Budapest District VI

Understand

The main feature of Terézváros is Andrássy út, the avenue built to emulate the Champs-Élysées of Paris. It connects the Erzsébet Square in V. District and Heroes' Square in City Park. It crosses the körút (boulevard ringroad) at the always-busy Oktogon square, which got its name from its shape. At the end of Andrássy út the City Park (Városliget) is probably the most pleasant of Pest's districts and houses a number of interesting if low-key attractions often skipped by the package tour companies. The area is easily accessible with the yellow subway line (nearest station : Hősök tere) and entry into the park, including the castle grounds, is free. All this area, including the Underground Railway is part of the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Getting there

1 Nyugati pályaudvar (Budapest-Nyugati Railway Terminal, Western Railway Station), at the intersection of Grand Boulevard and Váci Avenue. ( : 'Nyugati pályaudvar' or tram: 4, 6 or bus 9, 26, 91, 191, 226, 291). Nyugati (Hungarian for "western") is actually in the east of the city, but its name is due to that it used to serve western-oriented railway lines, which is no more the case, as the station is limited to handling domestic traffic, including this coming from the east like from Debrecen or Szeged. You may also end up there when coming from abroad, as the trains stopping at Ferihegy arrive here. You can use those trains to connect to bus 200E from Budapest Ferihegy International Airport. The bus-train combination is the quickest way to get to the city centre from the airport. The square in front of the station (predictably named Nyugati ter) also serves as a transport hub with several bus routes, tram routes 4 and 6, and a station on M3 line of the Budapest Metro. From downtown take M1 metro.

See

1 Budapest Stock Exchange (Budapesti Értéktőzsde (BÉT)), VI. Andrássy út 93 ( : Bajza utca), ☏ +36 1 429-6700, [email protected]. M-F 09:00-17:00. Re-opened in 1990. The key institution of Hungarian financial markets and the official trading venue for publicly offered securities. 2 Former Institute of Ballet (Balettintézet), VI. Andrássy út 27 ( : Opera). The former Drechsler Palace.

3 St. Teresa of Avila Church (Avilai Szt.Teréz templom), VI. Pethő Sándor utca 2 ( : Opera), ☏ +36 1 342 0534. Founded 1777 in a wooden farmland building. Stone church built in 1801-1809. Inside finished in 1831, by Mihály Pollack. 4 Bencur House (Bencur Ház), VI. Benczúr u. 27. ( : Bajza utca), ☏ +36 1 322 4240, [email protected]. Built in the 1880s. This is a three-storey mansion. Here is now on the 2nd and 3rd floor the Post Museum. Bencur Cafe and Restaurant, ☏ +36 20 928 5037.

5 Nyugati pályaudvar (Budapest-Nyugati Railway Terminal, Western Railway Station), at the intersection of Grand Boulevard and Váci Avenue. ( : 'Nyugati pályaudvar' or tram: 4, 6 or bus 9, 26, 91, 191, 226, 291). Designed planned by August de Serres and was built by the Eiffel Company, the station opened on 28 October 1877, replacing the previous one razed to make place for the Nagykörút (Grand Boulevard). The station building retains the atmosphere of bygone days, in particular the ticket hall. There is a corridor between the main station entrance and McDonald's on the right-hand side of the main entrance. Formerly the station restaurant, this McDonald's is reputed to be the most elegant in the world. Apart from the ornate lighting, ceiling mouldings and general décor of the fast-food restaurant, Nyugati station McDonald's has a McCafé on the mezzanine floor, serving coffee and cakes in a more comfortable environment than the lower floor. Also worth mentioning is the Royal Waiting Room, built for Emperor Franz Joseph I. This can be found about 100 m on the left-hand side after entering the main station ha

Do

Rent bicycles 1 TreeHugger Dans Bookstore & Cafe, Lázár u. 16 ( : Opera), ☏ +36 70 5162716, [email protected]. M-F: 09:30-18:30 Sa-Su:10:00-16:00. summer daily 9:30-20:00. - Used English bookstore, bicycle rental and coffee shop. Smoke free and the staff is very friendly even if the book prices are extortionate. A good place to pick up a local city map with fresh recommendations. 2 Yellow Zebra Bikes, Lázár utca 16 ( : Opera), ☏ +36 1 269384. Ap-Oct: 9AM-8:30PM Nov-Feb: 9AM-7PM. Rents bicycle and also provides bicycle tours of the city €2-6 depending on type; €10-16 more than half day (same day return).

Cinemas 3 Cinema Művész (Művész Mozi), Teréz körút 30 ( , tram: 4, 6 station/stop Oktogon), ☏ +36 1 3326726. 11:00-23:30. This is probably the most popular “Art Mozi” theatre in Budapest. Many Hungarian movies are on show with English subtitles; ask for them at the desk. Ft920-1050.

Ice skating 4 WestEnd City Center, Váci út 1-3 ( : Nyugati), ☏ +36 1 2387777. from Oct or Nov until Mar. There is a rink on the top of WestEnd mall. It is smaller, but it usually less crowded than the rink at City Park.

Theatres

5 Budapest Operetta Theatre (Budapesti Operett Színház), VI. Nagymezõ utca 19 ( : Opera or tram: 4, 6 station/stop Oktogon). The Operetta Theatre performs old-fashioned operettas for the nostalgic hearted and tries to be Madách's main rival in musicals. tickets Ft950-15000.

6 State Opera or Hungarian State Opera House (Magyar Állami Operaház), VI. Andrássy út, 22 ( : 'Opera'), ☏ +36 1 814 7100, [email protected]. guided tours - every 3PM and 4PM. It is home to the Budapest Opera Ball, a society event dating back to 1886. Before the closure of "Népszínház" in Budapest, it was the second largest opera building in Budapest. Today it is the largest Opera building in Budapest and Hungary. But even if tickets are expensive you will enjoy the performance even if you're not an opera buff. You can get cheaper tickets during the summer when there often are

Buy

Banks 1 CIB Bank, VI. Bajcsy−Zsilinszky út 5−7 ( : 'Bajcsy−Zsilinszky út'), ☏ +36 1 4231000, fax: +36 1 4896201. M-Th 08:30-16:00, F 08:30-15:00. ATM 0-24: yes. +phone=+36 40 242242 Other units: # VI. Teréz körút 21. # VI. Váci út 1−3., WestEnd Shopping Mall−Pollack Mihály sétány 19. # VII. Baross tér 17. # VII. Erzsébet krt. 2. # VII. Károly krt. 3/b. # VIII. Kerepesi út 9. (Aréna Plaza üzletház) # VIII., József körút. 34. 2 Commercial and Credit Bank (Kereskedelmi és Hitelbank), VI. Andrássy út 49 ( : Oktogon; tram 4, 6; bus 105), ☏ +36 1 4112740. M,Tu 08:00-17:00, W 08:00-18:00, Th 08:00-16:00, F 08:00-15:00. ATM 24/7. , VI. Teréz krt. 1., ☏ +36 1 4133240. , VII. Károly krt. 17-19, ☏ +36 1 3278030. 3 Erste Bank, VI. Váci út 1-3 (In the Westend City Center), ☏ +36 40 222222. M-F 10:00-19:00, Sa 10:00-14:00. Other units: all other branch open M 08:00-18:00 Tu-Th 08:00-16:00 F 08:00-15:00, # VI. Teréz körút 24., # VII. Erzsébet körút 8., # VII. Károly körút 7., # VII. Baross Gábor tér 15., # VIII. Baross utca 1-3., # VIII. József körút 30-32., # VIII. József körút 86. 4 MKB Bank (Magyar Külkereskedelmi Bank), VI. Nyugati tér 5 ( : Nyugati tér station, tram 4, 6), ☏ +36 40 333666, [email protected]. M-Th 10:00-18:00,