OnyxIn 2010 one of the greatest news in Hungary (seen from a gastronomical point of view) was when Costes became the first Hungarian restaurant to receive a Via Michelin star. The restaurant located in Raday Utca has since then kept its star and as always it is highly recommended to reserve a table there if you plan to visit the restaurant near Kalvin Square.
In 2011 a new Hungarian restaurant became the second Hungarian restaurant with a Via Michelin star. This time the restaurant is even more centrally located in Budapest, in fact on the main square of the inner city of Budapest, at Vörösmarty Square. Onyx is the name of the restaurant, and it is located in the same building as the famous Gerbeaud confectionary.
The pricelevel at Onyx might be a bit lower than at Costes, but the quality is the same high quality. If you would like a taste of the quality we can highly recommend the daily lunch menus available between 12.00 and 15.00 at quite reasonable prices.
We congratule Onyx and wish them all luck in pleasing their guests and keeping the quality high!
A new quite famous fashion store has come to Hungary and they have recently opened their first shop in Arena Plaza. The Italian store named Gaudí Jeans & Style will have special clothes for both men and women, and also some accessories in their shop. Besides Gaudí Jeans & Style visitors can enjoy shops such as Zara, H&M, Salamander, Stradivarius, Bershka, Pinky, so on a rainy spring day (when the sun is not shining), why not visit Arena Plaza?
Recently several new bands have accepted their invitation to the Sziget Festival in Budapest in 2011, so so far it seems like if this years Sziget Festival will be an amazing event again, as usual. The newest names on the list are Amy Winehouse, The Maccabees, Kasabian and Good Charlotte. Besides these there are many others name which you can find on our page dedicated to the Sziget Festival.
So, mark the dates: August 10-15! Those are the official dates of the Sziget Festival in 2011.
Joe Cocker BudapestThis spring and summer Budapest will host several amazing concerts. The highlight in May is probably the Shakira concert, the June highlight might be Sting or Roxette, and in July Santanta is coming to town. But, it doesn’t stop there. In June Joe Cocker will come to Budapest Sportarena as well to play and entertain his Hungarian fans. Joe Cocker is a legend, and with his legendary voice he has become extremely popular wherever he goes. If you would like to enjoy the Joe Cocker concert in Budapest together with tons of other Joe Cocker fans you can buy your tickets to the concert using the link further down on the page.
Last year in the Hungarian X-Faktor a participant named Király L. Norbi was said to have a voice very similiar to Joe Cocker’s voice. Judge for yourself as you take a look at this video on Youtube.
I don’t know much about Queens of the Stone Age, but I do know that they are coming to Budapest in May 2011 to perform in Petöfi Csarnok. If you know them and would like to be there as they play their riff-oriented and heavy hard-rock music tickets can be bought online from WorldTicketShop.
The concert with Queens of the Stone Age will be arranged May 28th in Petöfi Csarnok, starting at 20.00.
Queens of the Stong Age Petöfi Csarnok May 28, 20.00
Some more information about the band (source: Wikipedia) Queens of the Stone Age is an American hard rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States, formed in 1997. Since its inception, the band’s line-up has included founding member Josh Homme, with its current line-up including longtime members Troy Van Leeuwen and Joey Castillo, alongside Michael Shuman and Dean Fertita.
Formed after the demise of Homme’s previous band, Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age developed a style of riff-oriented, heavy music. Their sound has since evolved to incorporate a variety of different styles and influences, including working with ZZ Top member Billy Gibbons and steady contributor Mark Lanegan, both of whom have contributed influences from genres such as blues and grunge.
Mr. Big might not be the hottest list of hottest and most popular artists around the world, but for some his name might still bring good memories and a smile on their face. In May 2011 Mr. Big will come to Budapest, and he will perform in Club 202, a concert venue located in the XI. district of Budapest, not far from Savoya Park. If you would like to be there are listen to Mr. Big as they play you can order tickets online from WorldTicketShop.
About Mr. Big: The band was formed in Los Angeles in 1988, and their most famous hit was “To be with you” which was a number one hit in more than 15 countries in 1991. In 2011 Mr. Big released a new album named “What if.”
This is old news for some of you, but it is now decided that the new name of Budapest Ferihegy Airport will be: Budapest Liszt Ferenc Nemzetközi Repülőtér, or Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport. Not to big of a difference, except that it is no longer named by “Ferihegy”, the area on which it was located, but by the famous Hungarian composer Liszt Ferenc.
Just recently the new Sky Court was opened at Terminal 2. Here you can find KFC, Burger King, shopping opportunities and so on, so this should bring some more life to the main terminal of Budapest Airport.
The sun is shining, it’s 15-20 degrees and you are in Budapest. It is a normal spring day in the capital of Hungary. Here follows some advices on how to spend such a day in Budapest. This might be a real top 10 list of activities, but rather a list with ideas for different nice activities that can be done on a sunny spring day in Budapest.
Ten nice spring activities in Budapest
1) Cross the Elisabeth Bridge and walk to the top of the Gellert Hill. Make some marvelous pictures!
2) Go to Raday Utca or Liszt Ferenc Tér and buy something to drink in one of the outdoor cafes/restaurants
3) Budapest Zoo! Great place to be when the sun is shining.
4) Travel with the Libegő (chairlift) between Zugliget and John Hill (János hegy). Get there using bus 291 from Nyugati Pályaudvar. Afterwards enjoy the fresh air and the view from the Elisabeth tower.
5) Buy some sun lotion and swim in the outdoor pools of the Szechényi Thermal Bath
7) See Budapest from the Danube while on a dinner cruise
8) Sit down somewhere and try to learn some useful Hungarian phrases. Below you can find some suggestions.
9) Get more knowledge about the different special drinks from Hungary in our „Drinks of Hungary” program
10) Smile to the people around you, simply because life is good and Budapest is beautiful!
Some useful and some useless Hungarian phrases:
– Süt a nap (the sun is shining)
– Kérek egy hosszú kávét (a long coffee please)
– Hol van McDonalds? (where is McDonalds)
– A nevem Bill Clinton (my name is Bill Clinton)
– Nagyon szépek a jegesmedvek (the polar bears are really nice)
We earlier wrote about the chance for Hungarian between 12 squares, deciding which was to be named after Elvis Presley. As all votes had arrived the winner was the square located on the Buda side of the Margaret Bridge. But, due to the fact that this location has strong connections to Poland they decided to let another place receive the name instead. Therefore the square that will be renamed after Elvis Presley is located where Ferenc Körút meets Üllői út, just in front of the Museum of Applied Arts.
That means that most people coming to Budapest from the airport will meet this square on the way to town!
It might be that Budapest Ferihegy Airport will be renamed in the near future. The government want to rename the airport to Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport. A decision needs to be made in the case within quite shortly, so it might be that you will land on Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport next time you come to Budapest.
We also read somewhere that Lágymányosi Bridge might be renamed to Szént László Bridge after a suggestion from the Mayor of Budapest.
Last week we reported that Hungarians could vote for a square to be named Elvis Presley Square in Budapest, and that poll will be closing up tomorrow. Unfortunately they have not let the inhabitants influence the upcoming name of the airport or the Lágymányosi Bridge, but it might be better that way. Still, we have some sort of sorrow in our hearts every time we travel to Szentendre. Just outside the border of Budapest we drive next to the Meggyeri Híd, though the name +Chuck Norris Bridge+ (which was a very popular candidate during the poll) would have been even cooler, at least for tourists!
