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Useful Information
Below
you will find some useful links to sites that
will help you plan your trip. If you
discover any little tips for other travelers
please let us know and we will include them.
>
Hungarian
Tourist Board Official Site
>
Hungarian
Tourist Information
>
Hungarian
City Guides
>
Hungarian
Tourist Office in London
> Travel
Guide to Budapest & Hungary
>
General
Tourist Advice
>
Lonely
Planet Guide to Hungary
Hungary
Card
 This
is a clever discount card system that gives
you, for example, 10-15% discounts in specific restaurants,
20-100% discounts on museum entry-tickets, 30-70% discounts for certain tourist services and special events
- You can purchase the travel guide, "Sights in Hungary"
- Extra discount for car rental contract at FOX Autorent.
- Free accident insurance
- Seven 50% discounts on return railway tickets, and three 33% discounts on
single tickets
Museums
Most museums are open from 10 am to 6 pm, and closed on Mondays.
Last admission is usually 30 minutes before closing. The large museums have
foreign language guides and their shops carry foreign language publications.
Most museums accept the Budapest Card for free entry. "Museums in Budapest" is
the best museum guide. For information regarding museums in other cities, the
local tourist office should be contacted.
Sightseeing
Widely available in Budapest, surrounding
areas and further destinations. Choose from boat and coach tours, presented in a
variety of languages. These can be booked upon arrival, directly through the
tour company or through hotel concierge.
Coach Tours
You can choose from city tours,
Parliament, Danube tour or just Szentendre, Gödöllő Palace, Budapest night
tours, Puszta tours, and Balaton tours
Theatres & Music Halls
The Hungarian capital is
the center of the country's theatrical and musical life. There are more than 30
theatres in Budapest. The Hungarian State Opera House, and the largest concert
halls: the Academy of Music, the Erkel Theatre, the Pest Concert Hall, Duna
Palace, Municipal Operetta Theatre, Margaret Island Open-Air Stage and the
Dominican Court of Hotel Hilton are just the highlights of the many performance
venues the city has to offer.
Geographical Regions
As much as 50 % of the country's
territory is flat: the Great Hungarian Plain occupies the entire eastern part of
the country and the Small Plain lies along the north-west border.
The two
most important rivers, the Danube (Hungarian stretch: 417 km) and the Tisza (598
km) cut across the country from north to south.
The region between the Danube and Tisza rivers is flat, while
the region called Transdanubia west of the Danube is undulating terrain
featuring central Europe's warmest lake, the Balaton.
A range of mountains of
medium height stretches across the country. West of the Danube, the
Transdanubian range is 400-700 metres high, divided into the Keszthely Hills,
the Bakony, Vértes, Gerecse, Pilis and Visegrád mountains. East of the Danube
the Northern Mountain range rises to heights of 500-1000 meters, divided into
the Börzsöny, Cserhát, Mátra, Bük, Cserehát and Zemplén mountains.
The
highest point is Kékes (1,014 m) in the Mátra Mountains.
The Hungarian "puszta" (plain) is a favourite tourist
destination where the characteristic animals and ethnographic traditions can be
seen in the Hortobágy National Park (Hortobagy) and in the Kiskunság National
Park (Bugac, Apajpuszta, Lajosmizse) when the horse shows are held.
Climate
The climate is temperate
continental.
Coldest month: January (-1°C);
Warmest month: August (21.3°C);
Annual sunny hours: 2038
Information on Visa and Frontier Crossing
If
you are a UK citizen visiting Hungary for less
than 90 days and don’t intend to work or engage in other income-producing activity can travel without a visa to Hungary.
Citizens of
certain specified countries need only their identity cards to travel to Hungary.
Foreigners who want to stay longer than 90 days or to work (or perform
other activity producing income) have got to apply for a visa.
Currency
The official means of payment in Hungary is
currently the Forint (Ft, HUF).
Coins: 1,
2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 HUF. Bank notes: 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000,
10,000, 20,000 HUF. There are approximately 375 HUF to the British Pound. From
May 2004 however Hngary will be joining the
EU and they will be changing their currency
to the Euro. They have been accepting the Euro
as a second currency for some time now.
In
Hungary banks are usually open between 8 .00 - 16.00 on
weekdays. Some banks are open on Saturday, but all are closed on Sunday. ATM
machines and currency exchange machines are available throughout the country.
Most common credit cards can be used.
You can also use your credit card to get cash at
post offices throughout Hungary. More than 3200 post offices nation-wide provide
this service.
Post Offices
Post offices are usually open from Monday to Friday,
from 8-18h.
Emergencies
Emergency Calls, Patrol Service
International emergency call centre:
112
Ambulance: 104
Fire Department: 105
Police: 107
The above
phone numbers can be called free of charge.
Hungarian Automobile Club’s
Emergency Phone: 188
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