Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe; the capital is Budapest. The currency is the forint, the time zone is the same as Vienna and Prague, and Hungary is in the EU and the Schengen Area.
We spent five nights in Budapest: from the Parliament to Buda Castle, from the thermal baths to the cave under the city. This page covers where Hungary is, how to get there, the currency, the language, the food and all our Budapest guides.
Tap a dot to see the place and open its card. Borders from Natural Earth, dots at real coordinates.
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe with seven neighbours: Austria and Slovenia to the west, Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south. The Danube cuts through the country from north to south. What is the capital of Hungary?
Budapest. It sits in the north on both banks of the river: hilly Buda and flat Pest. Hungary is a member of the European Union and part of the Schengen Area. Before you go, read the Hungary travel advisory from your own government, for example the US State Department or the UK Foreign Office . The place we went is marked on the map above.
Most lists of the best places to visit in Hungary start with Budapest, and so far it is the place we have explored; all 29 stops from our video are in things to do in Budapest . The ones we liked most:
How many days, what it costs and a day-by-day plan are in our Budapest travel guide .
The currency is the forint (HUF); Central European Time; plugs type C and F.
Goulash, lángos, chimney cake and walnut cake at Gerbeaud.
The classics of Hungarian food are goulash (gulyás), a paprika beef stew; lángos, fried dough topped with sour cream and cheese; and chimney cake (kürtőskalács), baked turning over coals.
We ate lángos at two places, tried almond, pistachio and cinnamon chimney cakes, had walnut cake at Gerbeaud and goulash twice. The twelve places we ate and what we paid are in what to eat in Budapest .
The Pest side: Districts V, VI and VII; we stayed on Király utca.
Most people stay on the Pest side: District V around the Basilica and Váci Street, District VII with the Jewish Quarter, and District VI along Andrássy Avenue. Buda has the views but also the hills. We stayed five nights in an apartment on Király utca. Area by area, with hotels: where to stay in Budapest .
Three days for Budapest; Vienna is about 2 hours 40 minutes by train.
Three days are enough for Budapest: day one for central Pest and the Parliament, day two for the Buda side, day three for Andrássy Avenue, City Park and a bath. We stayed five nights and took it slowly. If you are combining it with Vienna, the train takes about 2 hours 40 minutes, and Bratislava is on the same line.
US, UK, Canadian, Australian and EU citizens visit visa free for short stays; many other passports need a Schengen visa. Check your nationality before you book.
Austria, Slovakia and Czechia are in Schengen too; trains cross the borders without passport control, but carry your passport, ID checks can happen on the train.
Austria travel guideDecember is busy with the Christmas markets; the market in front of St Stephen's Basilica opens on 13 November 2026 (official info, October 2026). July and August are hot and crowded; April to May and September to October are the easiest months.
Darker months are the busiest.
Everything about Budapest comes from our own trip and video; every place we visited, ate at and stayed in is in the video. Flight, train and ticket details come from official pages, with the date we checked.
Per person, per day, food included; accommodation and flights not included. From official price lists and our own bills (official info, October 2026).
One way, 2,500 Ft (official info, October 2026)
Public transport pass, free sights, lángos and chimney cake from the street
Half a day at Lukács, breakfast in a cafe, goulash at a restaurant
A day at Széchenyi baths, a boat tour, a meal at New York Café
Budapest tripWe review this page regularly. Prices, opening hours and rules can change, so double-check with official sources before you go.
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