
• Széchenyi Bath (XIV Allatkerti korut 11) - Some of the biggest open air spas anywhere in Central Europe, right in the middle of the City Park in Pest. With it's 18 thermal pools it garantee for anyone the best relaxation. The entrance ticket include the usage of locker or cabin, the 18 pools, saunas, steam cabines. Massages, towels and other treatments, services are extra charge. The temperatures of the pools are between 22- 38 Celsius. Visit the spa is a perfect program at winter time also. It can be really romantic sitting one of the outdoor pool, wathing the steaming water.
• Rudas Baths (I Döbrentei tér 9) - Budapest's oldest bath house, built in 1566. Only men are allowed in this one.

Aside from these very popular bath houses, there are many more throughout Budapest, including the Csaszar, Lukacs, Margaret Island Thermal Baths and the Rácz.

Museums

• Hungarian National Museum (Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum).
• Museum of Fine Arts (Szépművészeti Múzeum).
• Museum of Applied Arts (Iparművészeti Múzeum) - The applied arts are featured in this wonderful building designed by Ödön Lechner.
• Budapest History Museum (Budapesti Történeti Múzeum).
• Hungarian National Gallery (Magyar Nemzeti Galéria).
• House of Terror (Terror Háza Múzeum).
• Museum of Ethnography
• Hungarian Natural History Museum (Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum).

Parks and Gardens

• City Park (Városliget)
• Margaret Island (Margitsziget)
• Gellért Hill is a 235-metre high hill in Budapest which overlooks the Danube River. At the foot of the hill you will find the Gellert Hotel and Baths as well as the Gellert Hill Cave. It's a steep climb to the top but views across the city on a clear day are fantastic. Remember to get a cup of mulled wine from the vendors at the bottom of the hill if its a cold day; it will keep you warm on the way up.
• Buda Hills
• Népliget

Other

• Castle Hill
• Opera House
• St Stephen's Basilica is the tallest building in Budapest (equally high as the Parliament Building). The Basilica can be found on the Pest side of the city and is a beautiful place to visit.
• Budapest Great Synagogue (Dohány utca 2-8. in VII. district) is the second largest synagogue in the world.

Events and Festivals

In Budapest everybody can found perfect events or festivals throughout the year.

First of all the Budapest Spring Festival starts the year. The visitors can enjoy the busy festival atmoshere during the end of March and beginning of April for about 2 weeks. Great choice of musical events, exhibitions, dance performances is available for guests.

The next similar fastival of the year is the Budapest Summer Festival between June and late August. More than 100 programs waits for guest, not on open air stages. After these programs you can relax and enjoy the sun at the Margaret Island, because most of the events are presented here.

It is a good choice to visit Budapest at autumn, who dont like the bussy summer period. At the beginning of October begins the Budapest Autumn Festival. This festival presents the Hungarian contemporary art through concerts, performances in theatres and a lot of other events.

Between the artists of these festivals we can found for example the Budapest Festival Orchestra, Miklos Teleki organist, National Philharmonic Orchestra and Hungarian State Folk Ensemble.

Weather

Budapest has a continental climate with warm summers and cold winters. Temperatures in summer (June to August) are between 25 °C and 30 °C with nights around 15 °C or 16 °C, though much hotter wetter can happen with days close to 40 °C and warm nights. Winters are a few degrees above zero and nights are between around -3 °C most of the time, though -20 °C has been recorded. Precipitation is common during all months with heavy showers in summer and snowfall in winter.

Getting There

By Plane

Hungary's main international airport is Budapest Ferihegy International Airport (BUD/LHBP), located about 16 kilometres from the city centre of Budapest. Terminal 1 was recently refurbished and serves low cost carriers, with a glass wall dividing them into Schengen and non-Schengen flights. Terminal 2A is used by MALEV Hungarian Airlines and its code-share partners and since 2008 all flights to Schengen countries (except for the ones with budget airlines) leave here, while 2B is used by other carriers flying to non-Schengen destinations.

To/from the airport

• Rail: Hungarian State Railways runs suburban and long-distance services between Terminal 1 and Nyugati Railway Station in Budapest city centre through Kőbánya-Kispest. The trip takes approximately 25 minutes.
• Bus: Bus no. 200 links all the terminals with the southern end of the 3rd metro line (M3).
• An Airport Bus departs Ferihegy every 10 minutes, providing links to the city centre and Budapest's metro system. The Budapest Airport Minibusz operates an airport shuttle service that takes passengers to any destination in the city. Other shuttle services also offer transport into the city from the airport.
• Taxis and rental cars are both widely available at Ferihegy Airport as well.

By Train

Budapest has international rail connections to several European capitals. The major railway stations are: Eastern Railway Station (Keleti pályaudvar), Southern Railway Station (Déli pályaudvar) and Western Railway Station (Nyugati pályaudvar). The first two are accessible by M2 (second metro line), while the last one with M3 (third metro line). International ticket offices are located at these railway stations.

Hungarian National Railways (MÁV) have a good website which includes price information on international train tickets.

By Car

Highways radiate to/from Budapest with good connections to other cities and towns, as well as international motorways (E roads) connecting to international destinations. All major car rental companies offer rental cars from downtown locations, as well as from the international airport.

By Bus

International bus services connect Budapest with several European cities. Day and night services (depending on the distance) depart from and arrive to the recently rebuilt Népliget Bus Terminal (accessible by M3 and tram no. 1). Coaches to Vienna (4 times daily) calls in at Vienna International Airport as well. For timetables and on-line ticket purchase visit the english version of Volán Association. International connections are operated by Eurolines and Orangeways to places in Slovakia, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Croatia.
Note that there are 4 bus stations: Népliget Bus Station for destinations in Western Hungary, Stadion Bus Station for Eastern Hungary, Árpád Bridge Bus Station for some northern destinations and Etele tér Bus Station for mainly local reginal destinations.

By Boat

Passenger boats' circulation is restricted both in time (from march until october), and regarding rivers' sections.
A regular hydrofoil service links Budapest with Bratislava (Slovakia) and Vienna (Austria).Mahart offers boat travel on the Danube river from Spring to Autumn between Budapest and Szentendre, Vác, Visegrád and Esztergom. Budapest Transport Limited has ferries in and around the capital only.

Getting Around

By Car

By Public Transport

Budapest's public transport system is quite effective, though locals are often doubtful of that.

The system is made up of approximately 180 bus lines, 20 tram lines and 14 trolleybus lines. The underground transportation is served by three metro lines. The first metro line (M1) is the oldest one in mainland Europe, and the second oldest (after the London one) in all of Europe.

Other means of transport include a funicular (to the castle hill) a cogwheel railway (to Széchenyi Hill in the Buda Hills), the children's railway in the Buda Hills, a chair lift, and a temporary boat service during summer time on the Danube river.
More info on timetables and ticket prices on the BKV website.

By Foot

By Bike

Eat

Trofea Grill Restaurant has two locations which are run with the same premise. A great, reasonably priced buffet where you can eat as much as you can of the diverse foods on offer, for a fixed price. High quality food at a great price! Addresses: 1145 Budapest, Erzsebet Kiralyne, utja 5 and also at 1117 Budapest Hauszmann Alajos and Szeremi ut corner.

Drink

Hungarian vines and liquors are world famous and your can all reach them on affordable prices in the local bars.

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

A great 4-star hotel in Budapest is the Hotel Ambra - Close to the Opera House, the Basilica, and the Jewish quarter - the home to the largest synagogue in Europe. Address: H-1077 Budapest, Kis Diófa utca 13.

Work

Learn

• Budapest University of Technology and Economics
• Budapest University of Economic Sciences and Public Administration

Keep Connected

Internet

There are plenty of internet cafés to be found in Budapest, with the concept being rather fashionable. Prices vary, but generally 100 HUF will buy you around 10 minutes and it's about 200 HUF for 30 minutes.

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

Hungary's calling code is 36 and Budapest phone numbers, mobiles excepted, start with 06 1 regardless of where the call originates from. It is cheapest to place calls in the evening, weekends or on public holidays. There are 3 mobile operators in Hungary: Vodafone, Pannon and T-Mobile. Depending on the operator, mobile phone numbers start either with 06 20 (Pannon), 06 30 (T-Mobile) or 06 70 (Vodafone). Free numbers start with 06 80, but there is also a 'half price' number starting with 06 40. They also have their own prepaid service and travellers that are planning to stay in Hungary for longer periods might want to consider buying a prepaid SIM-card.

Public phones can be found throughout the city and are operated by 10-, 20-, 50- and 100-forint coins or T-Com phone cards. Phone cards can be purchased at the usual outlets; kiosks, post offices and petrol stations among others.

There are also numerous cheap phone cards to call internationally and are available at assorted outlets. These includes T-Com, EZ Phone, Bellafone and plenty of others offering various discount rates. It's smart to check the current rate to the destination you plan to call the most and compare this with other cards. Also compare the cost for establishing a connection as this can make a big difference in the real 'per minute' cost.

To call internationally, dial 00, wait for the tone and then dial the country code, town/city code and the rest of the number.

Post

Magyar Post is the national postal service of Hungary. Their English version only seems to concentrate on stamps though, but you will find helpfull English speaking staff in most of the main post offices throughout the country.

Post offices can be found throughout Budapest and generally are open between 8:00am and 6:00pm. Some of the main post offices do have longer opening hours, including the following:

• Moszkva Square Post Office, XII. Krisztina út 6-8, Mon-Fri 7:00am-08:00pm Sat 7:00am-2:00pm.
• Nyugati Train Station Post Office, VIII. Teréz krt. 51, Mon-Fri 7:00am-8:00pm Sat 7:00am-6:00pm.
• Keleti Train Station Post Office, VI. Baross tér 11/C, Mon-Fri 7:00am-9:00pm Sat 7:00am-2:00pm.

You can buy post your letter and parcels here and buy stamps, although you can buy these at kiosks as well. Hungarian postal services are generally reliable, relatively cheap (especially domestic services) and fast, with most of the postcards and/or letters being delivered within a week to other European countries, 10 days to several weeks outside of the continent.
Anything of value is best to be send by registered post. For parcels, you might also use international companies like TNT, UPS or DHL.

External Links

• Official Tourism Website