Budapest October 23

October 23 is almost here, and you are staying in Budapest, Hungary. What should you know about October 23? Why is it a national holiday? What does it mean for you if there is a public holiday in Budapest? Is there anything to do on holidays?
Many legends go around the world wide web, like Oct 23, 'Oooh gosh everything will be closed in Budapest'. This is not true. Basically only the shops are closed, the rest are open as on weekends.

1956 Monument Budapest, lost revolution against the Soviets - Lassi Kurkijarvi Photography Top 5 things to do on October 23 to feel a bit like a local:
1, visit the 1956 Monument just by the City Park, and feel a bit of the lost revolution against the mighty Soviet troops and tanks.
2, avoid the rallies in Budapest: lots of political demonstrations on the political scenes, like the Hungarian Parliament, and often at Heroes Sq too.
3, forget about Oct 23, and enjoy your visit in Budapest as usual. Many museums are open, sights can be visited, cafes can be enjoyed and even the baths in Budapest are open. See useful links below. Yes, being apolitical and not giving a damn about Oct 23 is also very local. Many choose to enjoy the day off and celebrate with family picnics and tours.
4, walk by the river from the Technical University in Budapest at the Liberty Bridge up to north on Bem Square. This is a Buda side walk, scenic, and it is where the whole thing began as a peaceful demonstration
5, talk to locals about what happened on this day, clink your glasses to the heroes of the revolution, show your respect to the 1956 revolutionists by trying some wines and palinka in a good Hungarian pub or bar. In many ways, the noble essences will make you feel the strength of life, and the deep inner instinct of saying 'no' to oppression of any sort. When the revolution was lost and branded as 'anti-revolution' by the ruling Communist party, many of the people in the opposition sank into a personal alcohol induced revolution, the silent resistance.

Here are some great sources of information about Oct 23 in Budapest:

October 23 Budapest: opening hours, events on Oct 23 in Budapest
October things to do in Budapest
October 23 in Hungary
Rallies on Oct 23 in Budapest - yes, not everything is shiny and happy, but all in all, this is still a good day in Hungary.

Budapest Tram 2 Gets into Top Ten World List

I think we can say it without exaggeration that many Hungarians are quite proud of the river views and the riverfront in Budapest (it is also part of the UNESCO world heritage). No wonder there are so many scenic sightseeing boat tours in Budapest.

What is less known is that there is a nice tram route right parallel with the river Danube, the riverfront route of Tram 2 / Streetcar number 2. This tram runs between the northern and the southern bridges, with many stops along the Danube. National Geographic has picked Streetcar 2 in Budapest among its top ten panoramic streetcar route list - in the world. While in the world list Tram 2 ranks as number 7, according to the travel and nature magazine of National Geographic, In Europe the humble Budapest tram 2 got number 1, the best! Congratulations to the 19th century urban designers of Budapest!

Number 1 tram route: 501 tram, Toronto Canada
Number 2 tram route: George Benson Waterfront Streetcar, Seattle, US (the service ceased a few years ago, but will be restored in another ten years or so)
Number 3 tram route: St. Charles Streetcar (yes, the original Streetcar named Desire!!), New Orleans, US

Budapest Number 2 Tram by the river Danube You can easily get on it and go down to Lagymanyosi Bridge where the Palace of Arts and the Ludwig Museum can be found, get to the most famous Budapest Market Hall, by the Liberty Bridge, reach Vaci street from the tram stops at the Erzsebet Bridge or at Chain Bridge, and reach the nice green Margaret Island by getting off at Jaszai Mari Square stop. A streetcar named City Views, a streetcar named Budapest Desire. The tram cars are sort of heritage streetcars. Taking the tram 2 along the river is one of the top things to do in Budapest, and if you are travelling as a couple, take the panorama tram to enjoy the romantic Budapest.


By the way, tram 2 in Budapest at Christmas time gets all fancy.

Is It Worth Taking a River Cruise on the Danube in Budapest?

You can bet that a river cruise in Budapest, in the heart of Budapest (!) is absolutely a must for all tourists: would it be the only thing you can do in Budapest, it would be a pity that you are in a rush, but it would still be worth it. It is what an English would call a Budapest whistle tour, to take a quick look at the most important attractions in one hour? Check!
We locals love our riverbanks on the Buda and the Pest sides of the Budapest. The best place to have a friendly talk, to kiss, to come up with creative ideas (like this blog for giving you tips: things to do in Budapest...)

When I have no money, I would just simply walk along the river Danube, talk to my friends, and set the world right. But if you can splurge on 10-30 Euros for a beautiful river cruise, don't hesitate for a second. I always take my foreign friends for a Budapest river cruise, and it was a huge success with lots of "cooool, amazing,  f.ing great", etc.

rockandrosy on the boat tour in Budapest - river views, night lights, romantic cruises

Because it is not just a river, and some houses:
it is a showcase of the world heritage sights, which have been chosen by the UNESCO
you can see the top sights of Budapest on the Buda hills (Gellert Hill with the Hungarian style Liberty statue and the Citadel, and the Gellert Baths. Then the famous Buda Castle on the Castle Hill), and you can see the most fascinating parliament building on the Pest side: the Hungarian Parliament is like a super posh palace with loads of real gold from the 19th century (which is in a ridiculous contrast with our current economic situation, never mind). It is breathtaking. Really. Oh, and there is the Gresham Palace by the Chain Bridge, and so on.
On many river cruises you get dinners and drinks: I just love my sweet champagne on the deck of the lovely boats of Budapest.
There are many many boats, smaller, bigger, newer, older. Whatever, pick a boat that has an open air deck so that you can walk up and admire the views in real life.
On some of the river cruises you can listen to live music or DJs, there are gypsy bands playing and there is a Budapest party boat which is a good way to get warmed up for late night parties on Fri and Sat (on other days too I guess, but we Hungarians usually go to parties at the end of the week - are you disappointed?)
Girls, you must take your guys / guys you must grab your gals to a cruise to get really romantic in Budapest and even more romantic!

Happy Geek Pride Day from Budapest

May 25 is the Geek Pride Day, so we are proud to present the geek side of Budapest with loads of things to do, places to visit and festivals, fairs and informal meetups to attend.

If you are into digital media, light-sound-human interactive projects, social media, phone app programming, love reading comic books (from Marvel to Mouse), get excited about sci-fi, it is a must read, and add your ideas, experience so that other geeks can benefit from the geeky side of Budapest too.

Geeks unite. Happy GeekPrideDay y'all!

Countdown to the Czech Beer Festival in Budapest

And the final countdown to the 2012 Budapest Czech Beer Festival is starting: a few more weeks and you can taste the Czech beer even if you are kilometres from the medieval and eclectic Prague.
Czech breweries will come to showcase their products in downtown Budapest.
Here is a keg of sweating Pilsner Urquell to get you started:

Pilsner Urquell come with me!

Photo source: Beer a Day Blog

Things to Do in Budapest, Hungary - Tips from Locals

Get some tips from locals on what things to do in Budapest, and on what not to do!

Now you are sure that want to go on holiday to Budapest, maybe you have already bought the plane to ticket to Hungary, and even booked a 'great deal' hotel room in Budapest, the only question is how to make your Budapest holiday really once in a lifetime experience. This is the most challenging part of planning a good trip to Budapest (or to any travel destination for that matter).

We have put together a great to do list for you, click on the link Things to Do in Budapest to get great ideas, see enticing photos and pick the things you would actually enjoy to do in your Central European sort of exotic trip.