Budapest Guide, Author at Budapest Guide

Ferihegy 1 has closed down

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Budapest Guide

As of May 30th all flights arriving and departing from Budapest uses Ferihegy 2, or Liszt Ferenc International Airport Terminal 2 (A and B). The plans are to keep terminal 1 closed for 4-5 years until traffic reaches normal amount again (after the bankruptcy of Malév), and when traffic is back as usual terminal 1 will be opened up again.

The advantage of using Terminal 2 is the fact that you can enjoy the services at the Sky Court with much larger areas for shopping and services after check-in. The disadvantage is the fact that the terminal is located a bit (appx. 4km) further away from the city center.

Cheap strawberries in Budapest

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Budapest Guide

The summer is approaching and right now it is high season for cheap strawberries in Budapest. If you visit shops selling fruits and vegetables, or maybe pay a visit to the big market hall, you will find strawberries at very low prices. Yesterday as we visited the big market hall next to the Allee shoppingcenter we bought one kilo of strawberries for only 500 HUF (1,6 Euro), a quite amazing price. So if you love strawberries, do not miss out on the cheap offers in Budapest at the moment!

Goose liver festival at the Buda Castle

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Budapest Guide

Maybe the number one Hungarian speciality when it comes to gourmet food is the Goose liver. Not everyone like it, but those who like it normally love it. And because of that, the goose liver has gotten its own festival in Budapest. On this festival lasting for three days you can taste all kinds of goose liver, drink Hungarian wine, beer and palinka, listen to famous Hungarian artists, and then eat some more goose liver while enjoying the rest.

The goose liver festival is arranged on the terrace in front of the Buda Castle, so you can enjoy a beautiful Budapest panorama while at the festival.

The festival is arranged at the following times:
June 1: 12.00-23.00
June 2: 10.00-23.00
June 3: 10.00-23.00

The one day ticket to the festival costs 1900 HUF, while the three day ticket costs 3800 HUF.

More flights to Lisbon from Budapest

Posted on April 24, 2012December 13, 2017 by Budapest Guide

Since the bankruptcy of Malev other companies are getting more and more popular. We all know that RyanAir launched flights to 32 destinations from Budapest after Malev went down, and several other companies also launch new routes. Earlier today I read that WizzAir will launch two new routes from Debrecen to Milan and to Eindhoven (in addition to their existing route from Debrecen to London Luton). From the official web page of Budapest Airport we also got the information today that Tap Portugal will add even more flights to their existing route between Budapest and Lisbon. Last year the company brought more than 50,000 passengers on this line and this year they will hopefully transport even more people with even more flights added. This means that there will be two flights leaving every Saturday from Budapest to Lisbon, instead of one earlier.

Not long ago someone asked us whether it is possible to fly directly from Budapest to Paphos in Cyprus, this beauty of a city where the summer lasts for around 8 months a year. But, unfortunately we can not help out with flights to Paphos, at least not direct ones. But, if you look around, it is possible to fly with KLM to Amsterdam, and there you can change flights and fly on to Paphos.

Earlier Malév had a route to Cyprus, but it was not to Paphos either, so that would not help out under any circumstances. But, if you would rather visit Israel instead, then the amount of flights between Budapest and Tel Aviv was raised earlier this week, so it looks like it will get easier to visit Israel as well! Good luck with your flight tickets and have a nice holiday!

Die Hard 5 in Budapest: Where things are happening and when!

Posted on April 24, 2012November 27, 2013 by Budapest Guide

Yesterday we wrote about the fact that Bruce Willis (alias John McClane) is in town and that they were filming in the sixth district of Budapest yesterday, in the area around the Vörösmarty Utca. That was the first day of filming, and today it will continue. So, if you would like to see what’s going on, or at least meet up with some (un)polite police officers protecting the area, pay a visit to one of the following places:

Where things are happening, and when!
April 24: District VI, Vörösmarty utca.
April 29: District VI, Városligeti fasor.
May 3 (from 8:00 p.m.) and May 4 (from 6:00 a.m.) District V, Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út, Arany János utca, Andrássy út.
May 5-6: District XIV, Fine Arts Museum (Szépművészeti Múzeum), Dózsa György út 41.
May 8 (from 6:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.) District XIV, 1956ers Square (56-osok tere), near the corner of Damjanich utca and Dembinszky utca.
May 14: Return to the beginning (Szabadság tér)

The rumors say that Budapest is not the real location of the story, but Moscow, but who knows? What is for sure is that traffic chaos will be caused by this filming, and for people living in the areas it means parking their cars somewhere else and walking home (showing ID to prove that they live in the mentioned areas). A bit inconvenient, but that is probably the price to pay to have a start like John McClane walking around in the streets of Budapest.

This morning we noticed on Facebook a picture that someone claims to have been made yesterday. It is just a fake, but a quite funny one, at least for Hungarians. Thanks to Andrassew David Igor for posting it!

Bruce Willis walking in Budapest? — Bruce Willis - manipulated picture... not really from the filming in Budapest!

Bruce Willis dying hard in Budapest

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Budapest Guide

April 24 update: Die Hard 5 in Budapest: Where things are happening and when!

It has for a long time been known that quite a lot of “A Good Day to Die Hard” (Die Hard 5) will be filmed in Budapest. If you are interested, you might want to check out the sixth district of Budapest today where cars are removed and the streets are empty due to one reason: Bruce Willis is in town and filming today! To check it out, take the tram to either Király Utca or Wesselényi utca, and start walking towards the area near Dob utca, Vörösmarty utca, Csengery utca and so on, and you will for sure see either some police officers protecting the area, or if not, maybe you will meet John McClane himself?! (John McClane is the name of the character played by Bruce Willis).

Check it out! If you are not in town, then you can wait until 2013. That is when the film will be released and you can see all your favorite spots in Budapest (hopefully) on the movie screens all around the world!

Gospel in Budapest

Posted on April 11, 2012February 14, 2023 by Budapest Guide

As of April 28th there will be arranged gospel concerts in the heart of Budapest, in a beautiful church in Vaci Utca, every second weak. The choir is lead by one of the best singers in Hungary, and this will be a great gospel event, worth checking out. If you are interested and like gospel music, you can read more about the gospel event at our page about the gospel event.

At the page about the gospel concerts you will also find a video so that you can know more about what to expect, you will find the chance to reserve tickets and also information about dates and time for these gospel concerts. Read more…

Information on Budapest cruises

Posted on April 6, 2012April 8, 2026 by Budapest Guide

Many people coming to Budapest look for information on cruises on the Danube. The beautiful river flowing through numerous European capitals is probably more beautiful than anywhere else as it flows through the borders of Budapest. From the boat you can enjoy the panorama on the World Heritage List of UNESCO as you pass under the Margaret Bridge and enjoy the view towards the Hungarian Parliament, the Castle, the Gellert Hill, the Matthias Church and the Fishermen’s Bastion, and let us not forget the bridges; the Chain Bridge and the Elisabeth Bridge. An amazing and stunning view.

Some people who are not too much into geography might wonder if it is possible to travel on the Danube all the way until the Mediterranean sea, and then continue on one of the many Med Cruises there, but the answer to that question is no. For the patient traveller the Danube ends up in the Black Sea, but it is in no way connected to the Mediterranean Sea.

Most cruises available for tourists and suitable for tourists are those running on daily basis within the borders of Budapest. These tours normally last 90 minutes, and you get to see the most famous buildings and the panorama as mentioned above on these tours. We can warmly recommend such a tour in the evenings, because Budapest is at its most beautiful in the evening!

There are tours daily during the main tourist season to Szentendre, Visegrad and Esztergom as well, and for those who want to leave Hungary, there are opportunities to visit Bratislava and Vienna as well. The only problem with such tours are the fact that they last for such a long time, that you can not do a t/r trip in one day, which means you need to sleep one night at the destionation, or find another way of returning to Budapest again in the evening.

If you are looking for more information about a Danube Cruise, and would like to book a dinner cruise with live gipsy music or so on, take a look and read more about these options at our Danube Cruise page.

Easter in Budapest

Posted on March 29, 2012November 22, 2022 by Budapest Guide

Easter is just around the corner and Budapest is waiting for you with great weather, some wind and lots of cool activities. It is often risky traveling in Easter, because you might end up at a destination where everything is closed and you can not really do anything.

In Budapest there are great activities available every day and a popular activity such as the Szechenyi Thermal Bath is ope every day throughout Easter. When it comes to shopping most shops are closed on April 8th and 9th (Sunday and Monday), but except from that they are open every day. If you are looking for shopping on April 8th and 9th, we suggest that you join us on an excursion to Szentendre.

In Szentendre all shops are open (even on April 8th and 9th) and here you will be able to combine a wonderful atmosphere with wine tasting, shopping, marzipan museum and a little guided tour. Read more about the tour here!

If you are thirsty because of the nice weather you can also come on a brewery visit on April 8th and 9th. The big wine dinner and the excursion to Etyek is also available on these days (and all other days during Easter).

Most Budapest museums are open during Easter, so if you are looking for some knowledge about a special topic, read more about the different Budapest museums. One of the best museums in Budapest, the Museum of Fine Arts is open every day during Easter.

For some Easter is not only about sightseeing, museums and excursions, but it also serves as the foundation for their lives; the belief in the birth, death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If that is you, it might be interesting to know that there are several churches where you can attend Easter services in Budapest.

In St. Stephens Basilica there is a service at 10.00 on April 8th, and there are services there at 8.30, 10.00, 12.00 and 18.00 on April 9th. This is the nicest location for an Easter service in Budapest. If you would like to attend a more charismatic church then another church has service at 10.00 on April 8th, while Calvery Chapel has services at 8.00, 10.00 and 12.00 on April 8th.

Budapest is waiting for you with amazing and wonderful Easter programs. Come join us, and enjoy the beauties of the Hungarian capital, some delicious goose liver, and a beautiful panorama on one of the many trips on the Danube.

If you are looking for information on Easter market in Budapest, click on the text. If you would like to go on a river cruise in Prague instead, click here.

Read more about Easter masses in Paris here

What’s up in Gerbeaud?

Posted on March 22, 2012December 22, 2022 by Budapest Guide

Onyx recently received the news that the Via Michelin star they received last year, still remains at Vörösmarty Square in 2012. Congratulations! But, for someone it has been a hard nut to understand how a great restaurant as Onyx could share building with something as average as Gerbeaud. This question troubled visitors, locals and tourists, for many years until some quite major changes took place some years ago. Gerbeaud received new owners who made some heavy changes to the confectionery. The interior and the classic design is still the same, but the menu has changed. The cakes have changed, the prices have changed and most important, the quality has changed!

Some years ago you could eat a mixture of three cakes in Gerbeaud, named the Gerbeaud Variete costing something like 1100 HUF. This was also the average price for the different cakes available at the confectionery. If you visit Gerbeaud today the cheapest you will find on the list of cakes costs 1850 HUF. A cup of coffee costs more than 1000 HUF as well, and they automatically add 15% service to the bill, so it is simply impossible to leave Gerbeaud after eating a cake and drinking some coffee paying less than 3000 HUF. But, the quality is so much better than earlier, that visitors probably pay twice as much, just to get the quality. Or maybe not?

Gerbeaud was long time known to be the best place in Budapest for cakes. New York Confectionery, Ruzswurm and other confectioneries also fight for the status as the best confectionery in Budapest, but what is the reality? Which one is the best? What we know for sure is that Gerbeaud just took a big step in the right direction, and the current quality and the amazing look on the cakes and the plates as they serve them (just as on the pictures), makes you want to grab som cake, even if you are not really a cake person!