FAST FACTS
GENERAL TRAVEL INFO
BUDAPEST BY NIGHT
what else do you need my dear traveller? BudapestUNDERGUIDE has it all for you. For more info, contact us (budapest@underguide.com) or go on our website.
Budapes is the capital of Hungary. In 2010, Budapest had 1,721,556 inhabitants, down from 1980 peak of 2.06 million. The Budapest Commuter Area is home to 3,271,110 people.The city covers an area of 525 square kilometres within the city limits with Buda having one third of the territory and having a way more trees.
Budapest became a single city occupying both banks of the river Danube with a unification on 17 November 1873 of Buda and Óbuda with Pest. It was in the golden times of these cities when they became united and mostly what you can see nowadays around Budapest was built in this half of the century - even if a building looks older, it is because of the Neo styles.
Of course, the history goes back long ago, let's have a quick resume:
Aquincum, originally a Celtic settlement, was the direct ancestor of Budapest, becoming the Roman capital of Lower Pannonia. Magyars arrived in the territory in the 9th century, supposedly along with the Huns, chasing a magical deer, as the legend is told.
(check out the beautiful cartoon here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mofvJLJYni8)
As it was usualy in those times, their first settlement was pillaged by the Mongols in 1241-42. The re-established town became one of the centres of Renaissance humanist culturein the 15th century. Our king Mathias (Mátyás) had an Italian wife and wine coming out of the castle fountains..
By the way, he was a gorgeous king and we have a great cartoon about him...only in Hungarian as far as i know but check it out to get into the medieval renessaince mood :)
We lost the Battle of Mohács and also Buda, so we had nearly 150 years of Ottoman rule. At least we started drinking tea and developed our spa culture further thanks to the Turkish culture.
Finally in 1686 we got Buda back and the Turkish were sent away. We have many Hungarian folk tales stemming from the Ottoman period. One is about Mehemed who was not very bright and gets kicked by a cow in the end of the story.
Development of the region entered a new age of prosperity in the 18th and 19th centuries, and Budapest became a global city after the 1873 unification. It also became the second capital of Austria-Hungary, a great power that dissolved in 1918. Please note that although Budapest had a booming boom during that regime, it kind of hurts our indipendency feeling as we like to think we would have been better off alone.
Budapest was the focal point of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, the Hungarian Soviet Republic of 1919, Operation Panzerfaust in 1944, the Battle of Budapest of 1945, and the Revolution of 1956.
Regarded as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, its extensive World Heritage Site includes the banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter, Andrássy Avenue, Heroes' Square and the Millennium Underground Railway, the second oldest in the world. Other highlights include a total of 80 geothermal springs the world's largest thermal water cave system, second largest synagogue, and third largest Parliament building.
Considered an important hub in Central Europe, the city ranked 3rd (out of 65 cities) on Mastercard's Emerging Markets Index (2008) and ranked as the most livable Central/Eastern European city on EIU's quality of life index (both 2009 & 2010). It is also ranked as "Europe's 7th most idyllic place to live" by Forbes. It attracts about 2.3 million tourists a year.
So now you know why it is worth a visit :)
If you are already here, here are some useful information:
I./A General Travel Info
Time zone: CET +1
In Summer Time the sun comes up around 5 am and time of the sunset is around 9 pm. During the winter time the sunny hours are no more than 10-11 hours, between 6 am and 4 pm.
Electricity: 220 / 230 V; 2 holes plug like almost everywhere in Europe.
Currency:
The forint (Hungarian abbreviation is Ft and the international sign is HUF) is the official currency of Hungary. The name of the currency comes from the word Florence (The Italian City), where golden coins were minted from 1252 called Italian coin florin.
As Hungary’s main goal is the deeper integration to the EU, as soon as the economic situation is compatible, the government will change the currency to euro but it won’t be before 2013 – 2016, depending on the economic and the financial policy.
for the actual exchange rates click on: http://www.xe.com/
Average Prices
bread 1 kg: 1.0 eur
gyros (kebab) sandwich: 2.0 eur
chinese menu: from 2.1 eur
beer 0.5 Liter: from 1.2 eur
bottle of (fine) wine: from 3.5 eur
pack of cigarette: from 1.8 eur
public transport ticket: 1.163 eur (320 HUF)
Weather
Weather Forecast:http://www.weatherinhungary.com/
National Holidays
1 jan - New Year's Day
15 March - National Day
Easter Monday
1 May - Labour Day
Pentecost Monday
20 August - St Stephen's Day
23 October - National Day
1 November - All Saints' Day
25-26 December- Christmas
Religion
Roman Catholic Mass – in English, Every Sunday, 4pm at Szent Antal Church, District II, Pasaréti tér. Religious education classes and nursery available.
Roman Catholic mass – in English every Saturday at 5pm at the Jézus Szíve templom (Sacred Heart Church), Pest, District VIII, Mária utca 25. Church entrance is from Lôrinc Pap tér. Tel: 318-3479.
I./B Public Transportation
BUS-METRO-TRAM
Through the advanced transportation network practically you may get in Budapest 7/24 anywhere. The night buses cover the whole city. During the day more than 180 buses, 14 trolley-buses (electric-powered buses), 29 trams and 3 metro lines are working. Along these lines there are several historically significant and interesting alternative transport vehicles to serve the public, like the Budavári Sikló (Funicular-Railway) at the Castle district with the spectacular view of the Pest side during the trip, the Fogaskerekű (cog-railway) which goes to the Buda hills or even a Libegő (Chairlift)- goes from Zugliget to János-heg.
Public transportation lines timetables,rates and route maps:http://www.bkv.hu/english/home/index.html
Budapest CardThe 2- or 3-day Budapest Card permits unlimited travel on public transport, free or discounted entry to 60 museums and other sights as well as discounts in restaurants, spas and other services. Rates: 6,300 HUF for 48 hours, 7,500 HUF for 72 hours.
You could buy Budapest Card from the underguide as well, that your underguide will give you upon your meeting.
More details: www.budapestinfo.hu
You can also buy your budapest card at budapestUNDERGUIDE.
Taxi
In Budapest there are many reliable taxi companies but also plenty of taxis that do not belong to any taxi association and that you’ d better avoid. Fares and taxi signs vary, but all of the taxis have a yellow plate and a ‘taxi’ sign on the top.
It is not only adventurous to take a taxi on the street – where there is a serious chance to find an overcharging ‘hyena’ taxi with no company control – but it is also more expensive. All serious taxi companies have a 24/24 dispatch number with English speaking operators so if you have the possibility, call a taxi on phone or ask someone to order it for you. Phone ordered taxis are cheaper, safer and they pick you up anytime and anywhere within 5-10 minutes.
Underguide works with one of the major Taxi companies, City Taxi that you can reach directly at: (00 36 1) 2222 222
From / To Airport:
Budapest Ferihegy International Airport (www.bud.hu, general (flight information): (00 36 1) 296-7155) is located about 20 km from Budapest. It has 2 terminals a few km from each other: Terminal 1 for the budget flights and Terminal 2 (A and B) for all others.
Public Transportation: Telling the truth, the Airport is not very well connected with Budapest downtown by public transport: you have a choice between a train and a bus then the metro, but both take about 1-1.5 hours to get downtown and you need to change at least one time. For exact information contact the tourist info desk upon arrival.
Airport Shuttle: good deal if you travel on your own (about 16 euros). Reliable and quick and you can simply take it upon arrival at the Airportshuttle desk.
more info: www.airportshuttle.hu/en
Taxi: At the airport you will only find cars of ‘Zona Taxi’ with fixed rates. More info: www.zonataxi.eu
If you prefer to book your taxi transfer in advance, click here and we’ll book it for you.
Roads/Motorways
The motorway network in Hungary is Budapest centred: all the 5 highways meet at the capital. The M0 is a ring-road which connects these 5 highways and reduces Budapest cargo- and transit traffic. Buying e-vignettes for motorways is a must but rates are reasonable ( ca. 5 Eur / 4 days, ca 15 Eur / month) and you can purchase them at all fuel stations, by sms or on the Internet http://www.motorway.hu/Engine.aspx
Speed limits (km/hour) for passenger cars and motorbikes:
motorway - 130 / main road - 110 / other road - 90/ cities - 50
I/C Phoning and useful numbers
International dial number of Hungary: +36, Budapest: 1
International calls: 00 + dial number of country + telephone number
Cell phone calls: 00 + 36 + operate numbers (20 / 30 / 70) + telephone number (seven digits)
Home call: 06 + regional dial number + local telephone number
Telephone numbers: Budapest: seven-digit, countryside: six-digit
Public phones: most of them work with phone cards (HUF 500, 800, 1,800 and 5,000), but some with 50, 100 forint coins. Phone cards are available in post offices, newsagents /newspaper shops and tobacconists.
Central emergency number: 112
Ambulance: 104 (in English: 311 1666)
Fire: 105
Police: 107
Telephone Enquiries - International Operator: 190
Other Useful Contacts
• Non-stop pharmacies downtown:
2nd district Frankel Leo u. 22. , Margaret Bridge - Buda side
6th district Teréz krt 41. , near Oktogon
12th district Alkotas utca 1/b. , at Déli Railway station
• International Bus Info: 252-1896 (Mon-Fri 6am to 6pm)
• MAV ticket office (Budapest district 6, Andrassy ut 73-75.): 322-8082
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Hungarian entry and stay rules: http://www.kulugyminiszterium.hu/kum/en/bal/consular_services/Entry_of_Foreigners_to_Hungary/
International e-newspapers in Hungary:
http://www.budapestsun.com/
http://www.budapesttimes.hu/
http://funzine.hu/
http://www.bestofbudapest.com/home.html
http://www.budapester.hu/
http://www.foaia.hu/
http://www.neue-zeitung.hu/
http://www.pesterlloyd.net/
If you decided to go out on your own and not with us (☹), let us give you few ideas to quickly adapt to the nightlife customs of Budapest. Hungarians are used to going out quite a lot: Monday and Tuesday are quiet with few international parties or karaoke bars, Wednesday the city starts to move and the night gets full of youngsters and students, Thursday is absolutely student party night and Friday and Saturday are the “normal” party days.
People start to warm up with beers, ‘fröccs’-es (local wine spritzer type) and some good Pálinka (our fruit based spirits) at about 7 pm in pubs & ruin bars and leave to party places & clubs around 10-11pm. Most clubs are open until 4-5 am but you won’t have problems to find after-parties or clubs closing at 8-9 in the morning. Dinner time is between 6pm – 10 pm, so late dinner plans are not easy to realize.
When you ask for the bill please do not forget that average tipping is 10% (check the bill – in upper class restau-bars it may be included) and the usual way of tipping is to ‘ask back’ from a 10% higher amount than the bill is. Over billing used to be a problem years ago; today most of these places have been closed but it still happens, so check your bill in details before paying.
http://www.cinetrip.hu/en/watercircus
Budapest - besides the festivals, the ruin bars or the summer open-air places – is full of clubs and discos. We do not dare to recommend party places to you because each has its own style. But before you choose you’d better ask local people or us to find the best party of your taste or to go out with us.
The night buses are available every day (AND NIGHT ☺ ) of the week. The taxi drivers hunt for customers during the night, but before getting into the taxi just fix the fee or simply order a taxi. Budapest nightlife - you won’t be disappointed!
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