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Hungary

Map showing the location of Hungary.

Hungary is a republic in East-Central Europe. It covers an area of 93,030 km2, it's bordered by Slovakia to the north, Romania to the east, Serbia to the south, Croatia to the southwest, Slovenia to the west, Austria to the northwest, and Ukraine to the northeast. The country has about 10 million inhabitants. The official language is Hungarian, which is the most widely spoken Uralic language in the world. Hungary's capital and its largest city and metropolis is Budapest, one of the largest and most beautiful cities in Europe. Major urban areas include Debrecen, Szeged, Miskolc, Pécs and Győr.


Tips for: backpackersbusiness travelersluxury/exotic travelhitchhikersfamiliesseniorsLBG travelerspet owners

Hotels and lodging[]

  • Castle Hotels & Mansions Is an umbrella-association and booking platform for historic mansions, country homes, castle hotels and restaurants in Hungary.
  • Hostels: Prices vary greatly. For the cheapest room in a youth hostel in Budapest expect to pay between €6 and €10, but the normal rate in a hostel is €20-22 per person.
  • Village Tourism is popular and very well developed in Hungary, and can be a remarkable experience. Start your research with 1Hungary [1], National Federation of Rural and Agrotourism [2] and Centre of Rural Tourism [3]. Near Budapest it is also possible to find rural houses to rent, for instance the Wild Grape Guesthouse [4], what makes a good combination to explore the capital and a National Park while staying at the same accommodation.
  • Camping: There are campgrounds available. See the city guides, including the Budapest guide.

Hertelendy Kastely[]

Hertelendy Kastely in Kutas, Hungary, is a 5-stars luxuary hotel.

Corinthia Hotel Budapest[]

Located in the heart of Budapest, this hotel has been beautifully transformed and tenderly restored from the old Grand Hotel Royal, retaining the splendour of the original interior, fronted by a breathtaking historical restored from its majestic beginnings in 1886 to a modern day spa haven.

First opened in 1886, the Royal Spa has been beautifully restored to its original splendour and now offers the latest state-of-the-art spa facilities and treatments. Our Royal Spa is designed for perfect rest and relaxation and as such our services are available exclusively for adults over 16 years of age. For hotel guests with younger families we are pleased to offer complimentary transfers and entrance to the Spa facilities at our sister property, the Ramada Plaza Budapest Hotel. The Royal Spa is part of the luxury Corinthia Hotel Budapest, with direct access from Erzsébet Boulevard and the Hotel itself. Within the framework of its classical interiors, the Royal Spa has been carefully re-designed to provide over 1,000 m2 of vitality, tranquility and well-being. The Royal Spa offers a wide range of facilities including a 15 metre swimming pool, several relaxation areas, saunas, steam bath, jacuzzis, a fitness room, tropical rain showers, Niagara bathtubs, mud baths, seaweed baths, as well as a variety of therapeutic and massage treatments. Truly, no stone has been left unturned in ensuring the Royal Spa being among the very best in Europe. https://www.fivestaralliance.com

Attractions[]

Shopping[]

Maps and transportation[]

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Getting to Hungary[]

  • There are no border controls between countries that have signed and implemented the Schengen treaty. Likewise, a visa granted for any Schengen member is valid in all other countries that have signed and implemented the treaty. But be careful: not all EU members have signed the Schengen treaty, and not all Schengen members are part of the European Union. This means that there may be spot customs checks but no immigration checks (travelling within Schengen but to/from a non-EU country) or you may have to clear immigration but not customs (travelling within the EU but to/from a non-Schengen country).
  • Budapest is an important railway hub for the whole country and large part of Eastern Europe, with frequent train connections from Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. There is at least one daily train from Croatia, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Serbia, Switzerland and Ukraine, as well as cars from Poland and seasonal sleepers from Bulgaria and Montenegro.
  • To enter the country, ensure that your International Motor Insurance Card is valid for Hungary(H) along with the Vehicle Registration and a Power of Attorney from the owner if the car is not yours. The border guards are very strict about allowing cars through without these documents (see excerpt below).
  • There are five international airports in Hungary: Budapest Liszt Ferenc (informally called "Ferihegy" after its previous name), Debrecen, Sármellék (also called Hévíz-Balaton Airport), Győr-Pér, and Pécs-Pogány. The national carrier, MALÉV, operated flights to over 60, mostly European cities, but ceased operations in 2012. Low-budget airline WizzAiris based in Hungary, at Ferihegy.

Exploring Hungary[]

Balaton Lake The major resorts around the lake are Siófok, Keszthely, and Balatonfüred. Zamárdi, another resort town on the southern shore, has been the site of Balaton Sound, a notableelectronic music festival since 2007. Balatonkenese has hosted numerous traditional gastronomic events. Siófok is known for attracting young people to it because of its large clubs. Keszthely is the site of the Festetics Palace and Balatonfüred is a historical bathing town which hosts the annual Anna Ball.

The peak tourist season extends from June until the end of August. The average water temperature during the summer is 25 °C (77 °F), which makes bathing and swimming popular on the lake. Most of the beaches consist of either grass, rocks, or the silty sand that also makes up most of the bottom of the lake. Many resorts have artificial sandy beaches and all beaches have step access to the water. Other tourist attractions include sailing, fishing, and other water sports, as well as visiting the countryside and hills, wineries on the north coast, and nightlife on the south shore. The Tihany Peninsula is a historical district. Badacsony is a volcanic mountain and wine-growing region as well as a lakeside resort. The lake is almost completely surrounded by separated bike lanes to facilitate bicycle tourism. Although the peak season at the lake is the summer, Balaton is also frequented during the winter, when visitors go ice-fishing or even skate, sledge, or ice-sail on the lake if it freezes over.

Sármellék International Airport provides air service to Balaton (although most service is only seasonal).

Other resort towns include: Balatonalmádi, Balatonboglár, Balatonlelle, Fonyód and Vonyarcvashegy.

Hungary has a highly developed road, railway, air and water transport system. Budapest, the capital, serves as an important hub for theHungarian railway system (MÁV). The capital is served by three large train stations called Keleti (Eastern), Nyugati (Western), and Déli(Southern) pályaudvars. Szolnok is the most important railway hub outside Budapest, while Tiszai Railway Station in Miskolc and the main stations of Szombathely, Győr, Szeged, and Székesfehérvár are also key to the network.

Budapest, Debrecen, Miskolc, and Szeged have tram networks. The Budapest Metro is the second-oldest underground metro system in the world; its Line 1 dates from 1896 and is a World Heritage Site. The system consists of four lines. A commuter rail system, HÉV, operates in the Budapest metropolitan area. Hungary has a total length of approximately 1,314 km (816.48 mi) motorways (Hungarian:autópálya). Motorway sections are being added to the existing network, which already connects many major economically important cities to the capital. The most important port is Budapest. Other important ones include Dunaújváros and Baja.

Rent a Car in Hungary — Car hire services and shuttle transfer to and from airports Budapest, Debrecen, Sármellék (Hévíz-Balaton Airport), Győr en Pécs www.rentalcars.com

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Wikipedia-logo-en-big.png/25px-Wikipedia-logo-en-big.png This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at {{{1}}}. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Travel Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


Practical information and resources[]

Restaurants[]

Main courses in menus are normally HUF2,500-3,000 in touristy places in Budapest, HUF1,500-1,800 outside it, or in towns like Eger and Szentendre (March 2009).

A lunch in Budapest is HUF900-8000 per person, and half or one third of that outside Budapest. (Chinese fast food menu is around HUF500).

Text with links to user-reviews on other pages[]

Nightlife[]

Budapest offers plenty of places to drink, from cool and ultra-hip to rowdy and down-market. If you are in the mood for a particularly Hungarian experience, visit a so-called borozó (wine pub). These offer cheap yet tasty Hungarian wine on tap at outright hilariously low prices if you manage to find one outside the tourist circuit.

Photo gallery[]

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Everything else[]

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Authentic Hungarian Goulash (gulyás)[]

A Classic Recipe, Preparation Tips and History[]

From the country’s varied culinary repertoire Hungarian goulash is the most famous and often cooked dish outside the borders of Hungary. Thick goulash soup with potato and carrot cubes in a white bowlStill many confusions and misconceptions surround its exact preparation method. Even in Hungary every other housewife or chef has her/his own way of cooking it by adding or omitting some of the ingredients, or changing something in the preparation process, however, they would all call their gulyás the most authentic.

What’s Authentic Hungarian Goulash?[]

Authentic gulyás is a beef dish cooked with onions, Hungarian paprika spice, tomatoes and some green pepper.mPotato and noodles (csipetke in Hungarian) are also added according to some recipes. Hungarian goulash is neither a soup nor a stew, it’s somewhere in between. Though in Hungary it’s considered rather to be a soup than a stew, so look for it among “Soups” on restaurant menus. If cooked in the proper way, goulash has a nice and evenly thick consistency, almost like a sauce. In Hungary gulyás is eaten as a main dish. Noodle or pastry dishes, especially the ones made with cottage cheese (túrós csúsza, túrógombóc, strudel) go down well after the heavy soup. A Classical Hungarian Goulash Recipe (also called Alföldi Gulyás)

Ingredients (for 4 persons)

  • 600 g beef shin or shoulder, or any tender part of the beef cut into 2 x 2 cm cubes
  • 2 tablespoons oil or lard
  • 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1-2 carrots, diced
  • 1 parsnip, diced
  • 1-2 celery leaves
  • 2 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or 1 tbs. tomato paste

goulash in a blue flower decorated soup plate2 fresh green peppers

  • 2-3 medium potatoes, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika powder (sweet)
  • 1 teaspoon ground caraway seed
  • 1 bay leaf

ground black pepper and salt according to taste water.

A bit of Goulash History[]

This thick, hearty dish was (and still is) a very popular dish among herdsmen in Hungary. They made it in a cast-iron kettle hung above open fire, out in the fields. Herdsman is gulyás in Hungarian, so that’s where the dish’s name comes from. Herdsmen had the best ingredients at hand (most importantly prime quality beef) and the preparation method fitted very well to their work and lifestyle. They didn’t have to stand by the side of the kettle and stir its content all the time, but still had a tasty and hot meal to fill up their stomach. This peasant dish got on the noblemen’s and town folk’s table only towards the end of the 19th century, prompted by the raising national awareness throughout the country. From the Fields to Restaurants

In the second half of the 1800s it became very important to protect treasures of Hungarian culture: the language and the gastronomical delights, as part of the movement to emphasize Hungary’s national identity and independence from the Austrian Habsburg dynasty’s rule. Restaurants started to put goulash on their menus too. By the second half of the 20th century, the soup became the number one dish of Hungary that every tourist coming to the country must try. In English gulyás became goulash, and in some parts of the world stews and casseroles are called goulash too. More info: www.budapestbylocals.com

Wines[]

In Vino Veritas: Make sure you try some Hungarian wines. A delicious red wine from the Villany region is good. The red wines from Eger called Egri bikaver (pronounced bee-ka-ver) are known in English as “bull’s blood”, and are very full bodied. The famous chardonnay grapes of the Tokaj (toe-kai) region make both a great white wine and a highly rated sweet desert wine.

You may find tours of the wine regions complete with tastings and visits to various vineyards. Tokaj is both the most famous wine region and it is very pretty, the countryside is located to the north-east of Budapest on the border with the Ukraine. Other famous wine regions can be found around Eger, Villany and at the lake Balaton.

External resources[]

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