Update on travelling to Hungary from the US

I’ve had received today some inquiries about how the new recommendations issued by the European Union might affect travels from the US to Hungary. The US is one of the five countries that have been removed from the EU safe travel list.

What is important is that this is a guidance and each EU countries decide individually about travel restrictions. As for Hungary, you can enter Hungary if you come from the US with a negative PCR test not older than 72 hours – no PCR test is needed when you get to Hungary by road, rail or waterway.

What is even more important is that Budapest is as beautiful as always, it’s not overcrowded with tourists, so it’s still a great time to come and see. Let me know if you have questions, or book a tour! Also, don’t forget that a private tour is safer than being in large tour groups, myself and the drivers I work with are fully vaccinated and can’t wait to meet you!

Beautiful Budapest - Fiseherman's Bastion
Beautiful Budapest – Fiseherman’s Bastion

Budapest fireworks – 20th of August

It’s always nice to watch the fireworks from the balcony – the advantages of living on a beautiful hill in Buda. St. Stephen’s Day (20th of August) is a national holiday in Hungary and the day’s celebrations are crowned every year by amazing fireworks at night.

Visiting the Gödöllő Palace

I love my Gödöllő-Hollókő tour for many reasons, one of those being that I’m truly fascinated by the beauty of the Baroque Palace of Gödöllő. There are so many things to fall in love with: the architecture, the style, the colours, the details. It really is special because throughout the tour one has the impression to travel back in time to the 19th century.

On our very last visit earlier this month we were being guided by Queen Sissi – the wife of the Austrian Emperor Franz Josef which has made our tour even more remarkable.

New entry rules for travellers coming outside of the EU

Finally, the moment has come, as of the 7th of August, travellers from outside the EU can enter Hungary by air. The rules are:

“persons who are able to present an English or Hungarian language document containing the results of a molecular biological test (SARS_CoV-2 PCR test) not older than 72 hours, conducted in conformity with professional medical regulations in one of the following countries:
a Member State of the European Union or in a candidate state of the European Union,
a member state of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development,
a member state of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation,”

It means that all you need is to have a negative PCR test (not older than 72 hours). We’ve been waiting for this for such a long time, it’s such a great news and I really hope that many visitors will want to visit my Beautiful Budapest these coming weeks.

Rumbach street synagogue is now open for visitors

Rumbach street synagogue, one pillar of the famous synagogue triangle in Budapest was closed for renovation works for almost three years. From the 19th of July the synagogue is open for visitors, so that you can admire the interior of the building designed by Otto Wagner in the 1860’s.

The synagogue is of moorish architecture and surely you’ll be amazed by the abundance of colours: blue, purple and golden. There will be concerts, performances, exhibitions and conferences held in the building and you can also have some coffee and snack in the cafeteria.

I’m happy to show you the building when you book a Jewish Quarter walking tour with me.

 

€220

BALADE QUARTIER JUIF BUDAPEST

Easy
4 Heures
view

Private daytrip to the lake Balaton from Budapest

The lake Balaton is the number one destination of Hungarians in the summer months. It’s the greatest freshwater lake in Central Europe and is famous for its wine regions, cute little villages, beautiful castles and of course the magnificent views over the lake.

You can book the tour or contact me for further details. I’ll make sure to include in the itinerary all the sights you would like to see.

Great Synagogue Budapest

Unfortunately the Great Synagogue (or as we call it the Dohány street Synagogue) is not yet open for visitors, however, we were fortunate enough to visit the building. It was unusually quiet and empty without the hundreds of tourists but it was a very special tour as you can see in the pictures. The synagogue will reopen in August and hopefully you’ll include a visit when you are in Beautiful Budapest.

Book the Jewish Quarter tour with me to explore all the sights and history of the Jewish Quarter of Budapest.

 

 

€220

BALADE QUARTIER JUIF BUDAPEST

Easy
4 Heures
view

Goodbye Chain Bridge, see you soon!

The iconic Chain Bridge is closed for renovation works and will hopefully reopen at the end of 2022. We’ll of course miss it and our walking and driving tours will be a little bit different but we all agree that our Old Lady has needed these renovation works for a very long time.

A real in-person tour after a very long time

I was lucky today to perform a real, in-person tour, I can’t even describe how delightful it was. After months of delivering virtual tours and not being able to connect with my travellers in person I was starving for the real personal touch.

Walking around the city is always magical, but it’s even more magical now as there are only very few people around that visitors might feel they are the only tourists in Beautiful Budapest. We were the only ones in Matthias Church and St. Stephen’s Basilica and really felt like being part of a very exclusive club 🙂

Unfortunately our borders are still closed for tourists (except if they come from a few selected countries) so I can’t encourage you to come and visit now but if you happen to be in Budapest for any reason, contact me for a tour, you won’t regret it!

Must-See: Academy of Music

I’m still not sure when Hungary’s borders will reopen and travellers can visit Beautiful Budapest, so here is another building for you to admire from a distance.

The Academy of Music is a real jewellery box in the 6th district of Budapest. It’s a music university and a concert hall that opened in 1907. The style is a very interesting mixture of Gothic and Art Nouveau but you might see elements of Classicism, too. The facade is so ornate that it will take you some time to spot the statue of Franz Liszt right above the entrance. Franz Liszt, the most famous Hungarian composer founded the music academy in his home in 1875 and the academy got named after him in 1925.

The building can be visited, there are guided tours, but the most amazing experience is to go to a concert, so that you can admire the building and music at the same time. Most of the programs were either cancelled or are held online and personally I can’t wait to go in person hopefully in the near future.

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