Budapest

Budapest is the capital city of Hungary. With green filled parks full of charming pleasures, museums that will inspire, and a pulsating nightlife that is on par with its European counterparts, Budapest is one of Europe's most delightful and enjoyable cities.

Districts

Although Budapest is administratively divided into 23 numbered districts which are always written in Roman numerals, it can most simply be divided into the two cities of which it is comprised (Buda and Pest) and one historic district:

• Buda - The hilly West side of the Danube (Districts I-III, XI-XII, XXII).
• Castle Hill - District I of Buda, the oldest part of the city containing the eponymous Castle and many of Budapest's best-known attractions.
• Pest - The flat East side of the Danube, covering the modern commercial core of the city (Districts IV-IX).

Understand

Regarded by many as one of world's most beautiful cities, travelers are quickly recognising the appeal of Budapest, with tourism accounting for approximately 20 million visitors per year.
Consisting of two very different cities, Buda on the West bank of the Danube River and Pest on the East bank, Budapest (pronounced "BOO-dah-pesht") offers travelers Viennese romanticism at an affordable price. However, Budapest is unique in its own right. Hungarians are proud of what this ancient capital has to offer and its contributions to European culture, especially in the field of music, a language one doesn't need to speak to appreciate.

Official Tourism Information

Tourism Office of Budapest, 1056 Budapest, Március 15. tér 7., tel: +36 1 438-8080

Get in

By plane
Budapest (Ferihegy) International Airport IATA: BUD, Ferihegyi Nemzetközi Repülőtér; (pronounced "Ferry-hedge") is the country's largest airport, located about 16 km (10 miles) southeast of the city center. Ferihegy has two terminals, Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, often called Ferihegy-1 and Ferihegy-2, respectively. Terminal 2 is the hub of the Hungarian national carrier, Malév.
The airport’s central telephone number for information is: +36-1 296-9696 or on +36-1 296-7000. Luggage services can be contacted on +361 296-5449 in connection with flights into and out Terminal 1 and +36-1 296-5965 for Terminal 2.

Connections
The Hungarian national flag carrier is MALÉV. Budapest is connected with the major European cities and some countries of the Middle East, Asia and North Africa by direct flights. The scheduled service between Budapest and the US is operated by Delta Air Lines.
As of 2009, the following discount airlines operate to and from Budapest (using Terminal 1 unless otherwise stated):

• Air Berlin (from Germany) - Terminal 2A;
• EasyJet (from France, Germany, Great Britain and Switzerland);
• Germanwings (from Germany);
• Jet2 (from Great Britain);
• Norwegian Air Shuttle (from Denmark and Norway);
• RyanAir (from Germany, Great Britain and Ireland);
• SmartWings (from Czech Republic and Spain) - Terminal 2A;
• Vueling (from Spain);
• WizzAir (from Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Spain and Sweden).

Airport transfer

• Taxi: Zóna Taxi +36-1 365-5555 has the right to take passengers from Ferihegy airport. Depending on your destination, a trip to Budapest costs between HUF 3900-5700 (EUR 17-27) - the fare is slightly more expensive if paid in Euros. Queue at the taxi stand to receive a written quote for your fare, then pay it when you arrive at your destination - this system is designed to eliminate unjustified price hikes. IMPORTANT: unless you have pre-ordered a taxi from a different company, do not accept offers from taxi drivers waiting in the terminal or near the terminal entrances. This is for your own safety. On your trip into town you might receive a business card from Zona Taxi quoting cheaper fares bound to Ferihegy airport (i.e. EUR 16 from Pest). Reserve a car by phone and quote the offer to save some money.
• Minibus service. If you travel alone, consider the Airport Minibus service, a shared taxi operation that collects passengers going in the same direction and will take you to or from anywhere in Budapest for HUF 2990 per person, HUF 4990 for a round trip. Join the queue at the airport and you will be on your way in 15 minutes. For the trip back, call the center +36-1 296-8555 (at least 24 hours beforehand) and Airport Minibus will pick you up.
• Bus: From either Terminal 1 or Terminal 2, Bus 200E takes you to to Kőbánya-Kispest metro 3 station. Buses stop outside the airport terminals. The journey to the metro station takes approximately 26-30 minutes from Terminal 2 or 15-17 minutes from Terminal 1. Buses run every 8-20 minutes from 05AM to midnight. There is no night bus service between the airport and the city, but the last four departures of bus 200E are connected to the night buses 914 and 950 which replace the metro.
  If you arrive in terminal 2B, take note that the buses are to be taken from outside terminal 2A, which is 50 meters to the left after you exit. Before exiting terminal 2B, be sure to buy some bus tickets from the newspaper vendor.
  Bus tickets are available in airport terminals for HUF 300 at the newspaper vendors, or HUF 400 if you purchase directly from the bus driver. Note that a single ticket is only valid on the bus. If you continue with the metro from Kőbánya-Kispest to the central city you need to buy a new single ticket. You will be better off buying 2 tickets from the airport, one for the bus and one for the metro, as the automatic machine in the metro station only takes coins.
  The bus ticket has to be validated inside the bus, while the metro ticket will be validated in the orange machine present at the entrance in the station.
• Railway: There is a railway station connected to Terminal 1 via a covered bridge. Passengers from Terminal 2A or 2B can also reach it by taking the 200E bus to Terminal 1. Frequent suburban train services run westwards to Budapest Nyugati station via Köbánya-Kispest and eastwards to Vecsés, Üllö and Monor, and semi-fast services to Cegléd (these services only stop in Ferihegy between Köbánya-Kispest and Monor). The stopping service to Monor normally has 2 trains/h while the Cegléd service has 1 train/h. The travel time to Budapest is 20 min with a semi-fast train and 23 min with a stopping train. A single ticket to Budapest costs 365 HUF and can be bought at the information desk at the airport or from the ticket vending machines at the station. Local transport passes valid for two weeks or longer can also be used. For timetable information, check the Hungarian Railways website. Use the words "Ferihegy" for the airport and "Nyugati" for the city center.

Long-distance trains also operate from Ferihegy to destinations like Kecskemét, Szeged, Debrecen, Miskolc and Záhony at the Ukrainan border.

By train

Budapest has direct rail connection with Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and various Hungarian cities.
The main railway stations (pályaudvar) are Keleti pályaudvar (Eastern Railway Station), Déli pályaudvar (Southern Railway Station) and Nyugati pályaudvar (Western Railway Station). The stations are not named for their geographic location in the city, nor for the direction of the destinations served by each (trains to Vienna, for example, leave from Keleti). The stations are well connected to each other and to the rest of the city. Keleti and Déli Railway Stations are located on Metro 2, Nyugati Railway Station is on Metro 3. A transfer should not take more than 15 minutes at peak hours; slightly more on weekends and evenings. Depending on where you are coming from, some outer stations can be useful to you; trains arriving from Vienna, Bratislava, the lake Balaton or other western locations stop at Budapest Kelenföld station, which is a good public transport hub for Southern Buda. Trains arriving from Romania, Ukraine and Eastern Hungarian cities regularly stop at Kőbánya-Kispest station, a good place to get to Eastern Budapest or to Ferihegy Airport.
Train stations in Budapest are not up to Western quality standards; they are hard to access for people with disabilities and their facilities are very limited. Be prepared for long queues at the ticket office; English is rarely spoken. Do not expect luggage trolleys or clean toilets. Food or a coffee purchased at the stations is unlikely to give you a gastronomic buzz; it is also difficult to find a good nearby cafe if you didn't research in advance. If using a taxi on your way from the station, do not accept any offers from drivers waiting around the station entrance. For further information read also Stay safe section.
Hungary’s rail system is operated almost entirely by the Hungarian State Railways (Magyar Államvasutak, MÁV).
If you want to have comfy feeling on your trip, use the InterCity trains (additional fee applies, seat reservation compulsory). Local trains with older coaches can look like interesting, however lots of old coaches were replaced. When travelling late night, expect that some trains operated on not very frequented lines can be completely empty.

By bus

Budapest’s long distance bus stations are located outside the city centre, but are very well connected to the rest of the city. 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. Fairly modern station with reliable facilities. Do not forget to check in if you travel abroad.
Stadion Bus Station (Stadion autóbuszállomás, formerly known as Népstadion autóbuszállomás, metro 2 Stadionok station). The biggest hub for Eastern Hungarian destinations, quite modern but somewhat dirty station built underground.
Árpád Bridge Bus Station (Árpád híd autóbuszállomás, metro 3 Árpád híd station). 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). 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.
International bus routes are operated by Eurolines +36-1 318-2122. Although most connections are not as frequent as before the low-fare airlines revolution, they still run two or three times a week; from Austria and Slovakia daily. Orangeways 36-30 830-9696, a low fare bus company offers cheap tickets from and to Austria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany, Netherlands, Poland and Slovakia. Check timetables on company sites.
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.

Source: Wikitravel