BUDAPEST CITY INFO, FIGURES, PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Home > Budapest City info/public transport > General infoGENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT HUNGARY AND BUDAPEST
BASICS
The international car sign of Hungary is: H
Hungary is located in Central Europe, in the Carpathian Basin and shares borders with seven countries: Slovakia to the North, Ukraine to the North-East, Romania to the East, Serbia and Croatia to the South and Slovenia and Austria to the West.
Hungary is
a member of the European Union (EU) since 2004.
Area: 93 030 km2
Capital: Budapest
(population of 2,1 million). Budapest is divided
into Buda and Pest by the Danube
River.
Form of government: republic, parliamentary democracy
Time zone: Central European Time (CET), GMT + 1 hour
Population
Population: 10 175 000 people (2002)
Population density: 108 people / km2
National Language: Hungarian
Climate
Hungary is located in the temperate climatic zone, on the border and under the influence of three big climatic regions: the Oceanic, the Continental and the Mediterranean. The climate therefore is quite moody. On the hottest summer days there can be 33-38 Celsius degrees, while in the winter the temperature may even drop to -25,0 – 30,0.
Most important rivers: Danube
River (417 km), Tisza
(597 km)
Highest peak: Kékestető (1,014 m)
Lowest point: Gyálarét (78 m)
Largest lake: Lake Balaton (591 km2) (the largest lake
of Central Europe)
Household power (voltage): 220 / 230 V
MONEY,
MONEY EXCHANGE
Money can only be changed at official exchange offices. Exchanging money on the street is risky and illegal! Most banks offer 24 hour bank note exchange services at their ATM. Some banks and travel service agencies develop and amend their own exchange rates on basis of the bank of issue rates. In such cases, it should be posted. It is advised to save the receipt received when exchanging money until leaving the country. Exchange rates at railway stations or at downtown exchange offices are usually more favourable than the average rate offered at banks, airports or at the hotels.
Coins: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 Ft
Bank notes: 200, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10 000,
20 000 Ft
The most popular credit cards, such as:
AMEX,
Diners Club,
Cirrus,
EnRoute,
Euro/Mastercard,
JCB
VISA
can be used at banks, to draw money from the ATMs, at hotels, restaurants or for paying business bills. At the entrance of such places, emblems (logos) indicate which types of credit cards are accepted.
In Hungary, banks are generally open during the weekdays from 8:00 – 16:00. On Saturdays, some banks may be open, but all are closed on Sunday.
HOLIDAYS
January 1. – New Years
March 15. – National Holiday
– remembering the 1848/49 revolution and freedom fight
Easter Monday
May 1. – May Day – the day of celebrating work,
admission to the European Union (2004)
May 28. – Pentecost Monday
August 20. – National Holiday – celebrating the establishment of the State, King St. Stephen
October 23. – National Holiday – remembering the revolution and freedom fights of 1956
November 1. – All Saints Day
December 25-26. – Christmas
December 31. – New Years Eve
PASSPORT, VISA
Citizens of the EU are exempt from the obligatory use of passports for travel between other EU member states. This is also true for travel between Norway and Iceland.
A personal Identification card (ID) is sufficient to travel to Hungary for the citizens of the following states: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland.
A passport is needed for citizens of Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
A visa is required for citizens from: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Belarus, Georgia, Macedonia, Moldavia, Montenegro, Morocco, Peru, Turkey, Tunis, Russia, Serbia, South-African Republic and the Ukraine.
Foreigners, who wish to stay in Hungary for a time period of over 90 days, or wish to enter the country in order to work or to conduct other form of income generating activity, must apply for a visa (entry permit).
In case your passport has been stolen, please notify the Police-office of the given district.
Info: www.kulugyminiszterium.hu
TRAVELLING TO BUDAPEST
By Plane
Airplanes arrive to the Ferihegy Airport 1 and 2, located 15 kilometre from the city centre. Ferihegy 1 was opened solely to low cost airlines in the September of 2005. Currently, terminal A of Ferihegy 2 is exclusively for the arrival and departure of Malev aircrafts, while terminal B is for all other foreign airlines.
Airport central information line: (+36-1) 296-9696, aircraft information: (+36-1) 296-7000.
Baggage handling service: Ferihegy 2A (+36-1) 296-8108, (+36-1) 296-7217.
In the arrival hall of the airport, you can find most of the large car rental service agencies. The Airport Minibus is quite popular, transporting passengers to any part of the city for 2300 HUF, with the return ticket of 3900 HUF, valid for six months, it is even more favourable. Tickets are available in the waiting hall on the arrival level, at the Airport Minibus office. The Airport Minibus offices at the terminals are open everyday from 05:00 to 01:00.
Due to the contract concluded in July 2006 between the Budapest Airport and one of the taxi agencies, the taxis available at the airport have quite favourable transfer fees and high standard of service, therefore we bravely recommend them.
Taxi fees include VAT but do not include the tip.
Info: www.bud.hu (map of: How to get to the airport!)
By
Car
Out of the four highways and four main roads, seven set off from Budapest. For the use of M1, M3, M5 and M7 (highways) vignette is obligatory which can be purchased at the frontier crossing points and at all larger gas stations. Traffic signs and road signs conform to the signs used in the other European countries. The use of safety belts is obligatory in the front as well as in the back seats. In the automotive, mobiles can only be used via speakerphones. The consumption of alcohol in any quantity is strictly prohibited. The upper limit of speed in inhabited areas is 50 km/hour, while outside of such areas it is 90km/hour, on semi-motorways the limit is 110, while on the highway it is 130 km/hour.
Public road service call number: 188
Documents necessary to drive:
Driving license
Car documents (automobile certificate of registration, log book)
Third-party insurance (motor-car insurance)
Green Card
Highway
fees
Visit the Hungarian Highway authorities for highway sticker prices
Highways
M1: Budapest - Hegyeshalom
M15: Hegyeshalom - Rajka (only half highway – rest is under construction)
M3: Budapest - Gyöngyös - Füzesabony - Polgár (secure link with Slovakia, the rest of the road is under construction)
M30: connecting Miskol with the M3 highway
M5: Budapest - Szeged (remaining sections of the road from the southern border are under construction)
M7 Budapest - Balatonaliga; Balatonszárszó - Ordacsehi
Out of the four highways and four main roads, seven set off from Budapest. For the use of M1, M3, M5 and M7 (highways) vignette is obligatory which can be purchased at the frontier crossing points and at all larger gas stations.
Info: 24hour service line of the Hungarian Auto Club (Magyar Autó Klub): (+36-1) 345-1755
Public road service call number: 188
Approaching
Budapest
Arriving from Vienna: A4-Hegyeshalom - M1 highway
Arriving from Prague: Bratislava-Rajka - M1 highway
Arriving from Bratislava: Rajka - M15 – M1 highway
Arriving from Croatia: A4 – Letenye - M7 highway (almost finished)
With
a car in Budapest
Driving in the capital is rather complicated, as on the one hand, there are way too many cars, while on the other hand there are not enough road signs. Pay significant attention to the other car drivers, as they can do incredible stunts and manoeuvres and are also quite impatient. This is especially true on Mondays and Fridays, in rain and in snow and especially in the summer, as we have the most road renovations during this time.
As in all big cities, and thus also in Budapest, people occasionally steal cars. For this reason, we recommend that you do not leave (especially not in visible places) any valuables, bags, documents, radio etc. in the car and also pay special attention to where you park.
Parking
Parking in Budapest is not only a rather difficult task but also quite expensive. We are better off if we do not go by car to the downtown region rather, we should leave it at an outer district and use public transportation to approach the “city” and thus also evade the heavy traffic jams. Also on the outskirts it is important to see whether it is a pay-zone or not.
In case we do enter the city by car and are lucky enough to find a parking spot, then you can be sure that you will have to pay for it. Usually a parking ticket valid for maximum 2 hours can be purchased at the automats on the side of the road. Parking fees vary between 120-300 HUF/hour but due to the various operating services these fees can at times be quite different.
The parking patrol (guards) are quite strict and very attentive so do not try to avoid having to pay because there is no mercy and you may easily find a little “welcome package” with a cheque on the windowpane, or in a more severe case, wheel-shackles placed on your car.
For the removal of the wheel-shackles, you can turn to the parking patrol via the telephone number posted on the parking-ticket machine or visit the office at Gerlóczy Street 2. in the 5th District, open from 9 am to 8 pm with personnel on duty after 8pm.
However, you must be aware of the fact, that parking is not guarded in these areas.
If you are cautious about your car, choose a bit more expensive parking garage, although unfortunately there aren’t a lot of these downtown. Occasionally there are some empty plots where parking places are reserved, these are usually guarded and in the long run, they also cost less.
Refuelling
Interestingly, out of all the neighbouring countries, Hungary has the highest gas prices, with prices fluctuating around 300 HUF/litre, but changing from week to week at times. It is worthwhile to investigate the prices at the different gas stations, as there can be huge differences (Tesco petrol might not always be the cheapest) and we should also pay attention that the tank really gets filled up!
By
Train
Budapest is connected by railway directly to 25 capital cities and the numbers of daily international trains exceed 50. Trains leave to Vienna for example, every three hours. The most popular trains connecting Budapest and the other major domestic cities are the Intercity trains. Three international railway stations can be found in the capital, all right next to the major metro (subway) lines. At the Keleti and Déli Railway Stations (pályaudvar, pu) you find metro line number 2 (red line), while at the Nyugati Railway Station is metro line number 3 (blue line).
Information:
Keleti Railway Station (Keleti pályaudvar): VIII., Baross Square. Tel: (+36-1) 413 - 4610.
Nyugati Railway Station (Nyugati pályaudvar): VI., Nyugati Square Tel: (+36-1) 349-8503
Déli Railway Station (Déli pályaudvar): I. Krisztina krt. 37. Tel: (+36-1) 375-6593
Info: www.elvira.hu
By
Bus
The international (Eurolines) buses arrive and depart from Népliget bus terminal, which is also the terminal for many domestic bus lines. Tel: (+36-1) 382-0888.
Domestic liens also arrive to and depart from the Árpád Bridge (+36-1) 412-2597), from the Stadiums (Stadionok) (+36-1) 220-6227), and in Buda from Etele Square (+36-1) 382-4910).
Info: www.volanbusz.hu
By
Ship/Boat
Hydrofoil boats: Run (ply) daily on the Danube River, on the Budapest-Bratislava-Vienna-Bratislava-Budapest route, between the 1st of May and the 29th of October.
Hydrofoil boats: transport passengers on the Danube River from Budapest to Vienna via Bratislava and back to Budapest from May 1. - Oct. 29.
International ferryboat lines: Ply between the Slovakian Sturovo (Párkány) and Esztergom on a daily basis.
Domestic boat lines: Scheduled boats depart from Budapest, through the Dunakanyar, arriving to the northern Hungarian holiday resorts.
Pleasure-boats (cruise ship lines): Boats offering great experiences cruise on certain sections of the Danube River. (Duna Corso – sightseeing program, Dance-music pleasure-boat, Margaret Island line).
TOURIST
INFORMATION OFFICES
Aside from the tourist information office at the airport, there are many places in Budapest where we may gather information about the specific city’s, region’s or in fact the entire country’s tourist offers. The staff of the Tourinform-offices who speak Hungarian as well as foreign languages are eager to help us out with regards to accommodation, entertainment, transportation, programs, sights and services. In the Tourinform-offices we may also find some tourist publications free of charge, can make reservations to tourist programs, book for accommodation, buy tickets to various events and also buy maps, guidebooks, tourist cards, and postcards as well.
Tourinform
Oktogon
Liszt Ferenc Square
9-11.
Tourinform
(National Tourism Info Centre)
Sütő Street 2.
Tourinform Buda
Castle
Szentháromság Square
Tourinform
Nyugati Train Station
Nyugati Square1.
Info: www.tourinform.hu