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Watch out for wrong currencies as you travel with taxi in Budapest

Posted on September 7, 2016September 7, 2016 by Budapest Guide

The taxis in Budapest does not have the best rumor in the world, and that is easy to understand. Watch out for how much you pay and for the change you get back as you use the taxis in Budapest.

Last week we arranged a guided tour for a nice group of Scandinavians in Budapest. They were a pleasant group and we had a great time together as we discovered Budapest together. Along the way the guide told them a couple of good advises concerning taxi traveling in Budapest:

Order your taxi from your hotel or your restaurant.
Do not jump on taxis on the street.
Watch out for the change they give you back, and especially pay attention to receive back money in the right currency.
The fact that a taxi is yellow does not guarantee you anything.

Those were the advises we gave. 48 hours later we met the group again to go on a half-day trip to Szentendre with wine tasting and more cool stuff. They had some interesting stories to tell by then!

Some horrible Budapest taxi stories

First taxi rip-off in Budapest

First of all some of the ladies in the group had traveled alone. They jumped on a taxi on the street and by the time they reached their hotel he wanted them to pay 40,000 HUF (a normal fare in Budapest should cost between 1500-4000 HUF). They did not really know for sure how much that was by then, and the driver looked really scary, so they paid. It didn’t take much time before they knew they had been ripped off heavily.

Second taxi rip-off(s) in Budapest

Then it was interesting to hear that several other people in the group had experienced the same problem that we told them about during the guided tour. They paid for the taxi ride (which had a okay fare), but then it was time to receive the change. Instead of getting back 10,000 Hungarian Forint they receive Indonesian money (which has no value at all compared to the Hungarian Forint). Some others received change in another currency as well. Some of them discovered it and got really made at the driver (who according to the tourists almost peed in his pants), while someone only discovered that they had been tricked a few moments later.

Budapest taxi rip-offs

It is incredibly common with such rip-offs in Budapest. 95% of such things happen when you jump into a cab on the street. Avoiding such will save you from most trouble. But, stay alert and if you jump into a cab on the street, feel free to write down the number plate (before you enter) so that you have something to fight with in case there should be trouble in some kind of way. If you are afraid of a fight, do not jump on a taxi on the street instead.

Christmas markets in Budapest 2016

Posted on August 23, 2016 by Budapest Guide

Autumn is here and the Christmas market is approaching. But, when will the Christmas markets in Budapest open? Here are the dates for the Christmas markets in Budapest in 2016.

There are two big and famous Christmas markets in Budapest. One is located at the Vorosmarty square in the center of Budapest, while the other market is located about 400 metres away from there, in front of the St. Stephens Basilica. Both markets are beautiful and you can taste local Hungarian cuisine, drink real Hungarian hot wine and of course taste sweets and other Hungarian desserts. We almost forgot, but this is of course the best place to buy all sorts of souvenirs and presents as well. But, when will the Christmas markets be arranged in Budapest in 2016?

Budapest Christmas markets in 2016

The dates are not 100% official yet, but based on rumors these are the dates you can expect:

Christmas market at Vorosmarty square: November 11th -January 1st
Christmas market by the Stephens Basilica: not announced yet

We hope you will have a fantastic stay in Budapest before Christmas. You can find more information about the Christmas markets here. If you would like to enjoy a guided tour in Budapest while in town just press the link for more information, or if you would rather drink some local wine check our different winetasting and wine-dinner options.

Watch the Oscar Awarded Son of Saul online

Posted on August 11, 2016 by Budapest Guide

We are a Budapest Guide and we cheer for everything in and from Hungary. Currently we cheer a lot of the Hungarians participating in the Summer Olympics in Rio. A few months ago we cheered for the film Son of Saul as it was given an Academy Award during the annual show in February. Now you can watch Son of Saul online in different ways!

If you haven’t seen the film Son of Saul yet you better go ahead and watch it. It is a piece of Hungarian history and culture, especially after it won its Oscar Award. It tells us the story of a guy in Auschwitz who wants to give his son a proper burial. If the person actually is his son can’t be told for sure, but at least Saul considers him to be his son.

This film has received lots of positive critics and is called a masterpiece by many. Others cant really seem to like the film, so it has received mixed critics from the normal guy in the street. Among professionals it has mostly received praise and on the big movie site named Rotten Tomatoes the film currently has a 97% score.

If you want to watch Son of Saul then you can do so online in several ways. You can of course buy in as a DVD in your local film store or online, but to watch it online you can for example visit Amazon.com and watch it as an Instant Video there. Another option is to buy it in the Google Play Store, in the Apple Store or you can also watch it on Netflix in Canada if that would suit you well.

It’s time for the Summer Olympics – cheer for Hungary!

Posted on July 27, 2016July 27, 2016 by Budapest Guide

Few Hungarians expected success and glory during Euro 2016, but Hungary surprised. With the Summer Olympics approaching Hungarians expect much more!

In the period between August 5th and August 21st there will be more than 100 Hungarians traveling to Brazil and to Rio to defend the glory of Hungary. During the London Olympics in 2012 Hungary was one of the top ten nations when it came to gold medals, and now the Hungarians hope that their contestants will compete just as well this time.

When to cheer for the Hungarians during the Summer Olympics?

Hungary in Summer Olympics 2016 — Katinka Hosszu is one of the biggest Hungarian stars!

If you want to cheer for the Hungarian contestants during the Summer Olympics in Rio, then you should watch the water related sports. They have some brilliant contestants in swimming, their national teams are outsiders in the water polo competition both for men and women, they have brilliant contestants in rowing, fencing, pommel horse and some other sports.

Their biggest stars are Katinka Hosszu (swimming), Daniel Gyurta (swimming), Áron Szilágyi (fencing), Krisztian Pars (Athletics) and Laszlo Cseh (swimming). Look out for these and all the other Hungarian contestants as you get ready for some late nights up watching the Summer Olympics.

For those who want to watch the Summer Olympics on Hungarian television these instructions can be followed to watch the event online (article in Hungarian). To watch the Summer Olympics on UK TV online, follow these instructions.

Our predictions for the Summer Olympics 2016

We hope that Hungary will bring home 10 gold medals, most of them coming from swimming (won by Katinka Hosszu, Daniel Gyurta and Laszlo Cseh).

Hungarian Grand Prix 2016 coming up

Posted on July 20, 2016 by Budapest Guide

There are only a few days left and the city of Budapest is ready for a new Hungarian Grand Prix. In two days the qualification rounds will start at Budapest and Formula 1 fans from all across the globe have already started to invade the city.

Last years winner Sebastian Vettel is doing good this season, but he has not managed to win a single race so far. Can this turn around when he comes to Budapest? Or will the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2016 become like the rest of the season, a battle between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton?

It will for sure be exciting to follow the broadcasts from the Hungarian Grand Prix, or if you have a ticket for the event itself, that is for sure the very best way to follow the race.

You can read some more about the Hungarian Grand Prix here, or if you want to know more about how you can watch the Hungarian Grand Prix online, simply press the link. One of the channels broadcasting the event is M4 in Hungary, a free TV channel, meaning that you can easily watch the event in your hotel room or on the Internet if you can’t be there at Hungaroring yourself.

Who do you think will win the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2016? Our guess is that Lewis Hamilton will win, but we do have a hope that maybe Kimi Räikkönen or Sebastian Vettel can win the race and get closer to Rosberg and Hamilton in the top.

More places to watch Euro 2016 in Budapest

Posted on June 7, 2016April 21, 2024 by Budapest Guide

We have already written an article telling you where to watch Euro 2016 in Budapest, but since then we have even more suggestions for you, so keep on reading!

If you have not read our former article yet then go ahead and read that first. We still believe that the Szabadsag square in the heart of Budapest will be a fantastic place to watch all Euro 2016 matches, but here we want to add two more places that might interest you!

Euro 2016 in Szechenyi — Watch Euro 2016 in the Szechenyi Thermal Bath

Watch Euro 2016 in the pool
Can you imagine something that would be nicer than to watch Euro 2016 while lying in a hot thermal bath? That will be possible if you visit the Szechenyi thermal bath during Euro 2016 because big screens will be setup inside the thermal bath (inside outside), meaning that you can watch the matches on big screens while enjoying the hot springs. Fantastic!
Watch Euro 2016 at the roof of West End
One of the most popular shopping malls in Budapest is the WestEnd Citycenter and if you want to watch Euro 2016 on the roof of this mall then you can simply walk towards the top of it and there you will find space for more than 1000 people who can watch the matches together and enjoy tasty drinks as they do so.

Where will you watch Euro 2016 in Budapest? It sounds fantastic with the Szechenyi thermal bath, but WestEnd ain’t that bad either. If you want to watch it on your Windows computer then you can find out how to watch Euro 2016 in Windows all across Hungary and across the world as well, but why watch Euro 2016 on a computer when you can watch it in hot springs in Budapest?

Chinese lights in Budapest Zoo

Posted on May 20, 2016October 3, 2016 by Budapest Guide

It has been on for quite a while, but everything good has to end. The Chinese lights in the Budapest Zoo will be available until May 22nd. Here you can see some pictures.

If you visit Budapest Zoo in the evenings then you can now enjoy beautiful lights inside animals and sculptures. It is a really creative kind of exhibition available every evening between 19.00 and 22.00. Since there are only three evenings left it is worth noticing that if you arrive at 19.00 there is still not dark in Budapest, so you will not really be able to enjoy the Chinese lights, but around 20.30 its starting to get dark and the experience is fantastic. Be aware of the fact that this is a super popular program, so there are long lines that you need to stand in before you can get hold of your ticket.

The entrance fee for this program is 1900 HUF for adults and 1500 HUF for children under 14 years. Here you can see some pictures to give you a little taste of what you can expect if you visit the Zoo in Budapest in one of the coming three days in the evening.

Sculptures in Budapest Zoo — It looks cool, doesn’t it?

Beautiful lights in Budapest Zoo in the evening

If you want to do something completely different tonight in Budapest instead, or maybe before you visit the zoo, then you can of course consider going to Groupama Arena instead where Hungary will play an international friendly match against Ivory Coast. This is the first of several friendly matches Hungary will play to prepare for Euro 2016 where they will have their opening match against Austria on June 14th. For more information on where you can watch Euro 2016 in Budapest, read this article.

Where to watch Euro 2016 in Budapest?

Posted on May 12, 2016October 3, 2016 by Budapest Guide

Are you going to visit Budapest between June 10th and July 10th? Or maybe for a few days, but you just have to watch your favorite team. This is where you can watch Euro 2016 in Budapest!

Let us first assure you that it will be very easy to watch Euro 2016 in Budapest. First of all because Hungarians love football and secondly because Hungary will actually play in Euro 2016. This will be their first time playing in an international tournament like this in over 30 years. But, where you can watch the matches, starting with the Euro 2016 opening matches between France and Romania on June 10th.

Watch Euro 2016 in Budapest

In general it can be said that you can watch the matches everywhere. During Euro 2016 you can expect almost all restaurants to have big screens available or you can simply visit a cafe and watch the matches on their screens. But, if you want to watch the European Championship matches at a place where you will be together with lots of other football fans, then you should probably want to visit one of the following places:

1) Watch Euro 2016 outdoors

The coolest place to watch Euro 2016 will be at Szabadsag ter, a beautiful square located in between the Hungarian Parliament and the St. Stephens Basilica. Here you will have a fantastic big screen, lots of places where you can buy snacks and drinks and it will be packed with people who love football. We would go here!

2) Watch Euro 2016 indoors

If you want to watch Euro 2016 indoors (maybe it will be to warm outside), then you can of course visit a sports pub in Budapest. Here you will find the name and addresses of some popular sports bars:

– Champs: Dohany Utca 20
– John Bull Pub: Apáczai Csere János u. 17
– Beckkets: Liszt Ferenc tér 11.

3) Watch Euro 2016 in your hotel room

All matches during Euro 2016 will be broadcasted on the Hungarian national TV, meaning that you probably have the channels you need in your hotel room. Look for M4 as you swap between the channels and you should be able to watch the Euro 2016 matches there.

4) Watch Euro 2016 online

If you want to watch the Euro 2016 online while in Budapest, then there are several ways in which you can do that. You can read more about watching Euro 2016 online and also find full schedule and venue information at euro2016.one. To watch it at Hungarian TV online while in Hungary visit mediaklikk.hu.

Now all you have to do is cheer for Hungary!

Picasso exhibition

Posted on April 29, 2016April 29, 2016 by Budapest Guide

Want to take a look at the biggest Picasso exhibition on display in Hungary ever? Visit the National Gallery before July 31st.

The Museum of Fine Arts and the National Gallery are hosting this Picasso exhibition together, cooperating first of all with the Picasso museum in Paris. The exhibition opened on April 22nd and will be available until the last day of July. Here is some more information about the exhibition from the press release:

“Boasting a hundred paintings, drawings, sculptures and other artworks, this exhibition embraces every period of Picasso’s career, paying particular attention to one aspect of his ouvre: the constant transfigurations in his portrayal of the human figure. Most of the exhibited works have been generouslyloaned by the Musée national Picasso-Paris, which, with some 5000 works, preserves the largest Picasso collection in the world. The collection was bequeathed to the French state by the artist’s heirs, and contains works from every period of his activity, as well as 200,000 documents – letters, periodicals and photographs – from Picasso’s private archive.

The vast majority of the artworks on show – 74 in all – have come from the collection of the Musée national Picasso-Paris. These are supplemented by selected masterpieces kindly loaned by other major, global museums: The Israel Museum of Jerusalem, the Beyeler Foundation of Basel, the Kunstmuseum Bern, the Pushkin Museum of Moscow and the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart. Visitors can also see three paintings from the Ludwig Museum of Budapest, and an exquisite selection of etchings from the Collection of Prints and Drawings at the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest.” (source)

Venue: National Gallery in Budapest

Dates: April 22nd – July 31st

This is a nice way to take a break if you are tired of watching the Euro 2016 matches in June and July, or if you are in town and watch all the matches outside on the Szabadsag square, but have some spare time in the middle of the day before all the matches start again in the evening.

Sunday shopping returning to Budapest

Posted on April 13, 2016 by Budapest Guide

Since March 15th in 2015 all shops in Hungary had to remain closed on Sundays, with a few exceptions. This law however did not last too long, and as of April 17th 2016 shops are free to stay open on Sundays again.

Shopping in Budapest on SUndays — Can I shop in Budapest on Sundays?

The entire matter of closed and open stores on Sundays has had 100% to do with politics, and it was politics that led the current leaders of the nation to go back on their decision and again let shops stay open on Sundays. There are people on both sides of the political world and normal Hungarians who are really happy about it, while both workers and other people are sad that stores will re-open on Sundays again.

Most shops might not open already from Sunday April 17th, because it takes quite a lot of work to reschedule everything, make new working plans and so much more, but as a tourist coming to Budapest you can expect to see more and more shops open on Sundays again.

Read more about shopping in Budapest right here. If you are about to visit Amsterdam then you can read more about shopping in Amsterdam at the linked article.