Budapest Guide, Author at Budapest Guide

Is it safe to walk in the centre of Budapest by night?

Posted on July 28, 2012 by Budapest Guide

We are coming to Budapest in December for the Christmas markets. We will be staying in the centre of Budapest? What is the crime rate, will we be safe to wander around at night?

Our answer is not scientific, but rather based on the experiences we have from other tourists we know and also as locals who have been hanging out in the city for a long time. In general there is not much crime taking place in the centre of Budapest, neither during daytime or by night. The crime taking place is not violent crime, but rather pick pockets and women tricking you into night clubs where you later get high bills and similar. The American Embassy writes:

“Crime in Budapest is a concern. Be careful during your visit, and exercise the same caution you would in any big city or tourist area at home. Do not walk alone at night; keep your belongings secure at all times. Passports, cash, and credit cards are favorite targets of thieves. Keep items that you do not store in your hotel safe or residence in a safe place, but be aware that pockets, purses, and backpacks are especially vulnerable, even if they close with a zipper. We recommend you use a travel money belt that keeps your cash and passport under your outer clothing and well out of view. Be sure to secure these items when you get back to your hotel or residence. “

If you are a girl or a lady it is especially important not to walk alone, but always have someone to walk with in the evenings. In most situations, 99.9%, there will be no problem if you walk alone, but still sometimes you can hear of situations where things have happened to people walking alone. BUT, that is very seldom, and you do not really need to be afraid… just be careful, and do not be stupid!

As a tourist you will mostly avoid those areas recognized as dangerous in Budapest, so we recommend that you stay in the city centre, enjoy life there and just common sense!

If you have any feedback, response or maybe disagree with our text, just write a comment!

What is the best place for a vacation home in Budapest?

Posted on July 25, 2012 by Budapest Guide

I am planning to buy a vacation home in Budapest and wonder what is the best area to buy a vacation home in?

There are several areas in Budapest and in Hungary ideal for a vacation home. In the typical alpine regions of Europe you can find luxury chalets available, and in certain areas of Hungary you can find similar constructions to the chalets found elsewhere in Europe, though not as nice and large and luxurious as in Austria, Switzerland and similar nations. In Budapest there are no real mountains with fresh air, but a Hungarian citizen would say that Rozsadomb on the Budaside is a very nice area for living. But, that is not an ideal vacation home area either.

If you want the feeling of living by the seaside we would recommend an apartment/hotel located at the Romai Part. This is located a bit north of Budapest, and here you can walk and buy food, drinks and snacks from smaller and larger restaurants located along the Danube. These are typical summer houses, but maybe not so much of a place for a winter time. If you want to live in an area with lots of summer houses side by side, but not on the Romai Part the so called Szentendre Island is a popular area, for example in Surany.

For those in love with Budapest, they will not want a vacation home outside the city center, but rather somewhere as central as possible, so that only leaving the flat, you will be out where things happen in the centre of Budapest. If that is you, then you should consider a flat in the Corvin District (Corvin Negyed), or maybe somewhere else in a new apartment house inside the Great Boulevard (nagykörüt).

If none of these interest you, then maybe you should got for a house with a garden on the Budaside, somewhere in the Budafok area. There you can find larger properties with gardens, possibility to plant grapes and of course the chance to live in an area with wine cellars, the Törley champagne factory and larger green areas.

Budapest has something for everyone, be it a summer home by the Danube, a house with a garden full of grapes or a central apartment in the city center. Good luck finding a vacation home in Budapest!

What is the best five star hotel in Budapest?

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Budapest Guide

What is the best 5 star hotel in Budapest?

It is impossible to really answer such a question, as no answer is totally objective, and everyone will answer differently to that question. But, we can at least try to answer it, and then hopefully this answer will make it a bit easier for you to decide what five star hotel you want to stay in while in Budapest! Budapest is not the place for luxury chalets, but rather large large luxurious hotels in the city center with magnificent decorations on the inside, a real royalty feeling to them and service that make you feel like a dignity or some other super star, at least that is the way it is supposed to be!

If you visit a site such as TripAdvisor they will say that Corinthia Grand Hotel Royalis the best five star hotel in Budapest. The hotel has been voted among the most luxurious hotels in the world year after year and it is without a doubt a brilliant hotel with an amazing service, a wonderful Royal Spa on the inside and other services. Our problem with the hotel is the location, a bit outside the inner city center and not really ideal in our eyes. But, if you plan on staying a lot inside the hotel and only want pure luxury, this is probably it!

For a long time Four Seasons, located by the Danube and the Chain Bridge has been very popular among stars and celebrities coming to Budapest. It has a brilliant location, great service and everything is perfect, still – for us something is missing!

Some would say New York Palace, but the problem is the same as with Corinthia Grand Hotel Royal, the location (they are almost neighbours).

So, if we would decide – and in this answer we do… our favourite hotel would be Kempinski. It has a brilliant location, though the minus is that it has no view of Danube. But, within a few minutes you can walk to the Danube and that will have to do. You are near public transportation, near the shopping street, near a big park and everything can be reached within minutes from here. The hotel looks very nice both on the inside and the outside, and they have a very nice spa area, lots of treatments available and it is a stunning hotel! If the Danube view is important, we would go for Four Seasons instead!

Maybe you do not agree? Write your comment and share your wisdom on the subject!

Ask your Budapest question!

Where can I buy public transportation tickets?

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Budapest Guide

Where can I buy public transportation tickets in Budapest?

You can buy tickets for the public transportation in Budapest at almost all metro stations (except from some station on the yellow line travelling between Vörösmarty Tér and Mexikói Út). In addition to this you can buy some tickets at newspaper/magazine shops (Relay) and other small stores around in Budapest. Some bus stops have small ticket sale stands from where you can buy tickets, but in general the only safe place to go where you for sure can buy tickets are the metro stations. They have different opening times, but often they open 5.00 or 6.00 in the morning and stay open until 20.00 or even later in the evening.

Ask your Budapest question!

Can I buy a one week transportation card at Budapest Airport?

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Budapest Guide

Can I buy a one week transportation card at Budapest Airport? Or maybe a single day ticket or a three day ticket?

It is not possible to buy daypass, three-day pass or a week pass at Budapest Airport. The only thing you can buy at the airport is single tickets, a package of ten single tickets and Budapest Pass. In most situations we do though not recommend the Budapest Pass, as that only is worth the money for those who plan to visit A LOT of museums and so on. For the normal usage of public transportation and maybe for visiting a few museums it is better worth simple buying a normal Budapest transportation ticket (3-day pass or 7-day pass) and later paying full entrance fee on the different places.

What to do then? As you arrive at the airport you can buy a single ticket at the Relay shop at the airport. Enter the bus, validate your ticket and travel to Köbánya Kispest (end station of the bus). There you can buy all tickets available, also the 1-day pass, 3-day pass and 7-day pass, and from there you can travel on with the metro to the city center of Budapest.

Ask your Budapest question!

Il Divo Budapest 2012

Posted on June 30, 2012January 2, 2014 by Budapest Guide

Il Divo is coming to Budapest again to perform in Budapest Sportarena. So, listen up all Il Divo fans in the area, it is time to grab hold of your tickets for the concerts and order your flight ticket today! The concert will be arranged in Budapest Sportarena on September 20th, and the popular singers will arrive at the stage sometime after 20.00. The singers will tour many important cities in Europe and around the world in 2012, b ut the highlight of their tour, at least for us, will be the Il Divo concert in Budapest.

Maybe you did not know it, but Il Divo was created by Simon Cowell, the lead producer of Britain’s Got Talent and lots of other stuff. The band has been active since 2004, and on this tour many new songs from their album Wicked Game can be heard, together with their old hits. Check out the concert if you are an Il Divo fan.

Il Divo Budapest

September 20th, 20.00
Budapest Sportarena

Tickets: WorldTicketShop – Seatwave.com

A couple of days before the Il Divo concert in Budapest they will also perform in the O2 Arena in Prague. If you plan on visiting that concert instead, why not do a river cruise in Prague as well?

Caffe Gian Mario Budapest – a short review

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Budapest Guide

Yesterday we paid a visit to Caffe Gian Mario, an Italian restaurant in Budapest, located quite near Nyugati Pályaudvar and restaurants such as Sir Lancelo, Wasabi and La Pampa. The restaurant looks like nothing special from the outside, but somehow the restaurant has managed to be located at third place on the TripAdvisor list of restaurants in Budapest, and that is why we dropped by to see what’s going on at Caffe Gian Mario.

The first impression arriving makes me ask myself a question; is this really the place? It looks so nothing special (see picture below). We sit down, order a starter and a pizza and two bottles of Pepsi. The starter was nice, the pizza was good, but nothing super special, making it better than everywhere else in Budapest. In the end we wanted to order a dessert, but unfortunately almost all desserts were sold out, so we ended up buying some Italian cottage cheese dessert inside some biscuit with chocolate around. We got it at once, so guess they just took it out of the fridge. It was okay in taste, but nothing we would order again.

All in all we were full and well satisfied as we left Caffe Gian Mario, but it is not a place we would especially recommend from now on to others, and it is not a place we will return to later… there are to many good restaurants in Budapest for us to return to this once more.

If you are a on a budget though this restaurant is a quite good one. For two bottles of Pepsi, a starter, a pizza and a dessert the final price was around 3800 HUF.

This is the way Caffe Gian Mario looks from the outside

Victoria and Albert exhibition in Museum of Applied Arts

Posted on June 15, 2012April 8, 2026 by Budapest Guide

In London you can find a whole lot of amazing museums, but one of the nicest of them all is the Victoria and Albert museum. But, instead of traveling to London to see the museum we have a better suggestion. Visit the Museum of Applied Arts in Budapest instead, and see more than 320 objects from the museum in London exhibited there.

The exhibition is open from today (June 15th) and will be available until September 16th. The subject of the exhibition is among others; What did they consider art during the industrial revolution? What was considered pretty during those days? Is it only now a problem with ugly mass production, or was it a problem back then as well?

This exhibition has not arrived directly from London to Budapest, as it has been exhibited in Bonn for quite a while, and from there they transported it on to Budapest. If you would like to check out this exhibition read more about museums in Budapest and go visit the exhibition in the Museum of Applied Arts

Victoria and Albert in Budapest
June 15th – September 16th
Museum of Applied Arts

Where to watch Euro 2012 in Budapest?

Posted on June 9, 2012 by Budapest Guide

The European Championship is currently on and if you are coming to Budapest you might be worried about where you are going to see the matches with your favorite team. You have no need to worry, because almost wherever you go in Budapest you will find televisions showing all the matches, both in restaurants, pubs and similar places.

If you would like to see the matches though in a place where people gather together to see the matches, then we have some recommendations for you.

1) The Liberty Square
Just in the area between the Hungarian Parliament and the St Stephen’s Basilica the Liberty Square can be found. There you will find a big screen, places where you can sit, and also a big grass area where you can enjoy the large screen and also a cold beer if you would like to while watching the matches. One of the best places in Budapest to see the European Championship outdoor.

2) Champs Sports Pub
Next to the Great Synagogue the sports pub Champs can be found. Here you can watch your favorite team on one of the many screen located around in the pub. Probably the best indoor place in Budapest to see the European Championship

3) Akvárium
On the Deák Square, or the Erzsébet Tér, the club Akvárium is located (formerly know as Gödör Klub). Here you can also see matches outdoor at a large area with lots of people, and many staying out partying after the matches are finished

4) Next to Alle Shoppingcenter
If you are on the Buda side of Budapest and would like to see you favorite teams in Budapest, then a quite small area has been set aside next to the Alle Shoppingcenter where you can sit down, buy something to drink and watch the matches on a big screen.

We hope these advices can help you a bit, and we of course hope that you favorite team will win all their matches.

Muse Budapest 2012

Posted on June 9, 2012January 2, 2014 by Budapest Guide

The popular band Muse will come to Budapest in November 2012, to perform in the popular concert venue, Budapest Sportarena. This concert will be arranged only one day after the Muse concert in Vienna, and this will be one of the many destinations in Europe this autumn, featuring cities such as London, Madrid, Paris and many more. Muse consists of three constant members named Matthew Bellamy, Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard and the tour in 2012 is named The 2nd Law Tour. If you would like to be there at this Muse concert, or maybe at the Muse concert in Vienna or somewhere else, the links further down on this page can be used for more information about the concerts and for purchasing tickets.

The Muse concert is set to start at 20.00. While in Budapest, do not miss out on all the great activities available in the city.

Muse Budapest
Budapest Sportarena
November 20th, 20.00

Tickets: Seatwave.com – WorldTicketShop