This small country, brimming with culture and natural beauty, proudly possesses one of the finest capital cities in the world - Budapest. Uniquely, it is also endowed with two-thousand-year-old Roman remains, four-hundred-year-old monuments from the Turkish period, beautiful Romanesque churches, examples of the pinnacle of neo-Gothic and art nouveau architecture, and castles that are still imposing even though they have long since fallen into ruin.
The territory of the country is smaller than 100,000 square kilometres, the Hungarian language is spoken only by Hungarians, Hungarian folk songs are not similar to those of any other nation - yet the Hungarians have been living in the middle of Europe for over 1100 years. Despite the numerous disastrous turns of its history Hungary is still rich in values attracting many visitors from all over the world. For its wonderful scenic values, Budapest, the capital city of Hungary is included in the World Heritage list of UNESCO. Hungary has the largest surface thermal water supply - after Iceland - and the hundreds of thermal springs enable thousands of people to cure a variety of conditions. Lake Balaton, the largest lake in Central Europe, is a paradise for families with small children, fans of sailing and those who simply like to spend their vacation near a lake.

Facts data
Territory: 93,030 km2
Population: 10,097,549 ( 2005.01.01.)
Population density: 108 persons/km2
Time zone: CET: GMT + 1 hour
Summer daylight savings: March to September + 1 hour
Official language: Hungarian
Constitutional form: republic
Public administration: 5 regions, 214 towns, 2898 villages
Currency: HUF
Coins: HUF 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100
Banknotes: HUF 200, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10 000, 20 000
Voltage: 220 V Geographical location: Hungary is located in Central Europe, in the Carpathian basin, among seven neighbouring countries (Slovakia, the Ukraine, Romania, Yugoslavia, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria). Length of the state borders: 2,246 km, Main rivers: Duna (Danube) (417 km) and Tisza (597 km)
Climate: continental
Telephone, fax: International telephone area code of Hungary: 36, Budapest: 1
International calls: 00 + country code + phone number Domestic long distance calls: 06 + area code + local phone number
Aid services:
General aid: 112
Ambulance: 104
Police: 107
Fire department: 105
Enquiry: 198, 197
International enquiry: 199
Special Budapest phone numbers are comprised of seven digits, rural ones are comprised of 8 digits.
Public phones use HUF 10, 20,50 or 100 coins or phone cards.
Nightlife:
Budapest seethes with bars, pubs, clubs and restaurants that open and close seemingly with the seasons, and we make it our job to make sure you end up at the best of them. From the beer gardens hidden in District VII's decrepit courtyards, to central Pest's chichi watering holes and the outrageously fit birds who go there, to the open-air dance clubs lining the Danube, Budapest has all the venues you need for a proper stag weekend piss-up. Given Budapest's generally glorious weather, unless it's winter-time, you will usually want to be outside - even the hotter dance clubs are all outside (one even has a pool and jacuzzi). All of our packages include a nightlife tour which is tailored to your requirements, so you get the most out of the weekend.

Food:
Hungarians relish eating and drinking, and Budapest is great for both. Though Magyar cuisine naturally predominates, you can find everything from Middle Eastern to Japanese food, bagels to Big Macs.
Most famous dishes
Goulash (with noodles) (Gulyasleves/ Pvrkvlt galuskaval)
This needs some explaining. If you talk to a purist, you will hear that traditional Hungarian goulash is actually a meat-and-vegetable soup (gulyasleves) served as a starter. The main-course stew that most of us in the west have come to associate with Hungary, does exist of course, but goes under the name of Pörkölt. It is served with boiled potatoes or home made noodles (galuska). It can be spicy or not, made with pork or beef, but is rightly a restaurant standard.
Chicken Paprika (Paprikás Csirke)
A standard dish of chicken, often wings, in a medium-spicy sauce heavily laced with paprika which gives the whole a bright orange colour. Served once again, with noodles.
Stuffed Cabbage/Paprika (Töltött Paprika)
Rolls of cabbage, or whole paprika peppers, stuffed with a mixture of ground beef and spices in a tomato-paprika sauce. Served with potatoes or rice. Not fancy, but very filling.
Fish soup (Halászlé)
The hidden spice bomb at the very beginning of the meal! This soup not only loaded with paprika and spices to make your eyes water, it also contains a whole cross section of fish, bone and all. This combination makes it one of the slowest soups you'll ever work through, but quite unforgettable.
Pancakes "Gundel" (Gundel Palacsinta)Thin crepes (palacsinta) are very popular in Hungary and can be found in all flavours (mostly sweet, rather than savoury) at "pancakeries" (palcsintázó) Gundel Palacsinta are the richest and most extravagant. They were invented by the famous chef Károly Gundel, (famed from the legendary Gundel restaurant, the poshest in town.) They are as follows, filled with a thick walnut-chocolate-rum sauce. These are rolled/folded and covered in more chocolate sauce and sometimes served with cream.
"Somló" speciality (Somlói Galuska)
This is a delicious dessert containing layered sponge cake with rum and walnut stuffing, heaped with lashings of cream and chocolate sauce. Not as heavy as palacsinta, but just as wicked.