Now that you've decided to travel to Budapest or the rest of the country, you may have dozens of questions: Do I need a visa? What currency is used in Hungary, and can I get my hands on the currency before leaving home? Will any festivals take place during my trip? What's the best route to get there? This section is devoted to providing answers to these and other questions.
The tourism infrastructure has been developing at a furious pace in Hungary with great support from the Ministry of Tourism. There are many high-quality hotels and restaurants already and it seems new ones are appearing every few months. Major improvements in the service sector have been noticeable over the past few years. In most cities you will find tourism-related information offices called Tourinform (tel. 1/438-8080 or 06/80-630-800; www.tourinform.hu), a branch of the Hungarian National Tourist Office, at V. Süto u. 2, Budapest; open daily from 8am to 8pm. You'll also find a branch office in the heart of Budapest's Broadway, at Liszt Ferenc tér 11 (tel. 1/322-4098; fax 1/342-2541), open daily from 9am to 7pm. These offices distribute pamphlets on events and attractions that can be found in the area where you are visiting, and help you with finding appropriate accommodations and restaurants. The tourism authority, Magyar Turizmus Rt (tel. 1/488-8701; www.hungarytourism.hu), also has offices throughout the world, and it is their mandate to promote Hungary as a destination for tourism.
For general country information and a variety of pamphlets and maps before you leave home, contact the government-sponsored Hungarian National Tourist Office, 350 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10118 (tel. 212/695-1212; www.gotohungary.com). In London, the Hungarian National Tourist Office is at 46 Eaton Place, London SW1X 8AL (tel. 020/7823-1032). The Hungarian National Tourist Office's main website, a great source of information, is www.gotohungary.co.uk.
Other sites with lots of helpful bits of information containing news, shopping, entertainment, and current venues for music, dance, and theatrical events for visitors and English-speaking locals are the Internet sites of the printed periodicals Funzine at www.funzine.hu and the Budapest Sun www.budapestsun.com, and the Budapest Times at www.budapesttimes.hu. City and sightseeing information is available at www.budapestinfo.hu, but it is sometimes out of date. To get news about Hungary, check out the Hungarian News Agency at www.english.mti.hu. It's updated daily.
