Basic Facts About Hungary

Location of Hungary

Hungay lies in Central Europe bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatian and Slovenia. Its capital, Budapest, is one of the most beautiful capitals in the world with two different city parts on the banks of the Danube.

Hungary is a parliamentary democracy and it's been member of the European Union since May 2004.

Map of Hungary

Territiory: 93 030 square km-s.

Hungary has 19 counties. On this website we introduce you the country through its main touristic regions. 

Climate in Hungary

Hungary's climate is continental usually with long hot summers and cold, humid winters. The average yearly temperature is 8-12 °C. On some very chilly winter days temperature can decrease 10-20 °C below zero, especially in the hills, while in the middle of summer temperatures around 30-35 °C during the day are not unusual.

The change in global climate has infuence on Hungary's climate meaning that winter month (December-January-February) are a lot milder sometimes with little snow, while summer begins a bit earlier in the 2nd half of May with daily temperatures above 25 °C.

Rivers in Hungary

Two major rivers the Danube (417 km long) and Tisza (598 km) flow through the country along with several other rivers like the Dráva on the Southern border, the Rába in Western Transdanubia.

Time zone:

GMT + 1 hour

Population of Hungary

Hungary's population is around 10 million but unfortunately it's decreasing, the amjority of the population live in Budapest around 1,8 million people.

Religion

Around two-thirds of the Hungarian peolpe are Roman Catholic, about a quarter are Calvinist. The rest of the population is either belongs to the Lutheran, Jewish, Greeek Orthodox

Hungarian Language

The official language is Hungarian which is part of the Finno-Ugrian language familiy and said to be one of the most difficult languages in the world.

Although the vast majority of the population is Hungarian, numerous ethnic minorities - Gypsies, Croats, Slovacs, Germans - live throughout the country who spoke their native language and do a lot to preserve their traditions.

Telephone

The international code for Hungary is 36.

Making a phone call within the country: 06 - regional number -telephone number.

The regional number of Budapest: 1

Telephone numbers in Budapest consists of 7 digits while countryside numbers are 6-digit.

Important telephone numbers:

• Ambulance: 104

• Police: 107

• Fire service: 105

• To make inquiries within Hungary dial: 198

• International inquiries: 199

Electricity

Voltage is 220 Volt, frequency is 50 Hz.

Money Matters

the currency of Hungary is forint (HUF), the abbreviation of the forint you'll seen on price tags is "Ft".

Coins: 1, 2, 10, 20, 50, 100
Bank notes: 200, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10 000, 20 000

In popular touristy areas like in Budapest or in large cities the major shops accept Euro or USD and in this places, hotels and shops usually accept major credit cards.

It's best to have forints with you especially if you plan to travel around a lot.

Public Holidays

• 1st January - New Year's Day

• 15th March - Day of the 1848/49 Revolution and War of Independence against the Habsburg Monarchy

• Easter Monday

• 1st May - Labour Day

• Whitsun Monday

• 20th August - Day of Foundation of the Hungarain State and St Stephen's day

• 23rd October - Hungary commemorates the unsuccesful revolution against the Soviet communist regime in 1956

• 1st November - All Saints' Day

• 25th-26th December - Christmas
  

Offices, the majority of shops, museums are closed on public holidays. Public transport services operate on different schedule than on weekdays so it's best to check the timetables before your departure (timetable in English for trains, timetable for coaches).
Cafés, restaurant, smaller shops, baths are open in places visited by tourists.

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