June 2013 - Budapest Guide

Forum added to the Budapest Guide

Posted on June 26, 2013September 16, 2014 by Budapest Guide

We often receive emails with general questions about Budapest and lots of other things. To make this even better and easier we have added a forum to our Budapest Guide where everyone can share their knowledge and get the answers they are looking for (hopefully).

To get to the forum simply press the link in the right sidebar or click the Budapest Forum link. Once there you will need to register in order to answer and write posts. It is easy and cool and we would love to have you around here!

So, check out the Budapest forum!

New permanent tours to Balaton and Eger

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Budapest Guide

Those who follow us on Facebook might remember that we arranged a maiden wine trip to Eger a while back. The maiden trip is now history and the tour has now turned into a permanent tour available throughout the entire year. In addition we have also launched a permanent wine trip to Balaton.

These trips are not made for wine experts, but for people who want to see more of Hungary and taste delicious Hungarian wine while doing so. The wine trip to Eger is brilliant for those who want some time in a city of 60,000 people in the north-eastern part of Hungary, while the Balaton trip is the trip for those who want to spend some more time in the car, but who will in addition to lots of delicious wine, also travel across the Lake Balaton on a boat and visit the special city of Tihany.

These trips are available from four participants and they are always private tour. We have however already received emails from some groups of 2 and 3 persons who want the trip, but since they are too few they hope for some others to join in with them. If you would like such a trip, but need some more people, just send us an email, we will register it, and if we have others looking for partners for such a trip on the same dates as you, then we will pair it up and arrange the trip for you in that way. If you are traveling with four people or more, we can arrange the trip without the need of others joining in, so just send us an email, and we will arrange the trip for you!

Read more about the wine trip to Eger if you want to go north east, and read more about the wine trip to Balaton if you want to go south!

Is it possible to do river cruises on the Danube now?

Posted on June 23, 2013December 2, 2013 by Budapest Guide

Yesterday we received a question from one of our website visitors asking whether it is possible to do river cruises on the river Danube in Budapest this summer due to the flood.

Short answer: Yes

Long answer: Everything is back to normal state in Budapest and has been so for 5-6 days. Again this means that all river cruise boats are operating as usual with normal schedules and programs. All roads near the Danube are open for traffic, which again means that taxis, buses and cars can drive you all the way to the different boats.

Enjoy Budapest 2013 — Enjoy Budapest during the summer of 2013 – also on the Danube!

All in all everything is set and ready so that you can enjoy your summer holiday in Budapest in 2013. If there is something you should be warned about it is that the amount of mosquito’s in Budapest often rise quite a lot of floods, and based on observations the last few days it seems to be true in 2013 as well.

Really hot in Budapest

Posted on June 21, 2013 by Budapest Guide

We are in the middle of a period with really hot temperatures, so if you are coming to Budapest in the coming days you better bring some shorts and singlets, because during daytime we “enjoy” temperatures above 35 Celsius.

During the nights the temperatures go down to somewhere between 20-25 Celsius, making the nights a bit refreshing, but if you are staying in a hotel or apartment somewhere without air condition, it might turn into a nightmare where you have temperatures around 30 Celsius in your room.

The warmth is of course no excuse not to work, so in our Budapest Guide we have just launched a new design. If you have visited our page before you might not even see the difference, but if you should try to visit our site from your mobile phone or tablet, you will notice that our website has gotten far more mobile friendly.

Still, if you are in town and look for some refreshments, why not check out the brewery tour or a wine tasting?

Report from Buda Castle Beer festival 2013

Posted on June 14, 2013November 27, 2013 by Budablogger

Yesterday was the opening day of the annual beer festival in Budapest at the Castle Hill, and it looks very promising. Most festivals are very calm and quiet on the opening day, but considering the amount of life and people present yesterday evening, this will be the number one party area in Budapest this weekend.

The daily entrance fee for the beer festival is 2000 HUF. This includes a taste of one type of beer inside the festival area. To get hold of the beer festival mug you need to get hold of a payment card, add money to it and that is the currency working inside the festival area (the same as last year). This works fine and is easy to use, but once the festival area get crowded, you have to stand quite a bit in line to get hold of your card, add money to it and to get hold of your mug. But once it’s done, it works great!

Inside the festival area you can find lots of stands where you can taste all kinds of beer, mostly Hungarian and Czech beers, but also some Belgian and beers from other nations. In the Lion courtyard a large stage can be found and at the stage there are cool artists performing and the entire courtyard is packed with people, so an amazing atmosphere there. During the most popular concerts people cheer, dance and clap in front of the stage, giving you a both a music- and beer festival feeling at the same time.

Before the festival I was a bit afraid that the new time for the festival (June instead of August/September) might harm the amount of people coming to the festival, but I think I had no reason to fear. It was lots of people in the area!

Wonder what the festival looked like? Here you can see some pictures we made yesterday during the festival.

Beer festival opens today

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Budapest Guide

Today is the first day of the Buda Castle Beer Festival in Budapest. This is a highlight of the season for beer lovers coming in from all the nation, and of course from outside Hungary.

Normally this festival has been arranged in the autumn, but the arrangers said that wanted to make this festival a wonderful way to start the summer, so that is the main reason for moving the festival to the middle of June.

The entrance fee is 2000 HUF for one day and inside the festival area you can taste way too much beer, eat snacks and drink some wine and Palinka as well.

If you are in town, check out this festival from June 13th till 16th.

Formula 1 – Hungarian Grand Prix 2013

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Budapest Guide

The Formula-1 is a worldwide liked car racing. This is the highest category of car racings. At the event the cars are open body, one seat, operating at atmospheric pressure with combustion engine. The competitions take places in different countries, these are the Grand Prixes. The more place competitions’ one station is no other, but Hungary. The Hungarian Grand Prix happen near to the capital, Budapest, in Mogyoród in every year since 1986 without break. The Hungarian motorway’s official name is Hungaroring. The motorway reached its final form in 2003, it’s 4,381 meters long.

And in this year, 2013 the time of Hungarian Grand Prix is coming, so those, who love Formula-1’s excitement, speed and sometimes dangers, do not miss it! Visit to Hungary, book a room somewhere in the capital, Budapest, view the local attractions, the historical buildings, the bridges, the Danube and everything else, and between 26 and 28 July 2013 let’s go to Mogyoród! Moreover, there is an amazing Aquapark in the city, where you could easily rest the tire of cheerleading.

Be the part of the Formula-1’s history at the Hungarian Grand Prix at Mogyoród. Cheerlead together with more thousand people to Hamilton, Button and the others, excite the competition, taste the Hungarian specialties in the city and have a great time from 26 to 28 July 2013! Have fun!

Formula-1 Hungarian Grand Prix
July 26-28, 2013

Sziget Eye

Posted on June 12, 2013December 2, 2013 by Budapest Guide

I am sure that almost everybody has heard about the most famous Hungarian festival, the Sziget. This festival, as we mentioned in one of our articles, is organized in every summer, exactly in August at the Óbudai Hajógyári Island.

Sziget Eye, or Budapest Eye — Sziget Eye or maybe Budapest Eye

Mostly the visitors are young people in this popular festival, because of the great concerts and programs, because there are more than the Hungarian artists here, lots of famous stars usually concert here too. But you don’t have to sit in your hotel room, because you couldn’t find your favorites on the concert list, because the Sziget visitors could try adventurous programs, fantastic culinary experiences and other interesting attractions.

The more than one week event’s one icon is the Sziget Eye, what is a big wheel at the festival’s territory. Tourists now can see and try this big wheel’s portable “big brother” at the heart of Budapest, the Erzsébet Sqare. The 65 meters tall big wheel equipped with air conditioned cabins, so people can admire the capital’s landscape without any problem still in the biggest heat.

If you want to try the Sziget Eye, or we could say Budapest Eye, don’t think about it too much, because the Sziget festival’s promotional big wheel is only available between 8 June and 22 August 2013. But still that, the wheel’s gates are opened every day, between Sunday and Thursday from 10 AM to midnight, and at Friday and Saturday between 10 AM and 2 AM.

Admire in the Budapest landscape from the Sziget Eye! Have fun!

Sziget Eye

Budapest flood pictures 2013

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Budapest Guide

The flood has reached its top level and the water levels are now decreasing. Here you can see some pictures made during the last days giving you a little impression what it has looked like along the Danube the last days.

If you are coming to Budapest in the coming days, you might be interested in reading about the flood and its impact on tourism before continuing.

Budapest flood pictures 2013

Flood in Budapest

Posted on June 6, 2013September 29, 2023 by Budapest Guide

You have probably heard the news that the Danube and other rivers in Europe are flooding at the moment. In what way might this influence your visit to Budapest?

For most tourists the fact that the Danube is flooding will not influence your stay very much. Life goes on as normal for most people, of course with some exceptions. The Danube is supposed to peak on Sunday/Monday, but already now the water levels are very high. Because of the high water levels the road on both the Pest and the Buda side next to the Danube is standing under water. This will require all drivers to choose other roads, which again will lead to increased traffic and lots of jams in areas and on roads near the Danube. If possible, use public transportation instead.

Most river cruises in Budapest are cancelled in the coming days, because boats will have problems traveling under the bridges because of the amount of water in the Danube.

Hotel guests at the Margaret Island are moved to other hotels, because the idyllic island in the middle of the Danube is very threatened by the flood.

The metro stop Batthyany ter is closed. The metro line is still running, but this stop on the Buda side is closed for passengers.

Except from these things life goes on as normal, and if you are in Hungary and Budapest on June 8th, why not join us on our amazing new wine trip to Eger?

Below you can find a picture from the flood from Pinterest.
Danube