Budapest Travel Blog

The Wine Festival is one of Central Europe’s most prestigious and popular trade events, where every year tens of thousands of visitors experience wine tasting in cultured surroundings and get to know the wine makers and the arts and traditions associated with viniculture.

The organisers of the festival, the Magyar Hungarian Viniculture Public Benefit Company, have the aim of the presenting a wine and viniculture event, including cultural and gastronomic programmes, that – on its own - is worth visiting Budapest and Hungary for.

Labels: Budapest, Champagne, Festival, International, wine

Posted by Budapest Travel Blog at 2:25 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

The capital city Budapest is the largest city in Hungary and attracts thousands of tourists from all across the globe. Famous as the Paris of the East, this elegant city has some similarity with Prague. However, Budapest is comparatively larger and friendlier. You would love to have a look on the picturesque setting on two sides of Danube. The bridges that connect the two sides also leave a lasting impression. Villas and public buildings from the older era impart Budapest the most enjoyable features for the visitors. Even in the hotels budapest, where you stay, the same quality aroma of the city pervades throughout. Like the city’s old heritages in forms of buildings and monuments, a budapest hotels also makes a mark in the area of hospitality.

A deserving candidate for the title of “Paris of the east” Budapest consists of three cities Buda, Obuda, and Pest. Buda and Obuda are on the west side of the river overlooking the Pest which is much larger in size. Buda and Obuda are combined together to be known as Buda wherein the Burgeois section is famous for its palaces and spas. Pest is the commercial area of the city.

Parliament building is the most famous landmark in the city. Lying on the banks of Danube, it looks like the English houses of Parliament without Big Ben if you see it from a distance. Get on the Castle Hill, which itself is a popular spot amongst the tourists, and have stunning view of the parliament. Palaces, churches and monuments in the city are now the UNESCO world heritages and they are not something to miss out on. Do pay a visit to the wonderful museums also in the city. Some of the most famous ones are: Museum of fine arts; The National Museum; National gallery and the Historical Museum of Budapest.

Budapest, a tourist destination where you can always collect some eternal memories, is the capital of Hungary and promises you to satisfy your touring passion to the full. Popularly known as “Paris of the East” it is the largest city of Hungary with a population of 1.8 million. Straddling the beautiful Danube River, the city has a picturesque setting on both the sides. With some resemblance to Prague, this city is adorned with nine connecting bridges, fascinating villas and stunning public buildings amongst which are some cheap hotels in Budapest too. The hospitality you receive in a hotels in Budapest Hungary does satisfy your quench of a luxurious stay on a foreign land. The moment you land in the city, an elegant mix of both ancient and modern heritages mesmerize you.

Nancy Eben

Labels: Budapest, chain bridge, Szechenyi

Posted by Budapest Travel Blog at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Labels: audio-travelguide, Budapest, mp3, podcast

Posted by Budapest Travel Blog at 7:23 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Donadoni's side sunk by Hungary.

Hungary produced a stirring second half display to overcome world champions Italy 3-1 in an international friendly in Budapest.

Italy took the lead through Antonio Di Natale after 49 minutes but Roland Juhasz equalised 12 minutes later before a Zoltan Gera penalty and a Robert Seczesin strike settled it in the hosts' favour.

Italy started with plenty of attacking intent and they almost took the lead after four minutes when Andrea Pirlo's free-kick produced a fine save from home keeper Marton Fulop.

Hungary offered their first threat going forward after nine minutes but Gera shot wide from close range when faced by Azzurri keeper Gianluigi Buffon.

The hosts came close again five minutes later, Balazs Dzsudzsak's drilled shot from the edge of the area clipping the right-hand post with Buffon beaten.

Fulop, who recently went on loan to English Championship side Leicester after failing to break into the Sunderland first team, distinguished himself again after 27 minutes when he denied Alex Del Piero from 10 yards.

Although they were looking fragile at the back, Hungary were still troubling Italy on the break and only a fine save from Buffon prevented youngster Adam Vass heading home from close range seven minutes before the break.

Italy moved ahead four minutes into the second half when Alberto Aquilani played in Di Natale and he finished well.

The lead was relatively shortlived, however, as Hungary hit back through Juhasz, who fired home from close range after he was surprisingly left unmarked inside the area.

Gera put Hungary ahead five minutes later from the spot after Fabio Cannavaro had felled Tamas Priskin inside the area.

Filippo Inzaghi almost equalised with 16 minutes to go but shot over the bar from close range.

It proved a critical miss as shortly afterwards Hungary grabbed a third as a fine team move culminated in substitute Seczesin slotting past Buffon.

It could have been worse for Roberto Donadoni's men but Buffon pulled off a fine save in injury time to keep out Seczesin's 25-yard drive.

source: Sporting Life - Football

Labels: Budapest, football, Hungary, Puskas Stadium, soccer

Posted by Budapest Travel Blog at 8:53 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

If a late-summer trip to Europe is on your wish list, you can still find some destinations where a week's visit won't break the bank. Priceline, the big online travel site, recently polled its in-house experts on the best places to visit in Eastern Europe (a term that often includes former Iron Bloc countries that are technically in Central Europe). Priceline's mavens identified five such cities, but they could easily have included a few others.

In general, major cities in Eastern European countries offer similar combinations of Old World charm, history, nightlife and great food. Many of these historic cities include well-preserved "old town" centers, including some warranting inclusion on UNESCO's World Heritage list. Here you'll find the expected combination of ancient (or skillfully renovated) buildings and narrow, cobbled streets. And next door, you'll find bustling business centers, cultural activities and modern hotels.

Budapest and Prague were the first two former Iron Curtain capitals to open up to Western visitors. In fact, Budapest was fairly open even before the end of the Cold War. After the fall, both cities became immediate magnets for American visitors. Prague, especially, attracted an inrush of young Americans, many with entrepreneurial ambitions in what they saw as a land of wide-open opportunities. Both have remained on many writers' "hot" lists for several years, and with good reason.

Krakow, Poland's historic onetime capital - and also on Priceline's list - eclipses Warsaw as the place to visit in Poland. It's one of Europe's architectural gems, but it also offers the usual mix of good food, entertainment and history.

Priceline's final two nominees are Baltic capitals. A few years ago, newly emerging Prague was a "new Vienna"; now Vilnius, Lithuania, is hailed as the "new Prague." And Tallinn, Estonia, is among the latest Eastern cities to be "discovered" by American travelers and travel writers. Both are on lots of "hot" lists. Both offer a wonderful mix of food, nightlife and culture. However, compared with Budapest and Prague, you're likely to find fewer English speakers among the locals, so be patient.

Priceline cites three-star hotel rates in these five cities starting as low as $100 per night, double, including VAT and service and usually breakfast. These rates are based on postings on Priceline.com and on its two European affiliates, Priceline and Book- ings.com. When I tested a sample trip in mid-September, however, the best rates I found were a bit higher. But you can still find lots of three-star hotels and even some at four-star city-center locations with rates starting at around $125 a night.

As to possibilities that Priceline didn't cover, I suppose the real question is, "What will be the new Vilnius?" Riga? Bucharest? Sofia? Sorry, but I don't have an answer. I've heard good reports on Ljubljana and Zagreb. Dubrovnik is back in business, but other centers in devastated former Yugoslavia may have to wait a bit longer, and I wouldn't hold my breath for Kiev or Minsk. Still, relatively adventurous travelers can find lots of relatively undiscovered spots in the East.

As in Western Europe, you can usually beat the city-center prices:

-- Staying in outlying areas or the suburbs is OK for rock-bottom prices, but it means more time than you want to spend schlepping back and forth between hotel and visitor centers on public transportation.

-- Staying in two- and even one-star hotels is generally fine through most of Western Europe. But I haven't been to many of the emergent Eastern centers, so I'm not sure how comfortable some Americans would be in down-market hotels in Tallinn, Vilnius and other such destinations.

-- You can also almost always cut costs substantially by sticking to the countryside rather than cities, but, again, I suspect that isn't as good an idea in the East as in the West.

source:

Labels: American visitors, destinations, europe

Posted by Budapest Travel Blog at 8:36 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Budapest, August 22 (MTI) -The tourism sector in Hungary will experience unprecedented increase in investments over the next years, an MP of the senior government coalition MSZP party told reporters on Wednesday.

Over the next six years a total of 800-1,000 billion forints (EUR 3-3.8bn) are expected to be invested in boosting the sector, MSZP's tourism group leader Bela Pal said. Over 300 billion forints (EUR 1.14bn) will be available in EU funds and the rest will be provided by the government, local governments and businesses, he said.

Earlier, the government spokesperson said the Hungarian government would increase its investments in tourism, which accounts for 9 percent of the GDP.

Source: English - Hungarian News Agency Corp.

Labels: Budapest, Hungary, Investments, tourism

Posted by Budapest Travel Blog at 2:09 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Budapest boosted by oneworld support

A winter tourism promotion in Budapest will receive the significant backing of the oneworld airline alliance.

Running from 1 December 2007 until 31 March 2008, Budapest Winter Invasion will involve 50 of the Hungarian capital's hotels as well as a range of service providers in the historic city.

Officials hope to increase the number of tourists travelling to Budapest by 20,000 this winter, as the number of nights that people stay in the city increases to 80,000.

oneworld, which includes the likes of British Airways, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines, will lend its support to the winter campaign. Malev Hungarian Airlines, oneworld's newest member, will also be playing a central role, as Budapest Airport looks to strengthen its international reputation.

Malev chief execuive Lloyd Paxton said: 'Having our oneworld partners join with us in this year's Budapest Winter Invasion is a classic example of how Malev and Hungary are benefiting from our membership of the alliance.'

Oneworld's Nicolas Ferri added: 'We are delighted to be working with the carrier itself and the various tourism associations involved towards making the coming winter the city's best yet for inbound travel.'

With more than 100 thermal springs, Budapest is a truly unique city that blends a cosmopolitan atmosphere with ancient architecture and charm.

© Adfero Ltd

Posted by Budapest Travel Blog at 9:11 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Labels: 2007, Budapest, Budapest Photos, pictures

Posted by Budapest Travel Blog at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

1st Mangold
watch it




4th Besenyei
watch it

American Mike Mangold (Team Cobra) has won the Red Bull Air Race World Series event in Budapest by beating Kirby Chambliss (USA/Team Red Bull) in a heart-stopping battle over the Danube River in front of half a million spectators to take over the championship lead from Britain’s Paul Bonhomme (Team Matador) with his third victory of the 10-race season.

Mangold, the 2005 Red Bull Air Race champion, dazzled the huge Hungary national holiday crowd watching from the banks of the majestic river with a clean run through the 15-gate course that started and finished with a spectacular fly-by underneath Budapest’s landmark Chain bridge. He posted a winning time of 1:12.85. Paul Bonhomme (GBR/Team Matador) took third.

“We’ve won two races in a row but there’s three races left, so we’ve got a good trend going. We did a whole new motor for this race. It’s almost running perfect. There is one minor issue that we’re going to work on before Porto. The machine is doing real well. It’s very easy for me. I just have to fly it correctly and it’s going to win for me,” Mangold said.

Mangold now leads the series, which has three more stops, with 36 points, ahead of the Bonhomme, the surprise package of the 2007 season, who now slips back to second after leading most of the season. He has 35 points. After a slow start this season, Mangold has won three of the last four races: Istanbul, London and Budapest.

The 13 Red Bull Air Race pilots hit speeds of up to 400 kph and forces of up to 10G in the elimination rounds flown on the compact course in front of the Hungarian parliament building. Budapest marked the start of the decisive phase of the Red Bull Air Race World Series. The final three stops of the series are in Porto, San Diego and Perth.

source: red bull

Labels: Budapest - Red Bull Air Race 2007., Video

Posted by Budapest Travel Blog at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

watch it

Posted by Budapest Travel Blog at 9:21 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

watch it

Labels: Budapest, Red Bull Air Race 2007.

Posted by Budapest Travel Blog at 2:43 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

American Mike Mangold (Team Cobra) won “pole position” for the Red Bull Air Race World Series event in Budapest on Monday with a flawless qualifying run through the 15-gate slalom course set up just metres above the surface of the Danube River on Sunday.

Mangold, who is just one point behind championship leader Paul Bonhomme (GBR/Matador) heading into the decisive phase of the season, clocked in a time of one minute 12.78 seconds after reaching speeds of about 400 kph and enduring forces of up to 10G on the course with a spectacular start and finish underneath Budapest’s landmark Chain Bridge.

Kirby Chambliss (USA/Team Red Bull) was second, 0.64 seconds behind, and Steve Jones (GBR/Team Matador) was third, 1.19 seconds back. The race on Monday, Hungary’s national holiday, will be watched by about a million spectators and is the seventh of 10 stops in the 2007 season.

source: redbull

Posted by Budapest Travel Blog at 6:20 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

The Red Bull Air Race World Series moves into the decisive phase with the seventh race in the 10-stop season in Budapest on Monday. Home town hero Peter Besenyei (Hungary/Team Red Bull), who will need a strong showing on Hungary’s national holiday on Monday if he wants to move up from third place in the championship, took a “reconnaissance flight” over the spectacular course on the Danube River in the heart of Budapest along with rivals Michael Goulian (USA/Dragon Racing) and Nigel Lamb (GBR/Team Breitling). The three pilots, representing the 13 pilots in the championship, also flew past the Parliament building and the city’s famous Chain bridge on the traditional pre-race “recon flight”.



source: redbull

Labels: Budapest - Red Bull Air Race 2007.

Posted by Budapest Travel Blog at 4:03 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Americans Mike Mangold and Kirby Chambliss recorded the fastest times on Friday on the first day of free training ahead of the seventh leg of the Red Bull Air Race World Series which takes place in Budapest on Monday.

Mangold, who trails championship leader Paul Bonhomme of Britain by just one point, completed the slalom course just metres above the Danube River in the heart of the Hungarian capital in a time of one minute 15.31 seconds. Chambliss was just 0.39 seconds behind on the course that starts and finishes under Budapest’s landmark Chain Bridge. Last year’s winner Steve Jones of Britain was a distant third, 2.21 seconds behind Mangold.

source: redbull

Labels: Budapest, Red Bull Air Race

Posted by Budapest Travel Blog at 3:45 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Budapest, August 10 (MTI) - The government has appointed a senior official at the prime minister's office (PMO) to take responsibility on its behalf for contingency planning for Hungary's national holiday celebrations on August 20, said a government spokesman on Friday.
During last year's celebrations, hundreds out of the millions of spectators lining the banks of the River Danube in Budapest to see the fireworks display were seriously injured and four people died when a severe storm rolled in, causing mayhem.

The local municipality, private organisers and the government were criticised for failing to put in place any emergency planning for the event. Hungary's ombudsman for citizen rights found the Prime Minister's Office bore the main responsibility for the disaster.

Zoltan J Gal, state secretary at the PMO, will take responsibility for preparing security and safety measures for the holiday, which celebrates the anniversary of King St. Stephen, the founder of the Hungarian state. A government committee will aid him leading up to the event as well as overseeing the actual proceedings during the day of August 20, said government spokesman David Daroczi.

source: MTI
photo: flickr</