Budapest Essentials

Budapest Essentials & Tourist Information

Currency	Forint (HUF)
Exchange Rate	Aprox £1 = 327.616 HUF
Flight Time	UK 2H 30 mins aprox
Time Zone	GMT = +1 hour
Language	Hungarian
Voltage	230 V (European two-pin plugs)

National Holidays In Budapest

January 1st -	New Years Day
15th March -	1848 Revolution Day
May 1st -	May Day
August 20th -	St Stephen's Day
October 23rd -	Anniversary of the 1956 Uprising
December 24th -	Christmas Eve (half a day)
December 25th -	Christmas Day
December 26th -	Boxing Day

 

Budapest is renowned for its thermal baths and Gellért Gyógyfürdõ is the most beautiful of all. Located at XI.Kelenhegyi út 4 – on the Buda side of the Szabadság (Freedom Bridge) – a spacious maze of thermal pools, steam rooms and saunas lead off from the main art nouveau swimming pool. There are also several outdoor pools to enjoy in the summer along with sunbathing areas and a terrace restaurant. Just 3.10 HUF gives you access to all this. Opening hours: 6am to 7pm daily.

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Shops here usually open from 10am to 6pm on weekdays, and from 10am to 1pm on Saturdays. Food shops open from 7am to 7pm on weekdays and from 7am to 2pm on Saturdays. Supermarkets and shopping malls tend to stay open later and on Sundays only non-stop shops and large shopping centres are open.

 

Hungary is famed for rich mushroom sauces, dumplings, wild game, meat stews seasoned with paprika, cold fruit soups such as Gyümölcs Leves, and of course goulash. If you plan to come to Budapest in the first half of September, you can taste and buy award-winning Hungarian wines at the International Wine and Champagne Festival. The rich and fruity ‘Bull’s Blood’ Egri Bikavér, and those from the Lake Balaton region are world famous. Tokaj wines are very popular as aperitifs and dessert wines, in fact Louis XIV, the Sun King, was so struck by them that he proclaimed they were “Wine of kings, the King of Wines”! Acclaimed for its medicinal value in Hungarian folk wisdom, try the local firewater Pálinka which is made from apricots, plums, or pears.

 

Table manners are fairly formal in restaurants. Gratuity is 10% and for exceptional service between 15 to 20%. If a tip is not left, this means that the service was totally unacceptable. Another thing to bear in mind is that the bill and the tip should be presented directly to the waiter or waitress at the same time and not left on the table as it’s the Hungarian practice to complete all transactions face-to-face.

 

• Calling the UK from Hungary 0044 + area code minus zero + number.
• 36 is the International Country Code for calling Hungary.

• Emergency: 112

• Police: 107

• Ambulance: 104 or 311 1666

• Fire Brigade: 105 or 321 6216

Disabled Access In Budapest
Facilities for disabled visitors to Budapest are limited; however, Ferihegy Airport is equipped with sliding doors, disabled toilets, plus wheelchair ramps. There is staff available to assist passengers to board and disembark from flights. Budapest’s public transport network has introduced a limited number of low-floor buses on central routes, some ‘Localo’ vehicles for suburban services and some wheelchair friendly vehicles. Further information is available at: www.bkv.hu/angol/mozgaskorlatozott/index.html

 

• British Embassy: 1051 Budapest, Harmincad Utca 6. Tel: +36 1 266 2888.

• Hungarian Embassy: 35 Eaton Place, London, SW1X 8BY, Tel: 020 7201 3440.

• Lost property: For items lost on buses, metro, cogwheel railway, tram or trolleybus phone: 267 5299.

• Items lost on a MAV train or in a railway station phone: 312 0213.

• For belongings lost on an intercity bus phone: 318 2122.

Budapest City Breaks  Getting Around Budapest

Things To Do In Budapest  Budapest Weather