Hungary Travel Guide


The latest travel Information on Hungary, includes ideas on Things to See and Do, Local Events, Consulate & Embassy Contact Addresses and much more, all from a first-time visitors point of view.

Hungary Information

Overview

Hungary is a country with a complex sense of identity - not generally regarding itself as Balkan or Slavic, but Western. The country’s assortment of cultures can be traced back through its history. A history that has seen it settled by the Magyars (a Finno-Ugric tribe who arrived via Russia in the ninth century) and ruled by the Arpad Dynasty, devastated by a Mongol invasion in the 13th century, ruled by the Turks in the 16th and 17th centuries and later allied to Austria.
 
Being landlocked, this mosaic of cultures and lineage can also be explained by the country’s shared borders with the Slovak Republic, Ukraine, Romania, Croatia, Serbia, Austria and Slovenia. Yet despite being landlocked, Hungary contains some beautiful stretches of water (such as Lake Balaton) and pulsates with hot, medicinal springs.

Hungary has also managed to retain its unique language and customs. Immense pride in their homeland may lead Hungarians to persuade the tourist in Budapest to spend some time also exploring Hungary’s thousands of acres of vineyards and orchards, plus 11 national parks and hundreds of protected areas. Not to mention its historic urban centres like Eger, Szentender, Estergom and Sopron.

Nevertheless, Budapest is a fantastic capital city in its own right, situated on a beautiful stretch of the Danube. The city is made up of two parts - Buda, the older, more graceful and cobbled part, and Pest, the commercial centre. The capital is a lively city that has long been a haven for writers, artists and musicians. And Hungary has a lot of them, with rich traditions in folk and classical music, the birthplace of Liszt and Bartók. Budapest is also filled with the strains of much more modern music, which spills out of nightclubs, trendy bars and discos.


Top Things To See

 Visit Budapest (website: www.budapestinfo.hu). Stroll around Buda’s cobbled streets and soak up spectacular views from the Fisherman’s Bastion. In Pest admire the Hungarian Parliament, Hero’s Square and Vajdahunyad Castle, or unearth the treasures at the Hungarian National Museum.

 Follow the Danube Bend to the historic market town of Szentendre (website: www.szentendre.hu). See ceramics at the Margit Kovács Museum, paintings at the Béla Czóbel Museum, historical artefacts at the Károly Ferenczy Museum and reconstructed folk villages at the Ethnographic Museum.

 Head for Hungary’s former capital and spiritual heart, Esztergom (website: www.esztergom.hu), home to Hungary’s largest basilica, the palace ruins and the Museum of the Stronghold of Esztergom. Admire one of the country’s finest art collections at the Christian Museum.

Visit Sopron (website: www.sopron.hu), which boasts 240 listed buildings. Do not miss the Firewatch Tower, Storno House with its Roman, Celtic and Avar relics and mementos of Franz Liszt, the Gothic Goat Church or the gargoyled Church of St Michael.

 Go to see the baroque Esterházy Palace at Fertöd, designed to rival Versailles; Josef Haydn was music master here at the end of the 18th century.

 Admire the excellent Romanesque stonework at Szombathely, which claims to be the oldest town in Hungary (website: www.szombathely.hu).

 Explore the towns around Lake Balaton (website: www.balaton-tourism.hu). Discover Tihany’s Benedictine Abbey, its Belsô-tó Lake and the Aranyház geyser cones. Meander through Veszprém’s cobbled streets, 10km (6 miles) north of the lake, and visit Episcopal Palace and Gizella Chapel.

 Visit the vibrant university town of Szeged, an economic and cultural hub that is also home to Hungary’s finest Greek Orthodox church (website: www.szegedportal.hu).

See the fifth-oldest university in Europe (1367) and the finest Hungarian examples of Ottoman architecture from Turkish occupancy (1543-1686) in Pécs (website: www.pecs.hu). Visit the Cathedral, the Mosque of Gazi Kasim Pasha, and the Archaeological Museum. 

 Head to Eger (website: www.eger.hu), one of the country’s oldest and most colourful cities, which boasts around 200 historical monuments, including its 14-sided Minaret.

 Gaze at the spectacular Sárospatak Castle, one of Hungary’s greatest historical monuments.

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.


Top Things To Do

 Hike in Hungary’s mountains. The Börzsöny, Pilis and Mátra ranges north of Budapest are popular, with the latter containing Hungary’s highest peak, Kékestetö (1,015m/3,329ft). For less strenuous walks head to Lake Balaton and the southern hills.

Fish in the River Tisza, widely regarded as one of Europe’s premier angling spots. Accommodation for anglers is readily available, and guides can be hired if required. Species such as carp, bream, pike, trout and tench are abundant.

 Relax in Budapest’s thermal springs (there are over 100 in the city) and medicinal baths. Visit Király Medicinal Baths, which date from the Middle Ages, or the historic Rudas Medicinal Baths. Debrecen, Hévíz, Harkány and Eger are also spa resorts.

 Go horse riding on the Great Plain, which is home to several famous stud farms and stages regular horse shows. Take lessons or go on an excursion with riding schools all over the country.

 Sunbathe on the popular sandy beaches (strands), or take a dip in the famously shallow waters of Lake Balaton. Siófok, on the south shore of the lake, has some of the sandiest beaches and best facilities for tourists.

Drink wine from the vineyards of the Szépasszony Valley, where visitors can sample the famous Bikavér (Bull’s Blood) wine. Due east is Tokaj, the equivalent of Champagne as a wine-producing area. 

 Watch the birds, cycle or hike in the Fertõ-Hanság National Park, whose highlights include Lake Fertő, the westernmost steppe lake in Eurasia, and the Hanság, an area of wetlands. Visit the park’s permanent wildlife and ethnographic museum at Öntésmajor. 

 Follow the tourist trails in Kiskunság National Park, which preserves parts of the Danube Tisza Floodplain of Central Hungary in seven disconnected areas. Learn about swamps, migratory birds, alkali plateaux and lakes in this biosphere reserve. 

 Visit the caves at the Aggtelek National Park, part of the Gömör Torna Karst area of cave systems which extends into the Slovak Republic.

Watch the birds in the Hortobágy National Park, where different types of storks, warblers, eagles and herons can be seen. A guide is required for visits to some parts of the park, and motor vehicles are not permitted. 

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.


Going Out

Food and Drink

A good range of restaurants is available, from inexpensive self-service establishments to fine dining eateries. Patisseries (cukrászda), serving cakes and pastries, and coffee shops (kavenas) are also popular. Gerbeaud’s is probably Budapest’s most famous coffee-house.

Things to know: There are no licensing hours. Minors are allowed to go into bars but will not be served alcohol.

National specialities:
• Halászlé (a spicy soup made with freshwater fish and paprika).
• Gulyás (Hungarian goulash is a hearty beef, capsicum and paprika soup; Western goulash is called pörkölt or tokány).
• Gundel palacsinta (pancake served with walnuts, raisins, lemon rind, chocolate sauce and rum).
• Paprikás csirke (paprika chicken).
• Kolbasz (sausage spiced with paprika).

National drinks:
• Tokaji (strong dessert wine).
• Bull’s Blood (strong red wine).
• Pálinka (brandy) comes in barrack (apricot), szliva (plum) or cseresznye (cherry) flavour.
• Beer.
• Unicum (herb liqueur).

Legal drinking age: 18.

Tipping: 10 to 15% is expected in restaurants, bars, clubs, taxis and so on.

Nightlife

Budapest is the country’s main nightlife centre with myriad clubs, bars, discos and casinos. It is also home to the magnificent Budapest Opera House, which stages regular performances. Although on a smaller scale, the nightlife in larger cities and towns like Debrecen and Szeged is also lively and during the summer months the popular Lake Balaton resort of Siófok has a buzzing nightlife. Cinemas in major towns show many films in their original language with Hungarian subtitles. Western Hungary in particular has a lot of very good wine cellars.

Shopping

Traditional purchases include embroideries, Herend and Zsolnay porcelain, wooden toys and national dolls. Hungary is also a good place to buy caviar, foie gras and Hungarian wines and spirits.

Shopping hours: Most stores are open Mon-Fri 1000-1800 or 1900 and Sat 1000-1330. Shopping centres have longer hours and are open Mon-Sat 1000-2000; some are also open on Sundays. Food shops are open Mon-Sat 0700-1800.


Climate

There are four seasons, with a very warm summer from June to August. Spring and autumn are mild, while winters are very cold. Rainfall is distributed throughout the year with snowfalls in winter.

Required Clothing

Lightweights for summer. Mediumweights for spring with heavier clothing for autumn and winter.


Public Holidays

Below are Public Holidays for the January 2008-December 2009 period.

2008
1 Jan New Year’s Day.
15 Mar Anniversary of 1848 uprising against Austrian rule.
24 Mar Easter Monday.
1 May Labour Day.
12 May Whit Monday.
20 Aug National Day (Feast of St Stephen).
23 Oct Republic Day (Anniversary of 1956).
1 Nov All Saints’ Day.
25 Dec Christmas Day.
26 Dec Boxing Day. 

2009
1 Jan New Year’s Day.
15 Mar Anniversary of 1848 uprising against Austrian rule.
13 Apr Easter Monday.
1 May Labour Day.
31 May Whit Monday.
20 Aug National Day (Feast of St Stephen).
23 Oct Republic Day (Anniversary of 1956).
1 Nov All Saints’ Day.
25 Dec Christmas Day.
26 Dec Boxing Day.


Health

Diphtheria

Special Precaution: No

Hepatitis A

Special Precaution: No

Malaria

Special Precaution: No

Rabies

Special Precaution: No

Tetanus

Special Precaution: Yes

Typhoid

Special Precaution: No

Yellow Fever

Special Precaution: No

Health Care

The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) entitles European travellers to free or reduced cost medical care, at state-run facilities, in the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland. It does not cover ongoing illnesses of a non-urgent nature, so comprehensive travel insurance is advised.

Note

Further Health Information

We advise you to check health requirements for the country you are traveling to with your GP, practice nurse or travel health clinic as health requirements and vaccinations can change at short notice.

Money

Currency

Hungarian Forint (HUF; symbol Ft) = 100 fillér. Notes are in denominations of Ft20,000, 10,000, 5,000, 2,000, 1,000, 500 and 200. Coins are in denominations of Ft100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1. A large number of commemorative coins in circulation are legal tender.

Currency Exchange

Currency can be exchanged at hotels, banks, bureaux de change, airports, railway stations, travel agencies and some restaurants throughout the country. Automatic exchange machines are available in Budapest and other main tourist centres.

Credit/Debit Cards and ATMs

It is possible to withdraw cash by credit card at many post offices. American Express, Cirrus, Diners Club, MasterCard and Visa are accepted. Credit and debit cards can be used to withdraw money from ATMs.

Traveller's Cheques

Accepted in some stores and banks, but not all. To avoid additional exchange rate charges, travellers are advised to take traveller’s cheques in Euros or US Dollars.

Banking Hours

Mon-Thurs 0800-1500, Fri 0800-1300.


Passport/Visa

British

Passport Required: Yes
Visa Required: No/2
Return Ticket Required: No

Australian

Passport Required: Yes
Visa Required: No/3
Return Ticket Required: Yes

Canadian

Passport Required: Yes
Visa Required: No/3
Return Ticket Required: Yes

USA

Passport Required: Yes
Visa Required: No/3
Return Ticket Required: Yes

Other EU

Passport Required: 1
Visa Required: No/2
Return Ticket Required: No

Note

Hungary joined the Schengen Agreement on 21 December 2007 for overland entry points and seaports, but will also join on 29 March 2008 for airports.

Passport Note

Nationals staying for longer than 30 days, who are not staying in a hotel, will need to register with the local police.

Passports

Valid passport required by all nationals referred to in the chart above except:
(a) 1. EU nationals holding a valid national ID card.

Visas

Not required by all nationals referred to in the chart above for stays of up to 90 days.
2. EU nationals staying longer than 90 days will need to register with the immigration department. 
3. Nationals of Australia, Canada and the USA staying longer that 90 days will need to apply for a long-stay visa.

Note: Nationals not referred to in the chart above are advised to contact the embassy to check visa requirements (see Contact Addresses).

Visa Note

(a) Visitors are not entitled to take any gainful employment. Non-EU visa-exempt nationals need a work permit and working visa in advance.

Types of Visa and Cost

Long-stay visa: £35.


Contact Addresses

Embassy of the Republic of Hungary in the UK

35 Eaton Place, London SW1X 8BY, UK
Tel: (020) 7235 5218.
Website: www.mfa.gov.hu/emb/london
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0930-1200 (visa section).

Hungarian National Tourist Office (HNTO) in the UK

46 Eaton Place, London SW1X 8AL, UK
Tel: (020) 7823 1032 or 1055 or 00800 3600 0000 (24-hour English-language enquiry line).
Website: www.gotohungary.co.uk

Embassy of the Republic of Hungary in the USA

3910 Shoemaker Street, NW, Washington, DC 20008, USA
Tel: (202) 362 6730.
Website: www.huembwas.org

Hungarian National Tourist Office (HNTO) in the USA

350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 7107, New York, NY 10118, USA
Tel: (212) 695 1221.
Website: www.gotohungary.com


Travel Advice

Warning

Most visits are trouble free.

There is an underlying threat from terrorism in Hungary. Attacks, although unlikely, could be indiscriminate, including in places frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers.

In late 2006 and early 2007, there were a series of political demonstrations against the Government in Budapest and elsewhere in the country. There were some cases where generally peaceful demonstrations ended in violence as a result of the actions of a small minority of protesters. There have been no violent incidents since then, but as a precaution, visitors should avoid all political demonstrations.

In January 2007, Hungarian authorities confirmed the existence of the H5N1 (Avian Influenza) virus strain in five dead geese in south-east Hungary. No human deaths or infections have been reported. The Hungarian authorities have announced that strict biosecurity measures are being enforced in accordance with EU legislation. 

This advice is based on information provided by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the UK. It is correct at time of publishing. As the situation can change rapidly, visitors are advised to contact the following organisations for the latest travel advice:

British Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Tel: 0845 850 2829.
Website: www.fco.gov.uk

US Department of State
Website: http://travel.state.gov/travel




Disclaimer
We've tried to make the information on this page as accurate as possible, but it is provided 'as is' and we accept no responsibility for any loss, injury or inconvenience sustained by anyone resulting from this information. You should verify critical information with the relevant authorities before you travel.