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General info
Hungary is a free democtratic republic, has 10.5 million inhabitants. Budapest the capital is far the largest city with 2 million people.
Hungarians are predominantly Roman Catholic. We have also Protestants, Lutherans, Jewish and some minor denominations.
Hungarian is not related to any of the neighbouring countries languages, not Slavic, Germanic, nor Latin, it's a Finno-Ugrian language, related to Finnish and Esthonian.
We had a very turbulant history, have lost many of our territories but are happy to be a free country now, being members of the EU since 2004.
Our climate is temperate continental. We tend to have hot summers, usually July and August are the hottest month 80-95 Fahrenheit, our winters are quite cold, sometimes with temperatures below zero. [ more about the climate ]
Our currency is the Forint (HUF) about 240 to 1 EUR and 150 to 1 USD. The rate varies slightly.
Budapest is a very safe city, only thing you have to watch out for and be careful about are pickpockets like in every big city. Please take care of your personal belongings! Other than that you can strall around the city day and night any place.
Getting around in Budapest
From the Ferihegy airport we have shuttle busses to any hotel, you have to calculate with more time since these deliver guests usually to several hotels. The price is 2500.- HUF (10 EUR), return 4000.- HUF (18 EUR).
Zona Taxi is much more convenient, it operates between the airport and the hotels, the price differs according to the 'zones' of the city it is about 4000.- HUF (18 EUR) - 5500.- HUF (25 EUR). If you are a company of two - 4 people it's certainly more reasonable and faster.
Public transport is very well organised in Budapest. We have 2 metro lines, quick and running often, one of them M2 connects the two parts of the city Buda and Pest 30 metres under the Danube. We have the oldest Underground of the Continent running under Andrássy Boulevard, with stops at Opera House, Museum of Terror, Heroes' Square and City Park. We have streetcars, busses and trolleys. You need to buy a ticket each time you use public transport, for one ride it's 270.- HUF (1,20 EUR).
You can however also buy a one day ticket 1550.- HUF (7 EUR) or a Tourist-ticket 3400.- HUF (16 EUR) valid for three days or a one week ticket 4000.- HUF (18 EUR). The advantage of these tickets is that you don't need to validate and by tickets, You just show your pass. If you like to explore the city properly, these are very useful.
Taxis: a crucial issue - don't just get into any taxi you see or stop on the street. The prices differ a lot. To be on the safe side ask the place you stay at to call a taxi for you, if you are in a restaurant you can certainly have this request as well. Reliable taxi companies:
City Taxi: 211-1111
Buda Taxi: 233-3333
Főtaxi: 222-2222
If you call from your mobile phone add +361 before the numbers!
Accomodation
Some websites where you have a nice choice:
Luxury Hotels
Spa Hotels
Reasonable Hotels
A choice of 3-4 star Hotels
Apartments in Budapest
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