Budapest Tourist Information and Travel Guide

You've probably heard that Budapest is a city of spas, and I can only confirm this.

Budapest is a capital city of Hungary.

The Budapest Card is an excellent discount card for travel in the city. There are 2 and 3 day versions, and besides allowing free travel on all public transport, it gives you discounts at museums, restaurants, etc. The 2-day card costs HUF 6300, the 3-day card is HUF 7500.

It is available at more than 250 places in Budapest: main metro ticket offices, tourist information bureaus, travel agencies, hotels and the airport, and abroad at major tour operators.

If you would like to buy Budapest Card online, you can do it here: Buy Budapest Card Online

Public transportation in Budapest is run by BKV, which has a useful English-language site. As of February 2007, single tickets cost HUF 320 (HUF 400 if you buy them on board - note that tickets are sold by the driver only on selected routes). If you intend to travel a lot, it's a better option to get a 24 hour travel card (HUF 1550) or a discount coupon book (10 tickets for HUF 2800) or a 72 hour travel card (HUF 3850). Information about tickets and prices can be found on BKV's ticket and pass information site. One ticket is good for only one journey; anytime you take a new vehicle, you should validate another ticket.

Fines for tavelling without a tciket on a Budapest Public Transport Service:

if you're caught without a valid ticket by a controller you are to pay a fine which is currently 6000 HUF paid on the spot.

Another possibility is Budapest Card, which allow free public transport and discount at museums and restaurants.

If you arrive to Budapest by airplane, you can easily pick up your Budget car, right after your arrival. Budget provides direct airport service, helping you to get faster and easier to your destination.

The Taxi in Budapest is cheaper when you call it than if you stop it on the street or let a Hotel or Restaurant call it for you. You can call  any of numbers above. All of these companies should speak English, if not take another one.

Like in several cities of the world, in Budapest there are two major risks for the inexperienced tourist: taxis and restaurants.

Taxi was travellers' nightmare, mainly for those arriving from / going to the airport. Luckily the situation is slowly getting better. In 2006 Zóna Taxi, a reliable company have won monopoly for the right to take passengers from the airport; for the details read Airport transfer chapter. Unless you ordered a cab from a different company, do not accept any offer from taxi drivers waiting around the terminal entrance. Some of them may want to mislead travellers, demanding them as much as EUR 100 for a single trip. If you travel the other way around (from the city to the airport), pre-order your taxi on the chosen company's phone number.

Unfortunately situation around railway and bus stations is still not regularized. The worst is probably Keleti Pályaudvar: never trust drivers hanging around the arrival side, rather pre-order a car. Whether it's not possible, take only taxis logoed by one of the bigger companies. As a general rule, make sure the taximeter is on or bargain the price with the driver beforehand. Even in 2006 many cases have been reported when taxi drivers extorted hundreds of Euros from inexpert foreigners.

Similar abuses have happened also in restaurants and pubs, almost all of them in the vicinity of Váci utca in Pest. You should absolutely avoid Váci utca's eateries and bars, mainly between Elisabeth bridge and Vörösmarty tér. Many of them are simply tourist traps, offering bad quality for ridiculously high prices. The majority of restaurants and pubs in Budapest are reliable. In Hungary it's compulsory to put the menu card outside the entrance; if it's not the case, don't enter. Eat only where locals eat, drink where locals do.

If you're a male tourist, don't accept any invitation for a drink from the not-so-beautiful girls hanging around Váci utca. You can be sure that they will have fake French champagne and you will only have the bill, but nothing else. It's unlikely that a small talk with them is worth hundreds of Euros. You'll find the same girls in erotic and topless bars; avoid them unless you're ready to pay your monthly salary for a glass of wine.

In Hungary, the official currency is Hungarian Forint - HUF.  

Use this currency converter to see the actual rates for the worlds most popular currencies.

Emergency call 112

Ambulance service phone 104
Police phone 107
Fire emergency phone 105
Directory inquiries (Budapest and Hungary) phone 198
Directory inquiries (international) - both telephone and fax numbers, call services and prices phone 199

Budapest is in CET (Central european time) zone. 

Standard Time Zone: GMT/UTC + 01:00 hour

Daylight saving time:+1 hour