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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

Chicken paprika with noodles recipe

Posted on March 27, 2012November 27, 2013 by Budablogger

Chicken paprika is a very traditional Hungarian course, and it is something you can get served in lots of Hungarian restaurants in Budapest and you will also be served it quite regularly if you visit a Hungarian family in their own home and they will cook for you there. The basics of the Chicken paprika is very similar to the Goulash soup basics, but there are some major differences which you will find as soon as you study both the goulash soup and the chicken paprika recipe.

Chicken paprika is normally served together with noodle (often called dumplings), and as you combine these you will get a tasty lunch/dinner which will make your stomach full for quite a while, at least if you eat a lot of the noodles. First comes the ingredients, and afterwards I will tell you how to prepare this stuff!

Chicken paprika recipe for four persons

4 pieces of chicken leg
2 onions
1,5 tablespoons with sweet red paprika (powder)
1 tomato
1 white paprika (sweet)
170-200ml sour cream
2 tablespoons flour
some oil

How to prepare it?
Chop the onions into small pieces and put them in a pan together with the oil. Fry them until they get almost brownish. Remove the pan from the heat and add the sweet red paprika. Mix them, and add some salt and pepper as you do this. Put it back on the heat and add some water to make the food simmer. If the water turns into steam and disappears, add more water so that the ingredients will not get burned. You can now add the chicken, the tomato and the white paprika. If you have some „erös pista” (strong Hungarian paprika) or some „pörkölt cream” or similar stuff, you can add that as well at this point. Keep it on the heat until the chicken is tender and tasty. Add water if needed, just make sure nothing gets burned!

While doing this add the sour cream to a bowl. Add some flour first to the sour cream, stir it, and then add the rest. Make sure it is soft and nice. Before you add this to the pan, add some of the gravy for the pan to the sour cream mixture (do this twice).

You can now add the sour cream mixture to the pan with the rest of the ingredients. Let it simmer for some minutes, and then the Chicken paprika is finished.

Dumplings / Noodles:

2 eggs
about 350 gram flour
salt
water

How to prepare it?
Put 2,5-3 litres of water into a large bowl and put some salt in the water. Make sure the water is boiling. In another bowl you should add the eggs, the flour and the salt and add water. The dough should be quite thick, not at all watery. Later you can use a knife and cut it into smaller pieces and put them into the boiling water. If they get dissolved in the water or do not stick together, the dough is to watery. As the pieces of dough come to the surface of the water, the dumplings are finished and can be served together with the chicken paprika.

: Chicken paprika made by Budablogger!

How did it succeed for Budablogger?

I used this recipe as I created Chicken paprika for the first time in my life. My father in law makes the best Chicken paprika in the world, so I thought my own would be a big disappointment to myself as I made it, but somehow I was quite satisfied. It tasted well, even my family liked it. The hardest thing was to get the dumplings perfect, but training makes master, so next time I try, it will get even better. Go for it, and write a comment to share how it went for you as you made Chicken paprika in your own kitchen!

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!

Ferihegy 1 to close down

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Budapest Guide

Ferihegy 1, not long ago renamed to Liszt Ferenc International Airport Terminal 1, will close down probably by the end of April. Since the Hungarian Airline Malév turned bankrupt in the start of February 2012 there has been lots of empty space on Terminal 2, and due to this all traffic currently running on Liszt Ferenc International Airport Terminal 1 will be moved over to Terminal 2 by the end of April 2012.

Just some days after Malév turned bankrupt RyanAir launched flights to more than 30 destinations from Budapest, and since then WizzAir has also increased their amount of flights from Budapest. Besides this Volotea will also launch a new direct flight between Budapest and Venice, so things are happening. But, still, the drastic change in amount of flights and passengers still force the managament at Liszt Ferenc International Airport to close down terminal 1 and move all traffic to terminal 2.

Considering the fact that the new Sky Court opened in the autumn of 2011, which was a big investment, improving the shopping, restaurant and all facilities at the Terminal 2, this will also serve as a great bonus for all the people who have been using Terminal 1 so far, which is utterly small and incredibly boring with nothing to do between the time of check-in and take-off. Therefore for people coming with no-frills airlines, this is a bonus. For those coming with RyanAir arrivals has anyway been to Terminal 2, but for the rest coming with WizzAir, EasyJet, AirBerlin, Norwegian and so on, this is a good stuff.

Still for the sake of tourism in Hungary we hope that the amount of passengers and travellers coming to Budapest and Hungary will increase rapidly, and that the management of Budapest Airport will be forced to open Terminal 1 again within shortly due to the large amounts of people interested in our beautiful nation. RyanAir proudly claim that they will bring 2 million passengers to and from Hungary already in their first year, and if it should turn out that way, it might be that terminal 1 will have be opened up again already in 2013!

Ferihegy 1 behind bars — Ferihegy 1 will be closed down by the end of April

Lionel Richie Budapest

Posted on March 12, 2012July 31, 2017 by Budapest Guide

Lionel Richie, the little great man, will come to Budapest in November, just after the Diana Krall concert, to perform in the Budapest Sportarena. So, if you are a Lionel Richie fan, you will not want to miss out on this amazing upcoming event in Budapest, which might be the highlight of concerts in Budapest this autumn. Tickets to the concerts can be bought for example using the link further down on this page.

Lionel Richie Budapest
November 21st, 20.00
Budapest Sportarena

Tickets: WorldTicketShop

Prague Beer dinner – Bratislava SPA

Useful Budapest casino information

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Budapest Guide

When coming to Budapest most people tend to avoid the casinos, while others are looking for the very best places to visit. There are two big categories of casinos in Budapest; the ones named Electronic Casinos and the more standard casinos. The biggest Casino brand in Budapest is the Admiral Electronic Casino chain.

One of these is located at the Grand Boulevard (Erzsébet Krt. 48-50), and here you can find more than 34 modern gaming machines and a roulette table with space for 8 persons.

If you are looking for a more typical Casino then you might want to look for Las Vegas casino by the Chain Bridge, which in its time was opened by Sylvester Stallone himself in 1992. According to themselves this is where Hungarian hospitality meets American gambling. In Las Vegas Casino they have 26 gaming tables, for example American Roulette, Blackjack, Punto Banco, Caribbean Stud and Drew Poker. Inside the casino you can also find 53 slot machines. As you come to Las Vegas Casino for the first time you will need to bring a valid Photo ID and a 10 Euro entrance fee needs to be paid which you will receive back in the form of gaming chips.

If you are looking for a 100% poker club the newest place in Budapest is the Doyle Brunson Pokerklub. This is a bit outside the city center of Budapest, but with a taxi you can get here within 10 minutes. The address is Nándorfejérvári út 40. But, these pokes clubs are not based on International guests, so you would probably to better joining in on a game of poker in one of the larger casinos for both native and international guests in the center of Budapest.

Diana Krall Budapest 2012

Posted on March 8, 2012January 2, 2014 by Budapest Guide

Diana Krall is coming to Budapest again, so fans can already look forward to hear concert which will be held in the Papp Laszlo Arena on November 13th in 2012. If you would like to be there you can buy tickets using the links further down on this page.

Diana Krall Budapest
November 13, 20.00
Papp Laszlo Budapest Sportarena

Tickets: WorldTicketShop – Seatwave.com

Did you know that Diana Krall has won three Grammy Awards, has been listed eight times on the Jazz Billboard list and that she was born in 1964 on November 16th? She is a great singer and piano player, and Diana Krall is married to Elvis Costello. If you are going to the concert you have something to look forward to!

Great restaurants near St. Stephens Basilica

Posted on February 27, 2012November 27, 2013 by Budablogger

I just spoke with a lawyer friend of mine who loves dining outside and who has visited most of the famous restaurants in Budapest. During our chat I wondered if he could tell me about his favorite restaurants in Budapest, and though hesitating and wondering why I was curious about them, he finally told me his favorite restaurants. Well, maybe not his 100% favorite restaurants, but at least what he said to be his favorite restaurants in the vicinity of the St. Stephens Basilica in Budapest, the beautiful church which is the largest church in Budapest and the third largest in all of Hungary. If you visit any of the restaurants mentioned here, make sure not to miss out on the church, it is a real beauty!

It is worth knowing that this area by the St. Stephens Basilica is a very modern area with lots of rich people walking around, dropping by for a lunch menu in one of the many great restaurants in the area and it has some of the most famous restaurants of Budapest. Maybe that is why my friend Laci enjoys this area and its restaurants so much.

Great restaurants near St. Stephens Basilica

Laci told me that this is not a ranking list, but all five restaurants mentioned are his favorites, though they all have a different profile matching the different daily moods and with different style.

Onyx

1051 Budapest, Vörösmarty tér 7-8.
Of course Onyx is on the list of the best restaurants in Budapest. Onyx would be on the list, even if the list was not only about restaurants near St. Stephens Basilica. This is one of two restaurants in Budapest with a Michelin star and currently considered to be the number one restaurant in Budapest of all, in all categories. The location is also perfect, at the Vörösmarty Square in the end of Vaci Utca (shopping street of Budapest)

Dió

1051 Budapest, Sas u. 4
Dió is a very modern restaurant with Hungarian food at its best, and they have some very interesting dinner menus with 3-4-5 courses prepared for its visitors. You can also order ala carte, but it is worth trying one of the menus. If you come during lunch time they have some tasty lunch menus at a nice price level. The restaurant is only 1 minute on foot from the main entrance of St. Stephens Basilica.

Cafe Kör

1051 Budapest, Sas utca 17
Cafe Kör has for a long time been known as a very popular restaurant in Budapest, and it is mostly hard to find a free table here at any time of the day. They only accept payment in cash (no VISA) and the cuisine is somewhat reformed Hungarian, though the menu keeps on changing all the time. Cafe Kör is in the same street as Dió and also one minute on foot from the St. Stephens Basilica.

Laci! Konyha!

1051 Budapest, Sas u. 11
Brand new restaurant in the center of Budapest. Two master chefs joined together in this project where you can eat delicious menus made up by the chefs themselves, constantly changing. The prices are probably better than on the three earlier mentioned restaurants, and praise keeps coming to the chefs and to everyone working in this new Budapest restaurant. Expect large plates with quite small stuff in the middle.

Tom George / TG Italiano

1054 Budapest, Október 6. utca 8
Tom George has for a long time been known as one of the best Italian restaurants in Budapest and also one of the most expensive. While the earlier mentioned restaurants are in the vicinity of the St. Stephens Basilica, the same is true for Tom George, but from the terrace of this restaurant you can in fact look directly at the church, a big bonus. The restaurant has large indoor and outdoor area, so you will mostly find a free table here whenever you come during opening time.

Now you probably know more about what restaurants to visit when you walk in the area near St. Stephens Basilica. I hope the advices of Laci, my good friend, could help you. There are lots of great hotels located in the same area, some of them ranked among the best four and five star hotels in Budapest, so especially if you live in for example Four Seasons Hotel Gresham, Sofitel or InterContinental all these restaurants are only a few blocks and a few minutes away from the reception at your hotel.

We hope you have liked this article and recommend that you come back to our Budapest blog later, as we will come up with more articles about great restaurants and other Budapest top lists in the future!

Madonna Budapest 2012

Posted on February 27, 2012June 4, 2021 by Budapest Guide

This could have been an article about the happy news that Madonna will come to Budapest in 2012 on her big Europe tour this year. But, unfortunately it is not, because Madonna will visit a whole lot of places, but not Budapest (at least we do not anything about it yet).

The closest destination to Budapest is the Madonna concert in Vienna. In addition to Vienna, Madonna will also perform in London, Paris, Barcelona, Warsaw, Amsterdam, Oslo and several other important cities in Europe.

We know that large groups of Hungarians are planing to travel to Vienna to be at the Madonna concert there, so if you are looking for someone to travel with, you will for sure find someone on Facebook or you can check whether some Hungarian agency arrange with trips to the Madonna concert in Vienna. If you come to Budapest as a tourist, you might need to visit another city as well this year, at least if you want to see Madonna live on stage in 2012.