stand atop Gellert Hill for...
by Pegasus74
stand atop Gellert Hill for breathtaking views of the city. This is perhaps the best vantage point from which to see Buda and Pest, and the Danube. The hill, a witness of historical events, offers now respite and relaxation in her carefully gardened park to people tired of their routine toils. I was one of them, who felt the urge to go up there not one but two times, in late afternoon and early morning, to seek tranquility. (Took a tram from Deak ter in Pest to the station in front of Gellert Hotel and trekked up the hill. Don't know if there's any other way to get up there.) As dusk takes over day, the floodlit bridges are especially spectacular, seen romantically linking handsome Buda with gorgeous Pest under the fading golden yellow sky. And when the sun bubbles up from Pest in dawn, I saw more clearly that Pest is today married to Buda.
Hungary paid a high price for its alliances first with Austria in WWI, then with Germany in WWII, resulting in constant devastation of the city. The arrival of Russians in Budapest was apparently a liberation but also the beginning of Soviet rule. As the Russian army approaches the city, all bridges across the Danube were blown up. Today several road bridges link the two halves of the city, firmer than ever before.
Visa Info for Hungary
by budapest8
Citizens of the EU can stay in Hungary as long as they please. US and Canadian citizens can stay visa free for up to 90 days. Romanians may stay for 30 days without a visa. Citizens of most other countries need a visa before entering Hungary.
Visas to Bordering Countries
Austria
No visa required for EU, US, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand citizens.
Croatia
No visa required for EU, US, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand citizens.
Romania
No visa required for US, Canadian, EU or EEA citizens. Australian and New Zealand citizens must purchase a US$32 visa (available at road borders as well).
Slovenia
No visa required for EU, US, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand citizens.
Slovakia
No visa required for EU, US, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand citizens.
Ukraine
Single-entry visa: US and Canadian citizens US$75 plus invitation letter, for others US$45.
Serbia
Most nationalities still need a visa to enter Serbia-Montenegro, but these can be purchased at the border.
FOOD AND DRINKS
by nygaston
Budapest has over 1,000 restaurants, offering Hungarian and international cuisine. In the past ten years the choice has been growing fast: French, Chinese, Russian, Italian, Serbian, Indian, American, Greek, British, Czech, Danish, even vegetarian or kosher eateries have been opened. We are doing well in fast-food operations too with all the major chains having outlets in Budapest. You will not have any difficulty in finding a place to eat which fits your budget.
The simplest way to learn a nation is said to be through its cuisine. This city has a number of flavours: different in Óbuda, Buda and Pest. What is Hungarian cuisine like? Many think that Hungarians eat heavy, fatty dishes, a key ingredient of which is the throat-burning hot red paprika. We have to disappoint you if you are one of the many. Lard has long been replaced with vegetable oils, and red paprika is only used to enhance the flavour of the dishes.
The first thing that people recall about Hungarian cuisine is goulash, which is, contrary to popular belief , not a stew but an artistically prepared thick soup. Sour cream is often used to soften flavour. You must try fish soup, chicken paprika, good home-made pörkölt (stew) and the excellent fresh-water fishes: grilled pike-perch, trout with almond. Also compulsory is goose liver. Whether fried or grilled, cold or hot, it is simply unforgettable.
Only the larger restaurants have their menus printed in foreign languages. To help you select your dish, some useful ‘restaurant’ words are included in our glossary. Desserts would deserve a separate chapter. The most delicious ones are strudels, Gundel pancakes, somlói dumplings and gesztenyepüré (cooked chestnuts mashed, topped with whipped cream). Specialities include salty and sweet pastas, of which túrós csusza (pasta with curd and sour cream) is warmly recommended.
Nothing special...really! :)
by MedioLatino
Depending on the time you come! The weather is continental, summer is hot, winter is cold and there might be some rain sometimes...nothing special...really! :) You can get it all here, however for special medicaments you will need a doctor's prescription, so if you use something regularly, it's easier to just bring it with you. You can by all types of negative/dia films, batteries, chargers, memory cards or whatsoever needed, so bring just the equipment you are using! :)
Ferihegy Aircraft Museum (Repülogép Emlék)
by marielexoteria
Do you like planes? Do you want to sit in a real cockpit? Then the Open Air Aircraft Museum is for you! Kids and plane aficionados (like me :D)will love it. Their exhibition has old passenger and cargo aircrafts (and one aircraft still in use), jet engines, propeller planes, trucks that are still in use and a chopper. The information about the planes is in Hungarian but you could take a picture of the sign and google the plane model when you return home.
This museum is by far my favorite in Budapest, but be aware that the inside of the planes smell like dust (which made my nose twitch in more than 1 occasion).
Access: 500m from Terminal 2B at Ferihegy airport.
Practical info: the entrance costs 800 HUF on adult tickets. Come here if you have more than an hour to kill at the airport. Check the website below for opening times (although their prices are wrong).
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The Signage (to the left of the ticket machine)
inside market hall
the dome
Rather dramatic sculpture
