Hungary Country
| Full country name: Republic
of Hungary Area: 93,000 sq km Population: 10.1 million Capital city: Budapest (pop 2 million) People:89.9% Hungarian, 4% Gypsy, 2.6% German, 0.8% Slovak & 0.7%Romanian Language: Hungarian Religion: 68% Roman Catholic, 21% Reformed (Calvinist), 6% Evangelical (Lutheran), 5% Other Government: Parliamentary democracy |
Budapest Hotel by Hungary Hotel Reservations, your guides for information on Hungary and Budapest hotels, city of Hungary
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Weather
Autumn is beautiful, particularly in the hills around Budapest and in the Northern Uplands. November is one of the rainiest months of the year, however. Winter is cold, often bleak and museums and other tourist sights are often closed. Animal lovers will also want to skip this season: half the women are draped in furry dead things throughout the winter.
Budapest Hotel by Hungary Hotel Reservations, your guides for information on Hungary and Budapest hotels, city of Hungary
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Events
Budapest Hotel by Hungary Hotel Reservations, your guides for information on Hungary and Budapest hotels, city of Hungary
This website is created by E-Biz Travel; your destination for seeking Thailand travel guides; Thailand information and hotel reservations service for various type of Thailand Hotels.
Attractions
Budapest
Hungary's capital straddles
a gentle curve in the Danube. It's the administrative as well as the business
and cultural centre of Hungary, and virtually everything that happens
in the country starts, finishes or is taking place here. But the beauty
of Budapest is what really makes it stand apart. Its broad avenues, leafy
parks and harmonious blend of architectural styles has earned it the nickname
the 'Paris of Eastern Europe'. Budapest also has a turn-of-the-century
feel to it, for it was then - during the industrial boom and the capital's
heyday - that most of the city was built. The city is well laid-out, rarely
confusing, and ideal for walking.
The walled Castle District is the premier destination for visitors, and contains some of Budapest's most important monuments and museums. It consists of two distinct parts: the Old Town, where commoners lived during medieval times; and the Royal Palace, the original site of a castle built in the 13th century. The Old Town is filled with attractively painted streets, decorative churches and the famous Fishermen's Bastion. The latter was built as a viewing platform in 1905, and named after the guild of fishermen responsible for defending this stretch of wall in the Middle Ages. It has commanding views over the city, and is dominated by seven gleaming turrets (representing the seven Magyar tribes who entered the Carpathian Basin in the 9th century), and a statue of St Stephen on horseback. Immediately south of the Old Town is the Royal Palace. Razed, rebuilt and redesigned over the past seven centuries, the palace houses a number of museums, including the National Gallery, which has an enormous collection devoted exclusively to Hungarian art.
The oldest and one of the most interesting parts of the city is óbuda. The area is remarkable for its Roman ruins, and its small, quiet neighbourhoods which seem unchanged since the turn of the century. It also has its fair share of museums, including the Kiscelli Museum, which features an impressive art collection and rooms furnished with Empire, Biedermeier and Art-Nouveau furniture.
North of óbuda is the Roman civilian town of Aquincum, the most complete in Hungary. Established at the end of the 1st century, it was among the most developed towns on the continent with sumptuous single-storey houses, fountains and courtyards. Not much remains of that today, but you can still see their outlines as well as those of the big public baths, market and a temple devoted to the sun god Mithras. The Aquincum Museum tries to put it all in perspective - unfortunately only in Hungarian. However, you can check out the 3rd-century water organ, pottery moulds and floor mosaics, and the sculptures and stone sarcophagi outside.
Budapest's other highlights include a cruise along the Danube, strolling along the riverfront or across romantic bridges, browsing through antique bookshops and jewellery stores, or 'taking the waters' at one of the city's many spas.
Budget accommodation can be found in Pest or the Buda Hills, respectively west and east of the city centre, while there's plenty of cheap places to eat in the Castle District. The Esceri flea market (in the XIX district, south of the city) is one of the best and biggest in Eastern Europe, and sells everything from Soviet army watches to Fred Astaire top hats. Budapest has an ample choice of things to do after dark - from opera, theatre, ballet and dance to rock, pop, jazz, and meat-market discos.
The walled Castle District is the premier destination for visitors, and contains some of Budapest's most important monuments and museums. It consists of two distinct parts: the Old Town, where commoners lived during medieval times; and the Royal Palace, the original site of a castle built in the 13th century. The Old Town is filled with attractively painted streets, decorative churches and the famous Fishermen's Bastion. The latter was built as a viewing platform in 1905, and named after the guild of fishermen responsible for defending this stretch of wall in the Middle Ages. It has commanding views over the city, and is dominated by seven gleaming turrets (representing the seven Magyar tribes who entered the Carpathian Basin in the 9th century), and a statue of St Stephen on horseback. Immediately south of the Old Town is the Royal Palace. Razed, rebuilt and redesigned over the past seven centuries, the palace houses a number of museums, including the National Gallery, which has an enormous collection devoted exclusively to Hungarian art.
The oldest and one of the most interesting parts of the city is óbuda. The area is remarkable for its Roman ruins, and its small, quiet neighbourhoods which seem unchanged since the turn of the century. It also has its fair share of museums, including the Kiscelli Museum, which features an impressive art collection and rooms furnished with Empire, Biedermeier and Art-Nouveau furniture.
North of óbuda is the Roman civilian town of Aquincum, the most complete in Hungary. Established at the end of the 1st century, it was among the most developed towns on the continent with sumptuous single-storey houses, fountains and courtyards. Not much remains of that today, but you can still see their outlines as well as those of the big public baths, market and a temple devoted to the sun god Mithras. The Aquincum Museum tries to put it all in perspective - unfortunately only in Hungarian. However, you can check out the 3rd-century water organ, pottery moulds and floor mosaics, and the sculptures and stone sarcophagi outside.
Budapest's other highlights include a cruise along the Danube, strolling along the riverfront or across romantic bridges, browsing through antique bookshops and jewellery stores, or 'taking the waters' at one of the city's many spas.
Budget accommodation can be found in Pest or the Buda Hills, respectively west and east of the city centre, while there's plenty of cheap places to eat in the Castle District. The Esceri flea market (in the XIX district, south of the city) is one of the best and biggest in Eastern Europe, and sells everything from Soviet army watches to Fred Astaire top hats. Budapest has an ample choice of things to do after dark - from opera, theatre, ballet and dance to rock, pop, jazz, and meat-market discos.
Budapest Hotel by Hungary Hotel Reservations, your guides for information on Hungary and Budapest hotels, city of Hungary
This website is created by E-Biz Travel; your destination for seeking Thailand travel guides; Thailand information and hotel reservations service for various type of Thailand Hotels.
Passport & Visa Regulations
Foreign citizens whose governments have concluded an agreement to this effect with Hungary may cross Hungary's borders for tourism purposes for a maximum duration of 90 days without the need for an official Hungarian visa or permit. This is valid for all states in Europe with the exception of Albania and Turkey, and outside Europe with the USA, Argentina, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, the Republic of South Africa, the Dutch Antilles, Israel, Japan, the Korean Republic, Malaysia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, the Secheyelle Islands, Singapore, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uruguay. In every other case — and this applies to transit travel, too — foreign citizens must be in possession of a Hungarian visa obtained after completing application forms to this effect. Two passport photos and a passport valid for the whole duration of their stay in Hungary must be attached to the visa application forms. Hungarian visas abroad can be requested from the competent consulates and embassies; in Budapest, entry visas are issued at Ferihegy Airport as well as at the international boat station at Belgrade embankment. In addition, they can be issued at the country's main border stations. Those arriving by train or private boat may enter the country only if they possess a visa obtained prior to entering the country; no entry permits will be issued at these Hungarian border stations. Hungarian entry visas entitle the holder to one, two, or several border crossings within the duration of validity, for a maximum of 90 days (extensions can be requested at the main police station in the district where the visitor has found provisional accommodation.)
Budapest Hotel by Hungary Hotel Reservations, your guides for information on Hungary and Budapest hotels, city of Hungary
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Money & Costs
You can exchange cash and travellers' cheques up to 30,000 Ft at banks and travel agents, usually for a commission of 1% to 2%. Post offices almost always change cash, but rarely cheques. ATMs accepting credit and debit cards can be found throughout the country, but it's always useful to carry a little foreign cash, preferably US dollars or Deutschmarks in case your plastic doesn't work. Credit cards can be used in up-market restaurants, shops, hotels, car rental firms, travel agencies and petrol stations.
Hungary is a very tip-conscious society and virtually everyone routinely tips waiters, hairdressers, taxi drivers and even doctors, dentists and petrol-station attendants about 10%. Not leaving a tip, or leaving a very small tip, is a strong signal that you were less than impressed with the service. Never leave money on the table in a restaurant: tell the waiter how much money you want to leave as a tip as you are paying the bill. Bargaining is not the done thing in Hungary, but you can try a little gentle haggling in flea markets or with individuals selling folk crafts.
Budapest Hotel by Hungary Hotel Reservations, your guides for information on Hungary and Budapest hotels, city of Hungary
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Customs
Gifts below the value of 30,300 HUF (Hungarian Forints) per person may be brought duty free into the country once a year. Above the given limits, a 15 percent customs fee has to be paid on commodities as well as 25 percent general turnover tax (VAT). Hunting rifles and ammunition may be brought in only with special permits, to be acquired — prior to the visit — at Hungarian representation embassies and consulates abroad. Foreign citizens may bring in a maximum of 350,000 HUF . If foreign citizens wish to bring in large sums of convertible currencies in the form of cash, it is advisable to ask for a certificate on the value of this sum at the border. Gifts bought in Hungary and valued at up to 303,000 HUF per person may be taken out of the country without a permit as long as they are not museum value items, i.e., art or applied art rarities, or pharmaceutical or chemical products. Of course, this does not apply to small quantities of pharmaceutical products for personal use including insulin for chronic diabetics. The possession of drugs — regardless of quantity — is strictly forbidden. Plant sanitation and veterinary services operate at major border crossing stations. It is recommended that foreign citizens wishing to bring their pets into Hungary carry with them the veterinary certificate for the animal. Wreaths and cut flowers may be freely brought in and taken out of the country, in contrast to potted and earth-bound plants which may not. The cross-border transport of human ashes requires a license, as does the transport of corpses in coffins; the Hungarian consulates issue certificates for such transport.
VAT refunds on goods bought in Hungary require the original bills displaying the VAT separately. A VAT refund form has to be requested from the shop in which the purchases were made, and if the refund is for an item (combined items) of more than 303,000 HUF, then the relevant currency exchange receipt must also be enclosed with the VAT refund claim. No more than 90 days may elapse between the time of purchase and departure from Hungary. During this time the goods in question may not be used or consumed in Hungary i.e., they have to be shown in their original state at the border.
One more important point: foreign citizens visiting Hungary may not allow anyone else to use their vehicles.
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Transportation
General information concerning passenger service, as well as the forwarding of luggage and express goods, plus information on tickets, seat reservations and preferences, advance ticket booking, passenger insurance, stopovers, temporary baggage checks, and ticket refunds, not to mention bicycle rental, is to be found in the timetable of the Hungarian Railways MÁV, published every year, generally at the end of May
Information on both domestic and international train travel can be obtained in Budapest at 461-5400 or 461-5500. Phone inquiries for the largest railway stations in Budapest are as follows:
Déli pályaudvar (Southern Railway Station):
XII. Krisztina krt. H–1122, phone: 375-6293, fax: 457-9500
Keleti pályaudvar (Eastern Railway Station):
VIII. Kerepesi út, H–1087, phone: 313-6835
Nyugati pályaudvar (Western Railway Station):
VI. Teréz krt. H–1067, phone: 349-0115
Information on trips offered by GYSEV (Gy?r–Sopron–Ebenfurt Railways), and on the State Forest Narrow Gauge Railway, including the Széchenyi Hill Children's Railway in Buda, is also given at the above telephone numbers. InterCity trains run not only international routes, but within Hungary, too. Reservations are obligatory.
Hungarian Railways Nostalgia Ltd. operates so-called 'old-timer' lines; steam locomotives and diesel trains produced before First World War, as well as before and soon after the Second World War. They can be rented from the Hungarian State Railways, which celebrated its 130th anniversary in 1998. The phone number in Budapest: 269-5242, fax: 302-3580.
By Road
Road traffic in Hungary abides by the 'drive on the right, overtake on the left' rule that is common throughout continental Europe. In residential areas, the speed limit is 50 km per hour; on main roads it is 80 km per hour, while on highways and expressways the maximum speed is 120 km per hour. Road traffic rules and signs correspond to European norms. Fuel stations are to be found in abundance in the capital, outlying municipalities, and along main roads. Service facilities for minor repairs are also available in several places, along with car washes. Emergency phones are available along expressways as well as at fuel stations; it is possible to request towing services via these phones. The Hungarian Automobile Club’s emergency phone number is 088, available round the clock anywhere in Hungary both on line-based and mobile phones. Information on road conditions is available on the Budapest number 210-0573
A regular bus service links the Hungarian capital with major foreign cities and holiday resorts. Information on timetables and on other questions is provided on 317-2966 or 329-1450 or 252-4496.
By Air
Scheduled flights of domestic and foreign airlines arrive at Terminal 2 of Budapest Ferihegy international airport. Flight information is available on 296-8000 or 296-9696 in Budapest.
Waterways
Regular international traffic plies the Danube, and there are also boat services on the Tisza river and Lake Balaton. These operate partly under foreign flags, and partly by the Hungarian-owned MAHART Corp., both as scheduled and special charter services. MAHART Corp. PassNave Passenger Shipping Company has a fleet of 30 vessels which carry 1.5 million passengers every year. Passengers traveling on the hydrofoils running between Budapest and Vienna (with a stop-off at Bratislava) can make advance bookings for hotel rooms, taxis and programs in Budapest. Phone: 318-1704, fax: 318-7740. Inland shipping traffic runs primarily between Budapest and the towns of Esztergom, Visegrád and Szentendre to the north. Since 1993, a total of four shipping services ply the Tisza river between Szeged and Tokaj (Sárospatak).
Among the country's lakes, it is Lake Balaton which is the venue of the liveliest summer water traffic, including the catamarans that link Tihany with Szántód, serving as a bridge, as it were, between the northern and southern shores of the lake. Ferries carry passenger cars, buses and trucks. The use of motorboats on the Balaton requires special permission. (Information on the Balaton boat services is available on 84/310-050.)
Public Transportation
Both in the capital and in the major provincial cities, Hungary boasts well-organized local public transport systems. In addition to urban bus service, there is tram service in Debrecen, Miskolc, and Szeged.
The Budapest transport system links the whole capital like a cobweb network. In road transport, as in other Hungarian cities, the most important means of public transport is the bus. However, at the same time, the capital's environment-friendly tram and trolley network supplements this system; all three are operated by BKV, the Budapest Transport Corporation, as are two metro lines and the underground railway — the first line in Continental Europe, operational since 1896, and fully renovated in 1996. Europe's second oldest cogwheel railway is in Budapest.
Using the funicular one can get — in just one minute — from the Buda side of the Danube embankment to the Castle Palace. A cable car takes passengers to János Hill, meanwhile, the highest point of the capital. BKV boats transport passengers from spring to autumn along the Danube. Bicycles may also be carried on all suburban trains (HÉV).
Tickets for the above-mentioned transport services are available at BKV ticket offices (where Budapest maps are also on sale), as well as in tobacco shops. Within the borders of the capital, a 95 HUF ticket — the uniform fare — is required for the trams, buses, trolley buses, the metro, the suburban trains (HÉV), and the cogwheel railway. It is possible to enter public transport vehicles through any of the doors at any time of the day, except non-articulated buses which, after 8 p.m., may only be entered or exited through the front doors, upon presentation of a validated ticket or valid pass. Dogs can be taken on public transport only when muzzled, and require a separate fare. Children under the age of six may travel free of charge. If you expert to take more than one trip on public transport in a day, it may be worth buying a day ticket for 740 HUF or a book of tickets, or a one or two-week season ticket which requires affixed identity photos. A 7-day pass costs 1,850 HUF, a three-day tourist pass 1,500 HUF. The telephone number of the Budapest Transport Corporation (BKV) passenger information office is: 342-2335. For lost and found inquiries call 367-5299. (Charges correct at January 2000.)
Budapest has several taxi fleets. All are obliged to operate a taxi meter and give receipts if so requested by the passenger. Taxi fares have had maximum limits imposed from September 1998. Between May 1 and September 30, so-called 'water' taxis, for a maximum five passengers, are in service on the Danube.
The Tourism Office of Budapest (V. Március 15. tér 7, H–1056, phone: 266-0479, fax: 266-7477) has introduced the Budapest Card, which offers the holder close to 100 different discounts:
- unlimited travel on public transport
- free admission to 55 museums and several sights
- sightseeing for half price
- reduced price tickets for cultural and folklore programs
- discount in shops, restaurants and thermal baths
- 100+ page guide with the card’s services
The card is valid for an adult plus a child under 14. Price: 2,800 HUF for 2 days, 3,400 HUF for 3 days. The Budapest Card is on sale at main underground ticket offices, tourist information offices, travel agencies and hotels.
Budapest Hotel by Hungary Hotel Reservations, your guides for information on Hungary and Budapest hotels, city of Hungary
This website is created by E-Biz Travel; your destination for seeking Thailand travel guides; Thailand information and hotel reservations service for various type of Thailand Hotels.