maps

i'm really hooked on maps. while travelling and arriving to a city, my first thing is to find an information and get some (we already mentioned, you can take free ones at the airport).



there are pretty good online ones about budapest. check out google maps (or yahoo maps), it's quite detailed and has all the streets. you can search for adresses, places and so on.
if you want to get from A to B by public transport use this. it's a shame, it's only hungarian but let me help you. kerület is district, just leave it unfilled. you should write the street adress to the utca, házszám field. indulás means departure, érkezés is arrive. if you click on the mutasd, the map checks, if you gave a right adress. finally click on mehet (ok). and take a look at the underground network here (green one is under construction).
coming by bike? plan your route here. type the departure and destination (indulás and érkezés) than click on útvonaltervezés biciklivel link below.
at the end, i have a photo and a video map.

polish touristical days

this week is for the polish. from thursday till saturday (31st of may - 2nd of june) they will be the guests of the central market (about this see the post below).
they will offer polish drinks and food, including cheese, and you can buy different polish handicraft products. the craftmen will also show you how they make them.
the band named "goral" from zakopane will play music during the three days.

the central market

there's a place where i always do the daily shopping: the central market on fővám tér.


it's big and beautiful.

i'm sure that your guide will recommend it, and yes, it's quite touristical, but i swear you, the hungarians do go there. like i do. and it's cheaper than other markets! i mean the food, not the souvenirs - i don't know a lot about them.
you have to choose the right stall, because some vendors are a bit rude and they usually don't speak languages - but they know the numbers (: you have to know that many times you can't choose which piece you want.
i don't want to say more bad things about it, because it really is a good place. for the cheaper fruits and vegetables of the season go to the left wing. on the right wing you can find a bigger variety, but it's more expensive. meat is also cheaper and fresher in the market.
when you step in, on the right hand you can find a stall full of cheese and some other stuff, they are always on sale.
in the basement you can find a normal supermarket, some smaller shops, and a special store full with quality food. it is called asia, but they offer everything from the world what you can't find in normal shops. it's not as weird as the chinese shops for example in london, it's more for the hungarian stomach.

opening hours (from the very morning, when you'll be sleeping)
monday: until 17:00
tuesday-friday: until 18:00
saturday: until 14:00
it's better to arrive not in the last minute, because in the last half hour they begin to close.

you can get here by tram #2, #49 or by foot from kálvin tér, blue metro stop (map).

and we have wonderful pictures.

from the airport

if you arrive to budapest by plane, you can easily get to the center, the terminal 1 is quite close to the city, but the terminal 2 is still ok, they are not as far as hahn from frankfurt or luton from london, haha. it takes about 10-20 minutes by bus to reach the blue (3) metro line (map), from where you can get anywhere - for example to go to colors hostel mentioned above, get off at "ferenciek tere". you just have to take the bus #200 from both airports. unfortunately the public transport is very expensive in budapest compared with other capitals in the region, but it's still cheaper than by taxi. a single ticket costs 230 forints, a bit less than 1 eur. but you can't change with it, you have to use a new ticket every times you change.
the controllers aren't very common on this bus. you can afraid of them especially on the metro, so it's better to have a ticket there. (so the full fare is 460, but if you blitz on the bus, just 230 forints)
if you prefer taxi, choose the official of the airport: http://zonataxi.eu. they have fix prices from 14 euros (depend on how far you go) for one way.
an extra tip: you can have your free map of budapest already in the airport, just take it from the shelters until your baggage arrives.

colors hostel

we prefer to use the couchsurfing or the hospitalityclub project to find accommodation, but still there are many people, who prefer a hostel, especially if they travel in a bigger group.
for this case the best place what i can recommend is colors budapest hostel. the price is 14 eur/person/night, but breakfast, linen and towel are included, and it has the best location ever. Right in the very center of the city (Veres Pálné utca 14.; map), with perfect public transport even at night, two minutes walk from the danube or from the váci street, which is the only one real shopping street here.
there are 4x8 beds (2x8 until july i think). free internet, clean bathrooms and toilets, nice staff, who usually can help you to find a good place to go out - where the real budapest natives go.

first

there should be some introduction... this will be (honestly a restart) or want to be a guide for tourists who're coming to budapest, hungary. the special thing, we want to give you the knwoledge of the locals. we live here, study and work here and most importantly, eat, go out, have fun and rest here. we will try to write posts which help you save money and gain extra experience.
enjoy your stay!