Hungary

Understand

Hungary is one of the 15 most popular tourist destinations in the world, with a capital regarded as one of the most beautiful in the world. Despite its relatively small size, Hungary is home to numerous World Heritage Sites, UNESCO Biosphere reserves, the second largest thermal lake in the world (Lake Hévíz), the largest lake in Central Europe (Lake Balaton), and the largest natural grassland in Europe (Hortobágy). In terms of buildings, Hungary is home to the largest synagogue in Europe (the Great Synagogue of Budapest), the largest medicinal bath in Europe (Széchenyi Medicinal Bath), the third largest church in Europe (Esztergom Basilica), the second largest territorial abbey in the world (Pannonhalma Archabbey), the second largest Baroque castle in the world (Gödöllő), and the largest Early Christian Necropolis outside Italy (Pécs). You can expect to find safe food and water, good safety and a generally stable political climate. Hungary has been ethnically diverse since its inception, and while today over 90% of the population are ethnically Hungarian, pockets of ethnic and cultural Slovaks, Romanians, Germans, Romani/Sinti people (Gypsies), and others dot the country. Due to the border changes of Hungary after World War I, over 2 million ethnic and cultural Hungarians live in bordering countries, as well. The Hungarians, otherwise known as Magyars, are the descendants of several tribes from Central Asia, who were believed to be fierce, nomadic horsemen and came to Central Europe in the 9th century. Roman Catholicism is the traditional religion of the Hungarian people (except in the east, where many are Calvinists), but modern Hungary is largely a secular society, and less than 20% of Hungarians attend church regularly.

History The region of present-day Hungary wa

See

Hungary has several World Heritage sites. These are:

Budapest, including the Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter and Andrássy Avenue Old Village of Hollókő and its Surroundings Caves of Aggtelek National Park — beautiful caves with dripstones and stalagmites Millenary Benedictine Abbey of Pannonhalma and its Natural Environment Hortobágy National Park — the Puszta Early Christian Necropolis of Pécs (Sopianae) Fertő Lake Cultural Landscape common place with Austria more see there Tokaj and Villány Wine Regions and Historic Cultural Landscapes You can also check the National parks in Hungary page. Other major tourist destination is Lake Balaton, with winehills, thermal spa in Hévíz, Hajdúszoboszló and Harkány around. Sopron is one of the most popular place for a si

Getting there

Hungary is a member of the Schengen Agreement. See Travelling around the Schengen Area for more information on how the scheme works, what countries are members and what the requirements are for your nationality. In summary:

There are normally no immigration controls between countries that have signed and implemented the treaty; there may be such controls temporarily, such as in connection with important events and various crises. The operators may carry out identity checks before passengers board international flights, ferries or trains, even between Schengen countries. Citizens of the EEA countries and Switzerland do not need visas to travel in the Schengen area, and may stay up to 90 days with no requirements other than having a valid ID card or passport. See European Union#EEA citizens. Normal visas granted by any Schengen member are valid in all countries that have signed and implemented the treaty (with exceptions for some overseas territories). The granting country may offer additional rights (such as longer stays or right to work) that apply only locally. Recognised refugees and stateless persons in possession of a valid travel document issued by the government of any one of the above countries/territories are exempt from obtaining a visa for Hungary (but no other Schengen country, except Germany and, for refugees, Slovakia) for a maximum stay of 90 days in a 180-day period. Citizens of Antigua and Barbuda are permitted to work in Hungary without the need to obtain a visa for the period of their 90-day visa-free stay. However, this ability to work visa-free does not necessarily extend to other Schengen countries.

By plane

Hungary's international airports are Liszt Ferenc Airport (BUD IATA) in Budapest, Airport Debrecen (DEB IATA) in Debrecen and Hévíz–Balato

Getting around

By plane Hungary has no regular domestic flights. As Budapest lies in the centre of the country and pretty much any point can be reached within three hours by train or bus, there isn't much need for scheduled domestic flights. However there are many opportunities for people with a valid pilot's license to rent a plane and explore by air.

By public transport There are multiple trip planning websites for Hungarian public transport. To buy tickets, plan between stations, and for international routes use jegy.mav.hu. Emma is the most complete domestic route planner that unifies data from multiple operators. It includes lasti-mile routing, live locations of vehicles, delays and distruptions. You can also use menetrendek.hu, Google Maps, KDE Itinerary or the MenetBrand android apps to plan your trip - these all have generally up to date data as well. Some important words in Hungarian that may be helpful are:

“honnan” - from “hová” - to “Autóbusz állomás” - bus station “naponta” - daily “munkanapokon” - on workdays

By train

The Hungarian National Railway is MÁV and GYSEV (some lines in the west of the country). The train network is star-shaped (hub-and-spoke), fanning out from the centre at Budapest. This is caused by history because half of the once complete train system went to the neighbor countries after World War I. If neither the starting or ending point is Budapest, expect to travel for a long time often with change in Budapest. Intercity (IC) trains are the fastest, and they're up-to-date, usually well maintained and clean. They link the major cities with Budapest. Expect to pay about 550 Ft extra fee independently from the distance for the mandatory seat reservation (not in international ICs, ECs). In some cases the extra charge can be lower. Compared to th