Location
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BME |
Getting to the university
The nearest public transport stop to the university is "Petőfi híd, budai hídfő" at the Petőfi bridge, where the major tram lines Nr. 4 and 6 stop (also bus line 212 across the street). From the tram stop, take the underpass and turn left (south), then head along the foot-path going parallel to the river Danube. On the first corner turn to the right, and start to go around on that semicircle street. Out of the two buildings in the inner side of the semicircle, we are in the farther (southern) one, Building I. It's worth checking out a satellite image beforehand as well as the photo of Building I, to avoid confusion with Building Q.
Travel information
Arriving by flight
There are daily direct flights from several European cities. Liszt Ferenc Airport is situated 20 km from the city centre and is a popular destination for many low fare air carriers. The airport has two terminals that are directly connected: Terminal 2A for international flights arriving from the Schengen zone, and Terminal 2B for flights arriving from the non-Schengen zone and departure terminal for budget airlines.
Getting to the city center from the airport:
- By airport shuttle: you can book a minibus transfer upon your arrival, at the luggage pick-up hall. The operators will group a few passengers going to nearby destinations, and the shuttle will go to each destination in a sequence. Expected waiting time is about 10 minutes.
- By taxi: Főtaxi has exclusive rights for the operation of a taxi service from the airport. Sharing a taxi (by up to 3 or 4 persons) could reduce the price. You can purchase a pre-paid ride at the taxi booth at the exit of the airport. The price of a ride depends on the destination, a ride to the city centre should typically cost around 8000 HUF (25 EUR) depending on traffic conditions. Bolt (née Taxify) works in Budapest, however, Uber and Lyft are not available.
- By public transport: You can take bus line 100E from the airport to downtown (Deák Ferenc tér) for a separate ticket costing 900 HUF (3 EUR). You can use bus 200E with a regular 350 HUF (1 EUR) ticket. This bus takes you to Kőbánya-Kispest, where you can board Metro line M3 which is well-connected to many other lines. In particular, at Corvin-negyed you can change to tram nr. 4 or 6 in the direction of Móricz Zsigmond körtér or Újbuda-központ to reach the university (see below).
Taxi companies usually accept Euros, just as the shuttle bus company, therefore getting from the airport to the city is possible without having HUF. Public transportation tickets can be bought from a kiosk machine. There are also teller (ATM) machines at the airport where you can buy HUF at a better exchanged rate than in banks.
Arriving by train
When arriving by train at the Western Railway Station (Nyugati pályaudvar) take tram number 4 or 6 in the direction of Móricz Zsigmond körtér or Újbuda-központ directly. The Western Railway Station is a major hub for public transportation with the Metro line 3, trams 4 and 6, and many bus lines.
When arriving at the Eastern Railway Station (Keleti pályaudvar, main railway station for international trains) or at the Southern Railway Station (Déli pályaudvar), you can take the Metro line M2, go to Blaha Lujza tér and change to the tram lines 4 or 6 as above.
Please note that there are special reduced fares for various trains from Vienna, Munich, and many other cities.
General remarks about public transportation in Hungary
Budapest has an excellent public transportation system. Recently a ticket costs HUF 350 (approx. EUR 1.2) but different combined and daily tickets offer a good “go as you please” opportunity. Many major lines operate until approx. 23h-24h in the night, and a network of night buses serve the streets afterwards. For finding your way, the site utvonalterv.hu provides invaluable help in planning routes in Hungary (especially in Budapest) by public transport, by car, or by other means of transport. Alternatively, we recommend the pages of the BKK Centre for Budapest Transport to find bus, tram or subway connections within Budapest.
For public transport outside Budapest, the ELVIRA service is helpful in finding domestic train connections, and for the schedule of the national coach services please visit the official timetable of the Volán company. (The latter site speaks only Hungarian, but the search function is almost self explaining: The first 2 fields are “from”, and “to”, then the date in year/month/day order. Leave everything else as default.)
In Budapest, you have to purchase a ticket before taking a public transportation vehicle, fares usually cannot be paid on board (excluding taxis, of course). Ticket vending machines or cashiers are usually available at railway stations, coach stations and stops of the subway system. On many lesser tram or bus stops, however, you will need a pre-purchased ticket or resort to newsstands and other miscellaneous ticket vendors. For coach or train services connecting towns, you have the option to buy the ticket on the vehicle, but only if you board it at a lesser stop where no tickets are sold. Be careful that many coaches and cheaper trains have no visual or audible announcements indicating which stop is next, therefore travellers have to watch out for signposts, trust the timetables for accuracy, rely on their familiarity of the surroundings or ask for help from other passengers to decide when to get off. Fortunately, express train services like InterCity and EuroCity usually do have a stop indication, but they require a more expensive and pre-purchased reserved seat ticket.
Recommended accommodation
Danubius Hotel Gellért
- Located on the west riverbank, north of the university. Integrated with Gellért Spa.
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Directions to the university:
- By tram: Take the tram lines Nr. 18, 19, 41, 47, 49, 118 (any tram lines that cross the square), in the direction away from the Danube, the second stop will be Móricz Zsigmond körtér. Find the terminal station of tram Nr. 6 (somewhat hidden in a side street) and take it for two stops. See above for directions from the tram stop to the university.
- By foot (20-25 minutes walk): Just take a walk along the Danube (the Danube should be on your left while walking), pass under the next bridge (Petőfi bridge) and turn to the right just before the first building after that bridge (ignoring the open-air club). Then you are at the north end of our semicircle street, pass the building directly at the Danube, and on the inner side of the circle you will pass a construction site, then Building Q, and finally the next one will be our building.
Hotel ibis Styles Budapest City
- Located on the east riverbank, just across the river from our university building.
- Directions to the university: cross the Danube on Bridge Petőfi, either by trams Nr. 4 or 6 (one stop) or by foot. See above for directions from the tram stop to the university.
Danubius Hotel Flamenco
- The hotel lies west from Móricz Zsigmond körtér, across the lake. The university is to the east.
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Directions to the university: first find Móricz Zsigmond körtér (important traffic junction) behind the lake and the block of houses. From there find the terminal station of tram Nr. 6 (somewhat hidden in the side street Karithy Frigyes út), and...
- By tram: take line 6 for two stops. See above for directions from the tram stop to the university.
- By foot (10-15 min. from there): walk down Karithy Frigyes út and then continue the same geometric line on the other side of the big crossing, in Feketeházy János street. You will reach a semicircle street, with a construction site across. To the right of the construction site, the first building will be Building Q, and the second will be our building.
Hungary
Hungary is a member of the European Union and the Schengen Border Treaty. The official language is Hungarian, and do not expect everybody to speak English, but you can easily get by with English or with German in places frequented by international tourism.
Currency
The official currency in Hungary is the Forint (shortly, Ft or HUF), and not the Euro. Of course, there are many places where they accept Euros as well, but you should not depend on it, and exchange rates are typically biased against the customer. You can exchange currency in banks and at dedicated exchange offices, or withdraw HUF from ATMs. The exchange mid rate today (2016-11-15) is 310 HUF for 1 EUR. Prices are rounded up (or down) to the next number divisible by 5 Ft. So, shopkeepers are not cheating if they do not give you back a change of 1Ft or 2 Fts.
Cellular network providers
In Hungary there are 3 cellphone providers:
- Telenor - a member of the Telenor group, formerly Pannon, Pannon GSM
- T-Mobile - a member of the Deutsche Telekom group, formerly Westel, Westel900
- Vodafone
Further sources of information
- the official page of Budapest
- the official page of the Budapest Transport Ltd.
- a 10 days weather forecast
- the page of the Hungarian National Tourist Office
- the CIA World Factbook: Hungary
