Heroes' Square Budapest

The most spectacular square in the capital, Heroes' Square is located at the entrance to City Park. The central site of the Hero's square, as well as a landmark of Budapest, is the Millennium Monument. The construction of the Monument started when the one thousand-th anniversary was celebrated (in 1896), but it was finished only in 1900, and the square got its name then.


When the Monument was originally constructed, Hungary was a part of the Austrian Empire and thus the last five spaces for statues on the left of the colonnade were reserved for members of the ruling Habsburg dynasty. From left to right these were: Ferdinand I (relief: Defense of the Castle at Eger); Leopold I (relief: Eugene of Savoy defeats the Turks at Zenta), Charles III, Maria Theresa (relief: The Hungarian Diet votes support "vitam et sanguinem") and Franz Joseph (relief: Franz Joseph crowned by Gyula Andrássy) The monument was damaged in World War II and when it was rebuilt the Habsburgs were replaced by the current figures.

Useful phone numbers

The international prefix for Hungary is +36, and 1 for Budapest. To call abroad from Hungary, dial 00 or +, followed by the country code.

If you are using your mobile phone in Hungary, there are 3 providers to choose from: Vodafone, T-Mobile and Pannon. The general prefix for all calls is 06, followed by the area code and the telephone number. When you dial a local number from a landline telephone, the prefix is not needed.

Calling the ambulance (104),  the fire service (105), the police (107), and the general emergency number - central help number (112) are free of charge.

Example:  If you want to call Budapest number 450-0950

1- From other Budapest phone you call 450-0950
2- From other place in hungary you call 06-1-450-0950, or +3614500950 or
    003614500950
3- From mobile you call 06-1-450-0950 or +3614500950
4- From abroad +3614500950 or 003614500950

River Ride Amphibious bus in Budapest

Budapest on Vintage Postcards

Gellert Baths

Gellért Thermal Baths and Swimming Pool, also called Gellért fürdő or Gellért Baths, are a bath complex in Budapest, built between 1912 and 1918. They were damaged during WW2, but then rebuilt. References to healing waters in this location are found from as early as the 13th century. A hospital was located on this site during the Middle Ages. During the reign of the Ottoman Empire, baths were also built on this particular site.

The Gellért Baths complex includes thermal baths, which are small pools containing water from Gellért hill's mineral hot springs. The water contains calcium, magnesium, hydrocarbonate, alkalis, chloride, sulfate and fluoride. Medical indications of the water includes degenerative joint illnesses, spine problems, chronic and sub-acute joint inflammations, vertebral disk problems, neuralgia, vasoconstriction and circulatory disturbances; inhalation problems for the treatment of asthma and chronic bronchitis problems. There are two different thermal baths, according to the signs on the walls of the baths, one is around 36 °C and the other around 38 °C. The thermal baths are decorated beautifully with mosaic tiles.

The complex also includes saunas and plunge pools (segregated by gender), an open-air swimming pool which can create artificial waves every ten minutes. A Finnish sauna with cold pool and children's pool is also enclosed within the complex.

The one warm water swimming pool is possible to visit mixed, but the male and female thermal sections (saunas and massage) are separate. In 2011, every Sunday is a family day, so all sections can be visited mixed. Gellért Baths also offer a range of medical services.

Budapest - Vienna trains

Budapest-Vienna trains leave from Keleti railway station (Keleti pu.), and arrive to Wien Westbf. You can easily get there by taking the metro (red metro line) and getting off directly at Keleti pu. station (approx. 10-15 min from the city center, Deák tér station). You can also take the bus number 7, whose route goes from the Buda side to the Pest side and touches upon Gellert Spa Bath, Elisabeth Bridge, Vatci utca, Astoria square, Blaha square.

Train tickets can be bought at any railway stations in Budapest: e.g. Nyugati Pu (on the Pest side – accessible easily by blue metro line), Deli pu (on the Buda side – accessible easily by red metro line) or at Keleti pu (on the Pest side – accessible easily by red metro line). All 3 major railway stations are quite in the city center, and are the names of given metro stops, so you can’t miss them.

Trains leave almost every two hours! So trains are very frequent between these two beautiful cities. For instance, on a weekday you could leave Budapest for Viena at approx. 6am, 7am, 9am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm, 6pm, 7pm, 8pm, 9pm.

Buses to Vienna leave from Népliget central bus station. You can easily get there by taking the metro (red metro line) and getting off at Népliget station (approx. 15-20 min from the city center, Deák tér station). Bus rides are also quite frequent.

Margaret Island Budapest

Margaret Island is 2,5 Km long and at its broadest part there is a huge park 500 m wide. The island is one of Budapest's most popular places for walking, bathing, amusement and sports. 

It is likely the once the Romans occupies the island, for remains of villas and watchtowers dating back to Roman times have been found here. During the Middle Ages the Templars of St. John built the castle-monastery in the southern part of the island. The Dominican order was also established here, in which King Bela IV's daughter, (St.) Margaret lived and died. It was from her that the Margaret Island at one time called Rabbit Island, received its present name. The medieval buildings were destroyed during the Turkish occupation and only since the end of the 18th century has the island become a well-cared-for park. The owner of the island at that time Palatine Joseph planted here flowers, trees and plants and had summer homes built here. 

At the end of the 19th century deep-drilling operations brought medicinal thermal water to the surface and Margaret Island subsequently developed into an internationally-known bathing (SPA) and recreational area. 

Arpad Bridge spans the Danube river at the northern tip of the Margaret Island and there is a road leading from it to the island. The length of the Arpad Bridge is almost 2 kilometers and its length over the water is 928 meters. It was completed in 1950 but has since been enlarged. Private cars can be driven onto the island only across the Arpad Bridge and only as far as the car park next to the Grand Hotel Margitsziget and the Danubius Thermal Hotel Margitsziget. However any part of the island can be reached by means of bus, taxi (cab) or mini bus service.

Read more at http://www.articlealley.com/margaret-island-budapest--margitsziget-budapest-73757.html?ktrack=kcplink

The Danubius Thermal Hotel was built on the northern part of the island near the road leading to the Arpad Bridge next to the charming Japanese Garden. The Grand Hotel Margaret Island is situated nearby. The Open-air Theatre of the State Opera House where opera and ballet performances and concerts are held every summer is situated in the center of the island. The stage which is surrounded by ancient trees has an area of 1,400 square meter. The Water Tower overlooking the theatre was built in 1911.

Read more at http://www.articlealley.com/margaret-island-budapest--margitsziget-budapest-73757.html?ktrack=kcplink

  Source:  Article Alley

Budapest Aquaworld (Ramada)

One of the biggest indoor water theme parks in Europe, Aquaworld is located on the northern outskirts of Budapest, at the Pest abutment of Megyeri Bridge, along the M0 ring, in a green area, yet close to the town centre.


Prices and opening hours

Openig hours: every day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Cashier: from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Swimming Pool:  from 6 a.m. to 9.30 a.m. (only 2 saunas and the swimming pool can be used)
Sauna World: from 6 a.m. to 9.30 p.m.
Visitors are asked to leave the pools at 9. 30 p.m.

Bus and Bus Stations, Timeables

Hungary’s national bus network is operated by Volán Association. If you arrive to Budapest from another Hungarian city, bus is often the best option.

Eurolines offers cheap tickets to and from Austria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany, Netherlands, Poland and Slovakia.

Bus stations

Budapest’s long distance bus stations are located outside the city centre, but are very well connected to the rest of the city. The main stations are:

* Népliget Bus station (Népliget autóbuszállomás, metro 3, Népliget station). Buses from abroad and most of Western Hungarian destinations arrive and depart here. It is a fairly modern station with reliable facilities. Do not forget to check-in if you travel abroad.

* Stadion Bus Station (metro 2 Stadionok station). This is the biggest hub for Eastern Hungarian destinations, quite modern but somewhat dirty station built underground.

* Árpád Bridge Bus Station (metro 3 Árpád híd station). This is a smaller station for some Northern destinations and suburban traffic; use it to and from Szentendre, Esztergom or Visegrád.

* Etele tér Bus Station (Etele téri autóbuszállomás, bus 7E, 173E). This is a newly built station next to Kelenföld Railway Station, at the future terminus of metro line 4. Useful for getting to Statue Park and some suburban destinations.

Volan Bus Timeables, Mav Timeables, Gysev Timeables, BKV Timeables, Mahart Timeables

Useful tips

Metro 1, 2, 3
Connect the suburbs with the biggest transport hubs, numerous touristic highlights and central hotels.

Tram 2 runs along the river Danube on Pest side.
Tram 4, 6 follow Nagykörút, Pest's inner ring road.

Bus 7, 7E, 173 and 173E
Connect Keleti railway station with the city center and many points of interest in Buda and Pest.

Bus 16, 16A and 116 go to Buda castle.

Bus 105
Connect Hősök tere (Hero's Square), goes up and down Andrássy boulevard to Deák square/Erzsébet square before it goes across the Chain Bridge to Buda and passes by Déli pályaudvar (Southern railway station).

Bus 200E serves the airport.

Ferihegy airport

Ferihegy airport has three main terminals: 1, 2A and 2B, and a smaller one for general aviation flights. A new air cargo base is to be built. Transfer between terminals 2A and 2B can be made on foot. The older Terminal 1, however, is located further away (i.e. closer to the city of Budapest) and must be reached by bus. From the city center, Terminal 1 can be reached by MÁV train directly and Terminal 2 is served by BKV bus.

On 30 March 2008, all Hungarian airports joined the Schengen Agreement and all Schengen flights moved to Terminal 2A, while non-Schengen flights moved to 2B. Terminal 1's low cost carriers were also separated by a glass wall into Schengen and non-Schengen traffic. On 26 July 2010 Ferihegy Airport temporarily lost its EU Schengen Zone clear status and passengers flying out from Budapest may be subjected to repeat security screening when transiting to other flights.

An open-air viewing platform for relatives and spotters is located at Terminal 2, currently closed for the duration of "Sky Court" expansion works. A large balcony with free entrance is available at Terminal 1 and offers good view of low-cost carrier fights boarding, as well as most aircraft taking off, when the wind prevails from the west.

Terminal 1

From 1 September 2005, re-opened Terminal 1 serves all low-cost carriers. This terminal is divided by a glass wall into Schengen and Non-Schengen destinations.

The terminal was totally renovated in full compliance with the requirements of monument protection, since the building is one of the finest examples of architectural modernism in Hungary as well as in Europe. The Terminal 1 building is unusual in that it resembles the shape of an aircraft, when viewed from above.

Terminal 1 is unusual among low-cost airline destinations, being located within the premises of Budapest proper and offering better public transportation connections compared the 7 kilometers more distant Terminal 2. (Terminal 1 offers 15 minute direct train journey to Budapest city centre, while Terminal 2 requires busing or taxi cab / car journey to reach major Hungarian surface transportation hubs).

Terminal 2A

Terminal 2A (originally Terminal 2, then renamed in 1998) was inaugurated on 1 November 1985, served mainly the flights of Malév Hungarian Airlines, but from 30 March 2008, it serves all Schengen destinations.

Terminal 2B

Although connected to Terminal 2A, it is referred to as a separate terminal (opened in December 1998). It serves all non-Schengen destinations.

Terminal Sky Court

The newest terminal between the 2A and 2B terminal. Here can be found the passenger safety cheque, and the new baggage classifier and new Malév and SkyTeam (opening soon) business lounge. Much new shops, restaurant, cafe received place in the building. Like this the airport capable even yearly to receive 15 million passengers.


Ground transportation

Rail

Hungarian State Railways runs suburban and long-distance services between Terminal 1 and Nyugati Railway Station in Budapest city centre through Kőbánya-Kispest. The trip takes approximately 25 minutes.

Buses, mini buses and shuttles

The 200E Bus departes Terminal 2 every 10 minutes, providing connectivity with the Metro Line 3 terminus at Kőbánya-Kispest via Terminal 1. Journey time from Terminal 2 to the city centre (Deák Ferenc tér) is 50 minutes using the 200E bus and Metro 3. The price for a trasfer ticket is 490 HUF

Repülőtéri Expressz Autóbusz (REA) is a direct bus service (operated by a private company) between Terminal 2 and Roosevelt square via Terminal 1, Népliget bus station, Stadionok bus station, Keleti pályaudvar train station, Blaha Lujza square and Erzsébet square. Buses depart from the terminuses every 60 minutes, with a total journey time of 45 minutes. The one way fare is €5 or 1400 HUF.

The Budapest Airport Minibusz operates an airport shuttle service that takes passengers to any destination in the city. Other shuttle services also offer transport into the city from the airport.

Malév operates shuttle services to Miskolc, Pécs, Szeged, Debrecen providing connectivity to Malev flights. Only passangers traveling with Malev can use these shuttles. Tickets can be bought through the airline's website.


Source - Wikipedia

Budapest Nyugati pályaudvar

Budapest Nyugati pályaudvar (Hungarian for Budapest West railway station) is a railway station in the northern part of the Budapest City. It is one of the three main railway stations of Budapest (together with Keleti pu and Déli pu) and can be found in the 6th district.

The station was planned by August de Serres and was built by the Eiffel Company. It was opened on 28 October 1877. Previously another station stood in its place, the end station of Hungary's first railway line, the Pest–Vác line (constructed in 1846). This building was pulled down in order to construct the Nagykörút - Grand Boulevard which is now smaller than the outer ringroad (Hungária körút - Hungary Boulevard) and the recently opened motorway ringroad M0 (2008).

Picture from the end of 19th Century

The station gave name to the immediately adjacent Nyugati tér (Western Square), a major intersection where Teréz körút (Theresia Boulevard), Szent István körút (Saint Stephen Boulevard), Váci út (Váci Avenue), and Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út (Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Avenue) converge. The square also serves as a transportation hub with several bus lines, tram 4 and 6, and a station of the M3 line of the Budapest Metro.

Hungarian State Railways runs regular service between the station and Budapest Ferihegy International Airport's Terminal 1. The trip takes approximately 25 minutes, costs 365 HUF, and runs 2-3 times per hour.[1]

Beside the train station and partially above its open area there is the WestEnd City Center shopping mall.

Source - Wikipedia

Budapest Keleti pályaudvar

Budapest Keleti pályaudvar (often abbreviated Budapest Keleti pu), Hungarian for Budapest East railway station is the largest among the three main railway stations (together with Nyugati pu and Déli pu) in Budapest. It can be found in the 8th district (Józsefváros), on Baross Square.

The building was constructed in eclectic style between 1881 and 1884 and was one of the most modern railway stations of Europe in that time.

Picture from 1905.

Also, recently, almost all international trains serving Budapest call at Keleti station. From Budapest Keleti provides connections as well as international destinations :

* Belgrade (Serbia)
* Bratislava (Slovakia)
* Bucharest, Sibiu, Timişoara, (Romania)
* Ljubliana (Slovenia)
* Kiev, Lvov (Ukraine)
* Vienna, Graz, (Austria)
* Split (Croatia)
* Zagreb (Croatia)
* Berlin, München, Hamburg, (Germany)
* Prague (Czech Republic)
* Sofia, Varna (Bulgaria)
* Moscow, Bryansk, Kaluga (Russia)
* Venice (Italy)
* Zürich (Switzeland)

Source - Wikipedia


From Keleti station, you can go to airports Ferihegy1 and Ferihegy2 on two ways.

1) Red Metro line M2 toward Deli station, go three stations until Deak square. There take Blue Metro line M3 toward Ujpest until Nyugati station. From Nyugati station go railway toward Ferihegy1, ticket for the railway costs 300 forint.

2) Blue Metro line until last station Kobanya, and after with bus line 200E (this is for flights from Ferihegy2, but you can reach also Ferighegy1)


Near Keleti station is Arena Plaza. That is Hungary's biggest, most modern and only regional shopping centre and is conveniently located just 5 minutes from the Eastern Railway Station. Arena Plaza’s shops and restaurants are open from 10h to 21h from Monday to Saturday and from 10h to 19h on Sundays.

Arena Plaza has almost 200 stores, including many world famous brands such as Peek & Cloppenburg, Zara, H&M, Bershka, Stradivarius, Pull & Bear, Oysho or Gant - some of whom opened their first shops in the Arena Plaza. And there are almost 30 restaurants and cafés in the centre, including Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, Burger King as well as Häagen Dazs and Tchibo, who’ve opened their very first Hungarian shop in Arena Plaza.

Here you’ll also find the biggest Tesco hypermarket in Budapest , covering more than a 10,000 sqm. And Cinema City have opened Central-East-Europe’s biggest multiplex cinema in the centre - the only IMAX cinema in Hungary.