In emergency case

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24-hour medical assistance: Falck SOS Hungary. Tel: 200-0100

24-hour dental assistance: Tel: 267-9602

Ambulance: 104

Police: 107

Fire service: 105

Inland enquiries: 198

Universal enquiries: 197

International enquiries: 199

Autó club-help number: 188

Speaking clockk: 180

Emergency service: 112

Tourinform telephone enquiries: 438-8080

You should report the loss of your passport to the following authority:
Budapest and Pest County Directorate of the Office for Immigration and Citizenship
Address: 1117 Budapest, Budafoki út 60.
Telephone: 463-9165
463-9181
Open: 24 hours

If your passport is stolen, you must report the loss to the local district police headquarters.

It's easy to lose your passport, but getting a replacement is expensive and time-consuming. You need to carry ID here, but use your photo driving licence and lock your passport in your hotel safe.

The Budapest Police Command has a round-the-clock service in the centre of town: Tourist Police (Budapest V. Sütő u. 2.)

Budapest’s pharmacies (gyógyszertár in Hungarian) are well stocked and can provide medicaments for most common ailments. The location of the nearest all-night chemist is displayed on the door of every pharmacy.

All-night pharmacies:

• Aranyhorgony Gyógyszertár
  IV. kerület, Pozsonyi út 19.
• Déli Gyógyszertár
  XII. kerület, Alkotás út 1/b
• Elefánt Gyógyszertár
  X. kerület, Pongrác út 19.
• Fehérvár Gyógyszertár
  XI. kerület, Fehérvári út 12.
• Hétkorona Gyógyszertár
  XIX. kerület, Ady Endre út 122.
• Mária Gyógyszertár
  XIII. kerület, Béke tér 11.
• Óbuda Gyógyszertár
  III. kerület, Vörösvári út 86.
• Örs Vezér Gyógyszertár
  XIV. kerület, Örs vezér tere – Rendelőintézet
• Reflex Gyógyszertár
  XVII. kerület, Ferihegyi út 93.
• Szentkereszt Gyógyszertár
  XVII. kerület, Pesti út 170/a
• Szent Margit Gyógyszertár
  II. kerület, Frankel Leó út 22.
• Teréz Gyógyszertár
  VI. kerület, Teréz krt. 41.
• Tilia Gyógyszertár
  XXI. kerület, Áruház tér 8.

Currency exchange, post offices

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All visitors are advised to exchange currency only at accredited places. It is both risky and illegal to attempt to do so in the street. The majority of banks have 24-hour ATM’s some of which can also exchange foreign currency. Individual banks and travel agencies are free to set their own rates (based on those advertised by the Hungarian National Bank) but they must be clearly displayed. It is advisable to keep records of currency exchange transactions until leaving the country. Rates offered at bureaux de change in the city centre and near the main railway stations are generally better than those available in the banks, at the airport and in hotels. The Hungarian currency is the forint. There are coins to the value of 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 forints, and notes for 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000 and 20,000 forints.

All the most popular credit, debit and charge cards

• AMEX,
• Diners Club,
• Cirrus,
• EnRoute,
• Euro/Mastercard,
• JCB and
• VISA

can be used in banks and in ATM’s to withdraw forints, and in hotels, restaurants and shops for purchases. Signs are displayed at the entrance showing which cards are acceptable.

Post offices:

Post offices are open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m.

The two Head Post Offices near Budapest’s main railway stations are open longer as follows:

VI. Teréz krt. 51 (near the Western (Nyugati) Railway Station): Monday to Saturday 7 a.m. until 9 p.m.

VIII. Baross tér 11. (Eastern (Keleti) Railway Station): Mo-Sa: 7 am - 9 pm, Su: 8-8pm.

All post offices offer encashment facilities for VISA, VISA Electron, Eurocard/Mastercard, and Maestro cards, as well as for Eurocheques and American Express traveller’s cheques and postal orders.

Budapest public transport

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Budapest public transport

Budapest’s network of public transport services includes buses, trolleybuses, trams, underground trains (Metró) and over ground suburban trains (HÉV). Buses, trams and trolleybuses run daily from 4.30 a.m. until 11.0 p.m. All three Underground lines connect at Deák tér Station, and service frequencies range from 15 minutes late in the evening to every two minutes at peak times. The HÉV runs to and from Csepel Island and Ráckeve in the south, Szentendre in the north, and Gödöllő in the east.

Tickets have to be bought before boarding; you cannot usually buy them from the driver and there are no conductors. They are available at Underground stations, tobacconists and newsagents, and from vending machines at many bus and tram stops in the city centre. They are valid for one single journey of any length (without changing) on all routes (including the Cogwheel Railway, but excluding those parts of the HÉV that lie outside the metropolitan boundary of Budapest). Special tickets can be purchased that allow a change of route, and that cover the HÉV outside Budapest. There is also a range of pre-paid books of tickets and value-for-money passes (e.g. 1-day and 3-day) - further detailsA new ticket has to be validated at the beginning of each journey, and this is done by inserting it into the slot in the small red box situated at waist height near the doors of buses, trolleybuses, trams and HÉV trains. Please note, on the Underground system these boxes are in the stations at the escalator. There are lots of ticket inspectors: some are uniformed and others plain-clothed, but they always wear a red armband and carry a photographic identification badge. They can ask to see tickets and passes on any vehicle and anywhere on the Underground system, including after you have got off – so please remember to validate your ticket and keep hold of it!

Hungarian citizens as well as citizens of other Member States of the European Union over the age of 65 years can travel free of charge on BKV Budapest public transport services.

www.bkv.hu

Important!

The traffic order around the Margaret bridge will be changed from the beginning of August

BKV Zrt. will renovate the tram lines on the Nagykörút (tram Nr 4-6) until August 19. Accordingly, trams will be running only between the Móricz Zsigmond körtér and Fehérvári út end stops and Blaha Lujza tér. Busses will replace the trams on the section between Blaha Lujza tér and Moszkva tér. Following the track reconstruction,trams #4 and #6 are operating without interruption during the Margaret bridge renovations, with the exception of a few days in autumn and spring, and a few weeks next summer. The necessary track-construction works will be carried out at this point. Busses #91, #109, #191, #206, #291 and the night busses #906, #923 and #931 will be running during the entire reconstruction.
We would like to request car drivers to use public transportation while Margaret Bridge is closed. Traveling with the least delay can be accomplished by trams #4 and #6 running on the Nagykörút, Metro Line 2 and Trams #1 and #1A on Árpád Bridge.

Margaret Island can be accessed by public transportation from the Árpád Bridge side. Bus #26 will be operating between the Pest-side end of Árpád Bridge and the Centennial Monument, while bus #134 will run on a longer line, also up to the Centennial Monument.

For more details, click here!

Click here to see the short video of the Millennium Underground!

Getting here

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By air

Budapest (Ferihegy) International Airport is ten miles south-east of the city centre. It has two terminals: Terminal One is reopened for low-cost airlines in September 2005; Terminal Two is divided into two, with Terminal 2A the departure and arrival point for flights of Malév Hungarian Airlines and Terminal 2B hosting all international carriers’ flights, including some of the budget airlines. The airport’s central telephone number for information is (+36-1) 296-9696, and flight information is available on (+36-1) 296-7000. Luggage services can be contacted on (+36-1) 296-8108 and (+36-1) 296-7217 in connection with flights into and out of Terminal 2A, and (+36-1) 295-3480 and (+36-1) 296-7948 for Terminal 2B. Seats on Malév flights can be booked on (+36-1) 235-3888.

The main car hire firms have offices in the arrivals halls.

If you buy the Budapest Card in one of our tourist information offices at the airport, the card can be used already on the public transport from the airport.

Airport Minibusz - Shuttle service

Our shuttle service is available at Budapest Airport by the name Airport Minibusz. Operating 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, with a boarding capacity of 8 to 10 passengers, our minibuses handle transfers from the airport to the passenger's home back and forth. Our drivers speak many foreign languages and have an outmost experience in finding the shortest route in the city. Passengers onboard Airport Minibus can get in touch with the airport to gather all necessary information regarding their flight from the moment of starting their journey.

From your house to the airport and back, our minibuses operate as a shared-ride service, meaning passengers travelling to the same region are carried at once. The travelling time is optimized and supervised using our fleet monitoring system, which can display the actual location of every vehicle in real-time.

Reservations can be made personally at the AirportShuttle Desk – located at every terminal – or by using our on-line reservation system (www.airportshuttle.hu) 24 hours before your flight departure time. It is also possible to order our service at a partner travel agency or by calling the Call Center at +36-1-296-8555.

Transfer fees from the Airport to any point of Budapest or
from anywhere in Budapest to the Airport:

1 passenger, one-way 2 990 HUF

1 passenger, roundtrip 4 990 HUF

2 passengers, one-way 4 490 HUF

2 passengers, roundtrip 8 990 HUF

Children discount price until the age of 6.
The transfer fee between Ferihegy 1 and Ferihegy 2 is 700 HUF / person.

Further information and discount transfer fees are to be asked at:

Tel: +36-1 296-8555

Fax: +36-1 296-8993

E-mail: info@airportshuttle.hu

Web: www.airportshuttle.hu

Budapest Airport Minibusz Kft is the official transporter of Budapest Airport Zrt.

By rail

More than fifty trains a day provide direct links between Budapest and no fewer than 25 other capital cities. Trains to Vienna run every three hours. There is also a popular network of Inter City trains linking Budapest with the main Hungarian centres. International trains operate from the three largest stations:

Keleti pályaudvar: VIII., Baross tér. Tel: (+36-1) 413 - 4610.

Nyugati pályaudvar: VI., Nyugati tér Tel: (+36-1) 349-8503

Déli pályaudvar I. Krisztina krt. 37. Tel: (+36-1) 375-6593

All three international railway stations are part of the Budapest Underground system, the Metró. The Déli and Keleti are stops on the Red (Number 2) line and the Nyugati is on the Blue (Number 3) line.

www.elvira.hu

By coach

International services terminate and depart from Népliget Coach Station, which is also the terminus for a number of domestic routes. Its telephone number is (+36-1) 382-0888.

Other domestic termini are at Árpád híd ((+36-1) 412-2597)

and Stadionok ((+36-1) 220-6227) in Pest,

and Etele tér ((+36-1) 382-4910) in Buda.

Web: www.volanbusz.hu

By river

A hydrofoil services operates during the summer months (from April to October) linking the heart of Budapest with Vienna and Bratislava. International boat landings are situated on the Danube between the Chain Bridge (Lánchíd) and the Freedom Bridge(Szabadság híd).

Information about Mahart PassNave Ltd. services is available on (+36-1) 318-6042.

Web: www.mahartpassnave.hu

By car

All Hungary’s motorways and most of her main roads radiate out from the capital. The M1, M3, M5 and M7 are toll motorways, and you must pay the appropriate toll (either at the border or at larger petrol stations) and display the windscreen sticker before joining the road. Road signs conform to continental standards. The wearing of seatbelts is compulsory in both the front and back seats, and only handless mobile telephones may be used whilst vehicles are in motion. The alcohol limit is zero. Speed limits are 50 km/hour (31 mph) in built-up areas and 90 km/hour (56 mph) elsewhere, except on dual carriageways (110 km/hour, 68 mph) and motorways (130 km/hour, 80 mph). The horn can only be used in built-up areas in an emergency. 24-hour roadside assistance is available from the Magyar Autóklub (Tel.: (+36-1) 345-1755), and emergency roadside help can also be called for by dialling 188.

Useful informations

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Budapest has a temperate continental climate. Seasons are usually well defined, with July and August the hottest months (28-30° C, 82-86° F) and December and January the coldest, when temperatures may fall to –15° C or just +5° F. Average sunshine from April to September is in excess of eight hours a day.

Budapest is in the Central European Time Zone. In the winter months this means clocks are set at GMT + 1 hour, and in the summer (March to the end of October) GMT + 2 hours.

Public holidays are observed on the three national holidays (15th March, 20th August and 23rd October), on 1st May, and on the main religious festivals and holidays (New Year’s Day, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, Whitsunday and Whit Monday, All Saints’ Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day).

Electricity

Voltage in Hungary is 230 volts, and plugs are of the two-pin continental type.

Telephone

The international code for Hungary is 36, the area code for Budapest is 1. To call a number within Hungary, first dial 06. Budapest telephone numbers comprise seven digits, all other areas’ have six digits (excluding the area code in both cases). To make an international call from Hungary, first dial 00, then the country code followed by the area code and the subscriber’s telephone number. Public telephones accept either coins (20, 50, and 100 forints) or telephone cards (available from tobacconists, newsagents, post offices, and petrol stations). Cheap rate runs at night and on public holidays. To call a (Hungarian) mobile telephone, first dial 06, followed by the subscriber’s seven-digit number starting with either 20-, 30- or 70-.

Things to do in Budapest and around Budapest: Places to have fun

You can take a boat ride and see the night view of this city. This is a great thing to do and you can combine it with dinner as well. Of course, it is a very touristy thing to do but you should still do it. The view is astonishing.

You can get a night view from the Castle Hill too. If you take the cable car up, then you can walk all the way to the Matthias Church and then walk down to the foot of the hill. On a clear day, which would mean most of the days anyway, it is a wonderful walk.

As a thing to do you could take the surface rail from Batthanyi square (a metro station at the red line) to Szentendre. This is a small town a bit north of Budapest and has a nice selection of restaurants and cafes. You could also take the boat back to the city, instead of the rail. (In reality, Szentendre used to be a Serbian village, as it can still be seen from the several Orthodox churches around the town.)

Things to do in Budapest and around Budapest: Places to drink

Although Hungarians love to drink, they mostly do this in the privacy of their home or in cheap stills located in basements. Of course, very few of these places are in the downtown area where you would see them. Bars and night clubs are really not the place where an ordinary Hungarian man would get drunk. If you go to places like this, you will meet fellow tourists and expats only. Not to say that this is not fun...

A good place to start would be For Sale (V., Vamhaz krt 2) right near the Liberty bridge and the Central Marketplace. This is a country-style pub with live music open until 2 am. To be honest, I have never been able to get a place in the bar where I would see the band.

Another choice is Pesti Est Cafe (VI., Liszt Ferenc ter, 5) not too far from the Opera House. Service is friendly, live piano music. Open until 2am.