Activities Archives - Page 6 of 9

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.

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

Wine trip to Eger on June 8th

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Budapest Guide

We have created a new wine excursion and it will be launched for the first time on June 8th. The destination will be Eger and it will be a great way to get to know the city better, and of course to get to know the wine production of the area.

This excursion will be available for groups from 4 persons and up in the future, but on June 8th we invite you to come on the maiden trip which is open for everyone at special price. Departure from Budapest is around 9.30 in the morning and as we arrive in Eger we will visit Gal Tibor winery and Janos Bolyki winery. The latter was selected to be the gourmet winemaker of the year in Hungary in 2012 and both wineries have won lots of awards for their wines. During both wine tasting sections you will be served some small snacks to eat, and between the two wineries there will be a lunch in Eger followed by spare time to walk around and get to know the city of Eger.

The program will end in the Szepasszonyvolgy, a wonderful valley packed with wine cellars and small restaurants, making those still thirsty and hungry able to enjoy one of the greatest place in Hungary for some hours before departing back to Budapest.

The price for the excursion on the maiden trip on June 8th will be 24,000 HUF per person. In the future this price will be somewhere between 30,000-40,000 HUF. If you want to join in on the trip, contact us!

Ps: There will be a Scandinavian guide joining in on the trip, meaning that the information will be available in both English and Norwegian/Swedish…

Budapest tour on foot all alone

Posted on February 27, 2013November 27, 2013 by Budablogger

The reason that I came up with the idea to write this article is as follows. Once a month I get visitors from the Netherlands (they are really curious about the city I fell in love with and of course they are also happy to see me) and my ‘’duty’’ is to show them around the city. When the first person came to visit me, I made a ‘’ Budapest Tour’’ and now I use this route for all my visitors. I would like to share this route with you, because it can be useful for you too maybe! The route shows all the great sightseeing attractions in Budapest and nice places to lunch or have a coffee along the way!

The starting point is Déak Ferenc Tér. If you come by subway take the exit that says Erszébet Tér and the first thing you will see is Starbucks. If you are still a little bit sleepy have a cup of coffee here. Otherwise, skip this place and go to the left to Fashion Street. At the end of this street is Vörösmarty tér (This weekend there is an Easter Fair!). If you go to the left you are in Váci Utca, the main shopping street. I do not recommend buying souvenirs here since they are quite expensive. If your visitors want to buy souvenirs I would like to recommend buying these in the Central Market Hall at the end of Váci Utca.

After visiting the Market Hall cross over the Liberty Bridge, enjoy the amazing view and make yourself ready to climb the Gellért Hill. If you have reached the top of the hill go down and walk along the river till you see the train, Sikló, that brings you to the Castle District. Halfway (when you pass the Palace), have lunch at the first café you see (on the corner of the street). They have nice sandwiches and Latte Macchiatto (or other coffees). After the lunch bring a visit to the Fisherman’s Bastion, the Matthias Church and walk through the narrow and cozy streets.

As you leave the Castle Hill walk down Ostrom street you will soon see Mammut shopping Mall (it’s up to you if you want to stop here to do some shopping or to go to Starbucks for example). You can walk to Elizabeth Bridge or you can take the tram 4 or 6 to Jászai Mari Tér. If you get off the tram go to the left (you will see the Parliament already). It’s nice to walk along the Danube to the Parliament. After visiting the Parliament show them the statue of Imre on the bridge and walk hand in hand with Ronald Reagan. Then walk further to the Basilica. After visiting the Basilica you are just only a few minutes away from Andrassy Út and that means time for a tea break in one of the cozy tea houses in Andrassy Út, the Book café in Alexandra Bookstore or you can go to for example La Delizia, the Chocobar or SUGAR. These are all close to Andrassy Út !

If you still have energy after an extensive walking day you can walk to City Park at the end of the street. My visitors and I do this always the next day (combining City Park with relaxing in Szechenyi Spa).

You can go for dinner in Nagymezö Utca (this street has many nice restaurants, for example Két Szerecsen) and have some drinks in the ruïn pub Instant (also in this street).

Have fun!

Travellling from Budapest to Bratislava

Posted on February 10, 2013November 27, 2013 by Budablogger

Bratislava, the Little Big City!

Budapest is beautiful, but if you want to see more of the beauty of Eastern Europe you can travel very easily to other places by train. Last weekend my boyfriend and I went to Bratislava. We took the direct train at Keleti Pályaudvar. The train shuttles approximately every 2 hours from both train stations. You can only buy the tickets at the train station. For only 18 Euros we had a return ticket and after 2 hours and 40 minutes we arrived at Hlavná stanica, the main train station in Bratislava.

: What about a day-trip to Bratislava?

It was only a 20-25 minute walk to the city centre. Later on, we realized that all of Bratislava’s historical sites are within walking distance. We could get to know the town on foot! Amazing for a capital city!

The Danube flowing directly through Bratislava adds to the unique atmosphere of this city. So do the narrow streets, the colourful buildings and the many surprising statues. Around nearly every corner you will discover another statue: Paparazzi is watching you, a man invites you to wear his hat, another man is sticking out a hole in the pavement, and you will find a stooping man in the façade of a house. At the main square you will stand next to the man that is overlooking the square while your companion will capture this moment on camera for sure! All these statues will feed your curiosity!

If you start wondering around the centre you will probably notice the small polished brass plates in town in the form of a crown embedded in the floor. Did you know that there are 178 of them? No, I did not count them if that is what is running through your head! I read it in the travel guide we received in the hotel. The crown represents the original route walked by the monarchs.

You need to be ‘’fairly fit’’ to climb the several hundred steps up to Bratislava castle. However, believe me, it is really worth it. When you are at the Castle Hill you will be rewarded with an incredible view of the town, the New Bridge and neighbouring Hungary and Austria. You can enjoy the same view if you take a trip on the lift up to the UFO, while at the same time enjoying a cup of coffee or a meal in the restaurant.

The blue church and other Bratislava attractions

Another attraction that caught our eye was the Blue Church! Many people want to marry here (yeah, how many people can say that they have married in a blue church?!) so the waiting list is very long.

Instead of putting ourselves on the waiting list we went to a coffee house, Coffee and Co! Bratislava has many cosy coffee houses and this is one of them! It has a great atmosphere and the hot chocolate was delicious!

If you like Irish Pubs and live music you should definitely go to ‘’Dubliner’.’ We amused ourselves there for hours!

Bratislava is a one of a kind city. Put it on your bucket list, it is well worth a visit, especially as a daytrip from Budapest.

—–

This article first appeared in the private blog of Amanda de Laat

Where can I find the schedule for the Hungarian State Opera?

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Budapest Guide

Thank you for the question. If you want to find a schedule and buy tickets for the Hungarian State Opera I recommend that you visit Jegymester. There you will find an overview of performances and you will also be able to order tickets online for any performance.

Notice that the Hungarian State Opera has a long summer break so from end of May/June until end of September there are no performances available in the State Opera. If you still want to visit the building there are guided tours every day at 15.00 and 16.00 in this period!

Enjoy and hope you find what you are looking for.

Ask your Budapest question!

New Years Eve in Hotel Gellert 2012

Posted on December 28, 2012 by Budapest Guide

If you dreamt about a real New Year’s Eve party in Budapest, don’t search more! Your place is in the Hotel Gellert, where everybody is invited for a delicious Hungarian dinner.

The historical hotel at the bank of the river Danube is inviting everybody with a lot of love to their New Year’s Eve party and banquet. Guests can choose anything from a large buffet of Hungarian dishes, or can choose the VIP or Super VIP pack to celebrate the start of the New Year in the most perfect mode.

We offer this experience to everybody; it makes no differences if you are foreigner or Hungarian. The visitors arriving from the other countries can see how is the New Year’s Eve night with Hungarian dishes and Hungarian artists, obviously in Hungary.

Gate opening is Monday, 31 December 2012, 19 PM in the Hotel Gellert. The dinner will start at 20 PM and at the midnight we celebrate the start of the New Year with champagne and the Hungarian Anthem.
We can anticipate to Hungarian artists, for example Dóra Szinetár and Zoltán Bereczki, tombola with valuable prizes, retro disco and a surprise guest.

More informations:
Address: DANUBIUS HOTEL GELLÉRT
1111 Bp., Szent Gellért tér 1.
Tickets: Jegymester.hu

More information about New Years Eve in Budapest

Christmas in Budapest 2012

Posted on December 14, 2012June 4, 2021 by Budapest Guide

In ten days people all around the world celebrate Christmas eve. The same is true in Budapest. What is going on in Budapest during Christmas? Here comes information about programs, activities and other Christmas activities in Budapest.

If you want to visit a museum while in Budapest, most museums are open on December 22nd and 23rd. On December 24th and 25th the museums are closed and then they open their doors again from December 26th.

Most restaurants are closed on December 24th, and many also on December 25th and December 26th. There are though some exceptions and you can find more information about restaurants in Budapest open during Christmas time at this page.

Shops are open until 13.00 or 14.00 on December 24th and then they are closed until December 27th (most shops open 10.00 on December 27th).

The popular baths of Budapest are open every day during Christmas. The Szechenyi bath is open from 6.00 until 14.00 on Christmas eve. It will be open from 10.00-18.00 on December 25th and from early morning until 20.00 on December 26th.

The public transportation will be up and running as normal during Christmas time. Most hotels have open restaurants during Christmas, so if you have nowhere else to dine, eat in your hotel!

Merry Christmas to everyone!

If you know someone who is going to Paris for Christmas or New Years Eve you can find useful information about programs, restaurants and activities there in the Paris Guide.

Pig slaughtering on December 8th

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Budapest Guide

A very traditional Hungarian program in December, January and February on cold days is pig slaughtering. It might sound cruel, but for many this is a big celebration as they throughout the day prepare sausage, ham and lots of other stuff and eat traditional pig slaughtering food throughout the day. At the end of the day the fill up their freezers with the meat prepared during the day.

We hereby invite you to come and see how this takes place and to eat the food together with a mixture of other tourists and locals!

The program is as follows:

5.00 – Slaughtering of the pig (we are still sleeping then)

8.00 – Pick up at your hotel and transportation to the farm where the program takes place

9.30 – Arrival at the farm and breakfast time
The breakfast is a real farm breakfast with ham, meat and lots of delicious stuff. After the breakfast you are free to help out with the work on the slaughtered pig, or simply relax in the farm building. A small wine tasting will also be added to the program between breakfast and lunch.

13.00 – Lunchtime (with food you will not get served in your Budapest hotel)
After the lunch you can either stay at the farm and help out with the work, or you can join in on a small excursion to the nice town Kecskemet not far from the farm. The transportation is included in the price in case you want the excursion.

18.00 – Dinner time (eat some of the food that has been prepared during the day)
After the dinner you can buy meat, salami and ham to bring with you home. After the shopping we get back on the bus and travel back to Budapest.

Would you like to join us on this? The program will take place once only and that date is December 8th. The price is 20,000 HUF per person which includes transportation, 3 meals and a small wine tasting. If you want to join, contact us and inform us about amount of persons, a mobile number and the name of your hotel in Budapest. We will get back to you with further information as soon as we receive your message.

Merry Christmas and look forward to hearing from you!