Category: Budapest

Hungarian Song Day, Fonó Buda Music house 2013

Posted on by Budapest Guide

The Hungarian Song Day’s programs mostly are for music lovers who love special music and the foreign language doesn’t bother them neither. But the next stage is extremely for those who are open for the Hungarian culture’s own folk music, which becomes very fantastic with the special bending and music motives. The Hungarian Folk music is sometimes sad, sometimes very happy. Usually there is dance with music, moreover on that stage you can meet with the Carpathian basin’s folk culture too. Those, who visit that stage, could be closer to the Hungarian culture, than in a museum in the capital. Have fun!

Address: 1116 Budapest, 3 Sztregova Street
Magyar Dal Napja 2013

Programs:
14:00-15:00 Liska Vera and her concertgroup: Röptető
15:30-16:30 Korpás Éva: Szól a kakas, szól
17:00-18:00 Méta Band
18:30-19:30 Szalonna and his Band
20:00-21:00 Téka Band
21:30-22:30 Tükrös Band
From 22:30 – tól dance house. Music bands: Tükrös Band, Magyarpalatkai Band

Hungarian Song Day, BLOKK Creative center 2013

Posted on by Budapest Guide

The BLOKK Creative center is one of the most unusual and most different programs in the Hungarian Song Day in every year. The place of the programs located in the Ajtósi Dürer Street. In the BLOKK Creative center everybody would find the perfect program for themselves, if they love music and make music. The BLOKK Creative center will welcome visitors with open music practicing, children programs, acoustic music games, community painting, drum workshops, psychological groups with music, light painting, interactive music and photo exhibition, besides these the BLOKK’s DJs will mix the music for the relaxing and the dancing people too.

You should definitely visit the BLOKK Creative center’s program at the Ajtósi Dürer Street in Budapest on 8 September 2013 on the Hungarian Song Day 2013. Have fun!

Address: Budapest, 19-21 Ajtósi Dürer Street

Budapest flood pictures

Budapest flood pictures

Posted on 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. There you can also see pictures from Budapest as it has been flooded by waters throughout the years.

Budapest Soup festival 2013

Posted on by Budapest Guide

Hungary is a nation of soup and in 2013 a new tradition is about to be made. The Budapest Soup Festival (Budai Levesfesztivál) will be arranged for the first time in April 2013 and you are of course invited to come.

The soup festival of 2013 was originally meant to be arranged from April 19th-21st, but because of the high level of security required for the International Book Festival arranged on the same dates, the police did not let them arrange the festival at this time after all. New dates for the soup festival are one week later, from April 26th – April 28th.

At the soup festival you will be able to taste a mixture of Hungarian and international soups, you can listen to courses on how to prepare different soups and there will also be concerts and interesting stage productions. On the Saturday there will from early morning be arranged a soup making competition and the winner will be announced later on the Saturday.

How to get to the soup festival?
The soup festival will be arranged in the Elvis Presley Park, near the Margaret Bridge (original site was the open air parking lot of Mammut shopping center, but that has now been changed). The easiest way to get here is to travel with tram 4 or 6 to Margit hid (Budai Hidfo).

Soup festival 2013 information

Dates: April 26th – 28th
Entrance: Free
Location: Elvis Presley park
Opening times: 14.00 – evening (Friday), 10.00 – evening (Saturday/Sunday)
Original title: Budai Levesfesztivál

[toggle Title=”Buda Soup Festival 2013 report”]After lots of changes the festival was finally arranged at the Elvis Presley square on the Buda side. This was a poor location for such a festival, and quite hard to reach, but still it seemed as if the people visiting the festival enjoyed what they saw, drank and ate. There could have been more people (some of the people in the stands said), but considering all the changes and the fact that it was the first year, it wasn’t bad after all. Hopefully it will be repeated in 2013, but then at another location and without having to change the dates a few days before the original dates (it wasn’t the fault of the arrangers, but outer circumstances that made this happen, so we are not blaming the crew behind the festival for this).[/toggle]

Budapest in April

Budapest in April

Posted on by Budablogger

Coming to Budapest in March can be risky, because the weather can be great, but it can also be terrible. Coming to Budapest in April is much safer, because by then spring has arrived and you should be able to count on nicer temperatures and sunshine.

In April the life comes back to the streets of Budapest and one can easily see and feel that the tourists start to invade the city. More people walk along Vaci utca and restaurants get fully booked during weekends. The question is still what to do in Budapest in April?

This article is outdated. You can find a fresh and updated article about Budapest in April here.

Cool festivals

There are different events and festivals taking place in Budapest every year. One of the big festivities that often happens to be in April is Easter. In the weeks before Easter and until some days after Easter visitors can enjoy the Budapest Spring Festival. This is a festival packed with professional dancers, musicians and performances in some of the nicest venues in Budapest. During the entire Spring Festival a Spring Fair is set up on the Vorosmarty square (that is where the annual Christmas market can be found as well). The Spring Fair is very similar to the Christmas fair, except from the fact that the weather is better. The Spring Fair normally last for some more days after the Spring festival is finished, so make sure to check it out if you are in town in this period.
Spring Festival dates in 2013: March 22nd – April 7th

International Book Festival

If you like a good book, then you better check out the International Book Festival in Budapest. This is normally arranged in Budapest in April and the venue is the Millenaris Park on the Buda side. At the festival you can meet up with famous and not so famous authors, buy lots of books, During the festival you can in addition to reading and buying books also enjoy programs at stages, eat some good food and visit one of the nicest park areas in Budapest together with more than 50,000 other people.
Book festival dates in 2013: April 18th – 21st

Buda Soup Festival

The soup festival in Budapest will be arranged for the first time in 2013. The venue is the open air parking lot next to the Mammut Shopping Center and during the festival visitors will be able to taste soups, learn how to prepare soups and watch soup making competitions and other cool stuff!
Soup festival dates in 2013: April 26th-28th

Visit Margaret Island and Szentendre

If you are lucky and visit Budapest on a period with nice weather and sunshine in April, you should absolutely go visit the Margaret Island. Travel with tram number two along the Danube all the way to the Margaret Bridge (Jaszai Mari ter) and walk from there unto the bridge and down to the Margaret Island. On the island the most important thing is to relax, walk, borrow a bike and eat an ice cream. If the wind is blowing or if it is bad weather, skip this activity!

Another great activity in April if the weather is nice is to visit Szentendre, the idyllic city 30km north of Budapest. This little town is completely different from Budapest and you should consider spending some hours there. Ladies can easily spend even more, while men get bored after an hour. That is why many people combine a trip to Szentendre with a wine tasting which immediately makes the trip more interesting for the male members of the travel company as well.

Cultural programs

With more tourists arriving the traditional tourist programs are arranged on a more regular basis. This again means that you can watch traditional Hungarian folklore programs on quite a lot of evenings in April, listen to organ concerts in the St. Stephens Basilica and symphonic concerts in the Danube Palace.

If you want some more action you could also consider enjoying a traditional puszta program with horse show and authentic Hungarian cuisine. The latter horse and puszta program normally last for 5 hours in total, so a perfect half day program if you want to see something else than shopping windows in central Budapest.

Budapest basics in all months

There are some activities you should not miss out on when you come to Budapest, no matter what month you arrive. Such activities are:

  • Danube River cruise with stunning view (especially in the evening)
  • Take a swim in the hot springs of the Szechenyi furdo
  • Drink and taste lots of Hungarian wine
  • Eat the legendary Hungarian Goulash soup
  • Visit Szimpla kert or some other ruin pub in Budapest

These were some simple advises for everyone who come to Budapest in April. If Easter happens to be in April in the year you visit Budapest you can read more about Easter in Budapest in the linked article.

Weather in Budapest in April

Just in the end it is worth mentioning that the average temperature in Budapest in April is somewhere between 7 and 17 Celsius. This again means that during daytime we often enjoy temperatures far above 17 Celsius, so you should be prepared with a nice t-shirt when packing your suitcase. However, do not forget your jacket, because if you get the 7 Celsius weather with some wind, it isn’t to cozy to walk along the Danube.

If you have further thoughts about Budapest in April, make sure to write a comment with your experiences, comments or advises.

Budapest in March

Posted on by Budablogger

After a long winter March comes with hope and normally temperatures that make Scandinavians think it is summer. So, what has Budapest got to offer tourists dropping by in March?

It is useful to know that March is still pre-season in Budapest, meaning that you should be able to find cheap hotels and lots of half-full restaurants eager to have you visit them. If you are lucky you can experience temperatures above 15 degrees, but if you are unlucky it can be between 0 and 5 Celsius. In the best years the average temperature in Budapest is 10 Celsius in March, while in less tourist friendly years the average temperature can be around 2 Celsius.

Spring Festival and Spring Fair

The most important festival in Budapest in March is the Budapest Spring Festival. The dates differ from year to year, but the festival normally last for two weeks and it is packed with national and international stars performing in several different venues in Budapest. If you like ballett, classical music, jazz and similar expressions, this is the festival for you.

Budapest Spring Festival 2013: March 22nd – April 7th

Another popular activity that comes together with the Spring Festival is the Spring fair at the Vörösmarty square. This is very similar to the Christmas market at the same square, except from the fact that the weather is better and it stays bright for much longer. If you come in this period, make sure you visit the Spring Fair and have some Hungarian sausage, eat some Chimney cake and buy some hand-made souvenir.

If you are lucky with the weather you should also enjoy the best cakes in Budapest at the Gerbeaud confectionary sitting outside enjoy the first rays of the sun at the Vörösmarty square.

More cultural events in March

Since tourists start coming to town in March some of the typical programs start showing up again. In March you can for example take a look at a traditional Hungarian folklore program several times in the beautiful Danube Palace. Another popular program is the traditional Puszta programs arranged at several spots around in the nation of Hungary. At such programs you will normally enjoy a spectacular horse-show combined with lots of food and lots of drinks on the table.

If you like organ music there are concerts availabe in the St. Stephens Basilica a couple of days a week during this period, so that could be an option for some of you.

If you want to know more about Hungarian gastronomy and handicraft, why not visit the Handicraft Fair of Hungarian Flavours from March 8th to 10th in 2013.

Other March activities

If you are really lucky with the weather a great place to go is the Romai part. It is located north of Budapest, not far from the Aquincum museum. Here you can stroll along the Danube and eat and drink in an area that reminds you more of a traditional seaside than Hungary. Do not forget to visit the museum while in the area, as it will give you great insight in the history of the area.

Visit the Franz Liszt square and enjoy a lunch outside in open air together with both locals and tourists. At the square you will be able to eat traditional Hungarian courses and a whole lot of other stuff, of course depending on what restaurant you choose. We can warmly recommend Menza and Fresco Cafe.

In addition to these advises, here comes some general advises valid for Budapest throughout the entire year!

River Cruise in March in Budapest

All year round Budapest advises

  • Take a swim in Szechenyi Furdo, the hot springs are delicious
  • Go taste some wine on a Hungarian wine tasting
  • Enjoy the night view of Budapest on a Danube Cruise
  • Visit the Grand Market Hall and feel like a local
  • Taste the Goulash soup in 2-3 restaurants, just to get to know the national soup of Hungary

We wish you a pleasant stay in Budapest in March. If anyone have further advices or experiences, please write a comment. We would love to hear from you!

Hotel recommendations

Hotel recommendations

Posted on by Budapest Guide

Every winter we normally write a list recommending some great hotels in Budapest. I just realized that Budablogger at Budapest blog has already done so. Therefore we recommend that you visit the blog and read his blog post. He does not feature any three star hotel in hist list, so if you are looking for a great three star hotel in this period we would recommend Hotel Erzsebet in the very center of Budapest probably.

We also use the opportunity to wish you all a happy new year and see you soon in Budapest!

Hotels in Budapest

A small little news is that we have a new mobile Budapest Guide site in the process. It is not at all finished, but as it will be finished you can find it at the following address. The mobile Budapest Guide will let you read about the most popular Budapest programs, book a table at quite some restaurants, find information and prices on guided tour and different excursions and some basic Budapest information.

Budapest in January

Posted on by Budablogger

Maybe the month of the year with the least tourists in Budapest January is a challenging time for everyone working and living of tourism. For some times is the time to gain strength and inspiration while relaxing, but for others this is the time fighting to get bread on the table. Still, there are some great advices waiting for you as you read this article dealing with Budapest in January. Read on, and find out more about the weather in January, about cool activities, things worth doing and other useful info.

Weather in January in Budapest

January is a quite cold month, maybe the coldest of all months in Budapest. The month has an average temperature around -1 Celsius, but the most extreme temperature measured in Budapest in this month was -25,6 Celsius. The warmest temperature was more than 15 Celsius, so there is a quite large diversity in the temperatures. But, in general the temperature should be somewhere beneath 0. This temperature is quite nice, but in case of heavy wind you should be prepared with a nice scarf, warm jacket, good shoes and something to cover your ears.

Is there any snow in Budapest in January? In general the answer is no, but snow can fall from time to time. In those cases it general goes away within a day or two. It is not a coincidence that Hungary is not known for the winter sport skills… they have nowhere to practice!

What to do in January in Budapest?

After an amazing December month with Christmas markets and lots of activities in all of Budapest January feels quite empty. But there are certain activities waiting for you in this month as well, and here are some of the things we would recommend to do if we were to visit Budapest as tourists in January.

Guided tour

A guided tour in Budapest is a great investment and it is something that will give you lots of knowledge about the city that you did not know before. But, due to the large distances in Budapest and also the climate, all guided tours in Budapest in January should be arranged using a private car or a bus. A private tour is probably better because then you are controlling it yourself, which means that you do not need to wait outside for 30 minutes for the next hop on-hop off bus dropping by and so on.

Hot springs and relaxing massage
Hot springs in Budapest in January

When it is cold outside it is so nice to enjoy a hot thermal bath and of course a luxury massage. You can combine a visit to the Szechenyi Furdo or the Gellert Furdo with some kind of treatment, or you could find a private SPA somewhere specializing on relaxing treatments. Many hotels offer such services, but do not forget that the nicer hotels take much higher prices for these services than if you decide to visit a private SPA somewhere else in Budapest. If you want a nice treatment combined with hot springs in either Gellert or the Szechenzi bath, you can book such activities here.

Listen to Opera

January is a perfect month for music lovers to visit the Hungarian State Opera. This beautiful building from 1884 offer daily programs in this month of the year (almost) and if you do not like Opera you can still enjoy the delicious wine served in the bar while gazing around inside the beautiful building. You can even imagine what it felt like as several scenes to the famous film Evita was recorded here with Madonna as the main actress!

Go ice skating

The wonderful ice skating rink in the City Park of Budapest is one of the top activities available in January. You do not need to bring ice skates, so get on the second oldest metro in Europe (the yellow), travel to Heroes Square and walk to the entrance of the ice skating rink from there. As you pay the entrance fee you can also rent a pair of skates, and in not long time you will be able to go ice skating with nice background music in the surroundings of the Vajdahunyad castle. Tickets to the ice skating rink cost between 1200-1400 HUF per person (cheaper on Mondays and Tuesdays). Renting of skates come in addition to the entrance fee. The place is normally closed between 14.00 and 16.00 every day. Our recommendation is to go in the evening, because it is so nice and romantic in the evening!

Other pieces of advice

All across the world January is a month of shopping. Many stores have great sales after Christmas, and so it is in Budapest. Mostly wherever you go you will find signs telling of great discounts, or „akció” as we would say in Hungary. While walking around shopping you can mingle with the locals in any pub along the street. On a cold day the Hungarians love to taste and drink some Palinka (fruit spirit), it will for sure bring some warmth to your inner man.

If you want to enjoy some fresh air and maybe to play in the snow (on one of those few snowy days), then you should travel to Zugliget from Szell Kalman square (former Moszkva tér) with bus 158 or from Nyugati Pályaudvar with bus 291. As you reach your destination you can take a very enjoyable chair lift lasting 12 minutes with very nice view. On the top you can walk to the Elizabeth lookout tower and enjoy the view and take some nice photos. The return ticket with the chair lift cost about 1300 HUF per person.

If you plan on visiting Szentendre in January it is worth knowing that some shops there are closed in January. Still, most of the time is awake and well, so this should not make you cancel the tour, but it is nice to be prepared!

Where to live in Budapest in January?

When coming in January you might spend some time inside your hotel, so why not go for a classy and cheap five star hotel in Budapest in January? Since January is a poor month for tourism most hotels offer great rooms at very love prices, so you will seldom fine cheaper hotels in Budapest than in January. In the following article you can find good advices on great five star hotels with good location, ideal for Budapest in January.

Have you been to Budapest in January? What did you do? Do you have anything to recommend our readers coming to the Hungarian capital in the coldest month of the year?

Vinowonka – Chocolate and Wine Bar

Posted on by Budablogger

With the Corvin shopping center and the entire Corvin project in the eight district of Budapest this area has been changed totally. Where there were just ruined buildings some years ago we can now find brand new buildings, a shopping mall and some nice restaurants and bars. By a coincidence I dropped by Vinowonka – Chocolate and Wine Bar last Saturday and here are my thoughts!

One should of course do some research before writing an article about a place. Therefore I visited the homepage of Vinowonka to see what they write of themselves. The first sentences I meet are the following: “VinoWonka opened at the end of May 2011.  It is in the 9th district of Budapest, just off the famous Ráday restaurant street. ” I am not so familiar with the history of VinoWonka, but the details dealing with the location of the place are all quite wrong. First of all the place is not in the ninth district of Budapest, but in the eigth. Secondly this is quite far from the famous Ráday street. Not too far, but on foot you should at least prepare to walk for 5-10 minutes to get to VinoWonka. These are of course just small details, but thought I should mention them.

Ps: I just realized that the information mentioned earlier about the location of Vinowonka on the webpage is only wrong in the English version. The Hungarian version is up to date and contains correct information.

I sat down with a good friend of mine to talk about life, blogging, Budapest, politics and whatsoever and we ordered wine, cocoa, a lemonade and some cinnamon rolls. We came “quite early” so as we arrived they were currently writing the information about the wines available to the blackboard (there is no menu as the wines available keep changing). The waitress came over and helped us quickly and we got what we asked for. The service was good and they were helpful and smiling and did their best to give us whatever we requested. We did of course not taste to much, but our impression was that the quality of the wines was very good. The price level is as it normally is on wine bars… meaning that you have to pay between 250-600 HUF per dl of wine. If you like what you taste you can of course buy an entire bottle with you home afterwards!

If you live in a hotel nearby you could also consider have your breakfast in Vinowonka. They have different things to offer and the prices are average. For those living in the central parts of Budapest this is probably not a place to visit, but for those somehow walking by this area or if you are living in Bo18 Superior Hotel, Fraser Residence, Corvin Hotel, Hotel City Inn, Hotel Sissi or similar hotels in this area, then you should for sure consider to drop by Vinowonka to taste some nice Hungarian wine and eat some chocolate.

I should probably mention that the cinnamon rolls, the cocoa and the lemonade all tasted great, so keep up the good work making the eight district of Budapest a great place to be!

PS: the quality of the pictures are really bad. I did not really plan to visit a place I had never been before (and thus write an article about it), so all pictures where made with the rather poor camera on my mobile phone.

BorBar or Vinowonka as seen from the outside

Budapest in November

Posted on by Budablogger

There are three months of the year known to be very hard for everyone who works with incoming tourism in Hungary; November, January and February. That is not so hard to understand as November is a quite cold month, not much happening at all and people stay at home preparing for Christmas. Some might be planning a tour to some large European city to visit some Christmas markets and so, but the travel itself normally takes place in December.

By the end of November change is in the air, and the major reason for the change is the opening of the annual Christmas markets in Budapest. This is getting larger and larger every year, and more and more tourists keep coming to Budapest, so if you plan a visit to Budapest, why not plan it so that your arrival will be towards the end of the month. The most famous Christmas market in Budapest is the one located at Vörösmarty square and this market normally opens around November 20th. And if you first come to Budapest to enjoy a Christmas market we can warmly recommend that you do a day trip to Vienna in addition to visit the extraordinary and beautiful Christmas markets in the Austrian capital.

At the Christmas markets you need to taste the glühwein (hot wine), the chimney cake and the thing that looks like pizza, only with sour cream at the bottom (töki pompos). At the markets you will be able to buy traditional Hungarian handicraft and as you come to Budapest, make sure to see how magical the Vörösmarty square looks after sunset, almost Disney magic!

Weather in November in Budapest

The average temperature in Budapest in November is somewhere around 4 Celsius. The warmest temperature ever measured in this month was 22 degrees, but do not prepare for that, as it is not at all normal. But, if you experience temperatures around 10 degrees during daytime, that is not very special. Temperatures normally do not go between 0 degrees, but be aware of the fact that if is is 5 degrees, but with a cold wind, you will need a cap, winter jacket and maybe also gloves. The wind is the lethal part of the climate in Budapest, so check the weather forecast and maybe pay especially attention to how strong wind it is expected to be. It might be useful to know that it is very little snow in Budapest, so you do not need to prepare for snow, at least not in November. If it should snow, it is normally gone within a day or two.

November activities in Budapest

In November you need to find some nice indoor activities, and a great thing to do in this month is to visit a private SPA where you can get some delightful treatment of your body. There are lots of places offering Thai massages, Swedish massages, pedicures, manicures and other treatments, so you should easily find a place. But, be aware of the fact that the quality differs a lot from place to place, and so does the prices. If you live in a five star hotel in Budapest you should be aware of the fact that the services inside your hotel are much more expensive than if you visit a private spa somewhere else.

Another activity relaxing and cool in Budapest in November is a visit to the Szechenyi Thermal Bath. Enjoy the warmest outdoor pool with a temperature of 38 Celsius. The feeling of freezing as you walk towards the pool, and then the joy of the hot water as you step into it is extraordinary and worth a try. Of course it gets very cold as you step out of the water again, but that is part of the fun.

Special events in November

As I wrote earlier there are not to many things going on in Budapest in November, but there are some festivals and events that might be interesting to at least some of you. Here you will find a list presenting those:

St Martins Day
Budapest Fridge Festival

On November 11 St Martins Day is celebrated in quite some nations, and also in Hungary. The day is also known as Feast of St Martin of Tours, and what few people know is that this guy was born in Hungary. Normally you will find special programs around on November 10th, 11th and 12th commemorating St Martins Day, and in Hungary the goose is popular to eat then. So if you visit a restaurant, do not be surprised if they have lots of goose meals available. The legend in fact sais that if you do not eat goose on St Martins Day, you will stay hungry in the next year.

Budapest Fridge Festival

This is not Budapest Fringe Festival, this is the Budapest Fridge Festival (only 1 letter making the difference). This festival is arranged in the City Park at the ice skating rink between Vajdahunyad Castle and Heroes Square. At the Fridge festival you can enjoy live concerts and lots of crazy sports events and competitions.

There are of course different concerts and other ongoing programs available in Budapest in November as well such as folklore performances and Danube Cruises, but if you are interested in larger programs and events, the programs mentioned are probably the most important ones.

Where to live in Budapest in November?

As it might get cold in November, you want to live somewhere central and maybe also with nice SPA facilities, sauna and quite a lot of indoor opportunities. If that is you, I would recommend Hotel Kempinski as a good five star hotel located in the center and very near the best Christmas markets. If you want the same, but with one star less, then maybe Mercure Korona can be a good option (though a bit further away from the Christmas markets).

Be aware of the fact that due to lack of visitors to Budapest in November most hotels have super offers on their rooms, so you should be able to find some really good offers on hotels with lots of stars and high quality in this period.

Summarizing all of it

As you come to Budapest in November you should not expect it to be crowded in shopping streets or elsewhere. But, if it is possible, try to make arrangements so that you will visit Budapest sometime between November 20th and 30th, and in that way you will be able to visit the Christmas markets as well. Since hotel prices are cheap, this is a great chance to visit Budapest and live for a small amount of money in high class hotels.