I’m starting a new series to introduce you the most famous statues of Budapest and some of the hidden gems, too. These are the beautiful monuments of Budapest we usually see on our walking or driving tours in Buda and Pest.
The 0 km stone symbolises the centre of Hungary. It’s near the Buda side of the Chain Bridge, at the funicular. All the road distances in Hungary are measured from here.
Ok, the timing might not be ideal. But. I originally created a Facebook profile for my tour guiding services some 5 years ago but I never really had time to take care of it and to publish enough interesting content. Now that I only deliver virtual tours obviously I have more time to work on my tours and profiles and uploaded some pictures and information.
I’ll try to post as often as I can so that you can learn more on my beautiful city and country:
Please like, share, comment, send me messages, so that I can see that you’re checking back on what’s new in Beautiful Budapest!
I know that these last 3-4 months have been extremely difficult for many of us. I delivered my first virtual tour on the 20th of March and haven’t had a real, live tour ever since. I love virtual tours and I think travellers that booked any of them all had a very special experience.
But. I need personal connection, I need instant reactions, I need to see and hear my travellers.
As of last Wednesday our borders are open to the citizens of the EU and some other countries. I don’t see many actual tourists yet but hopefully this will change soon. It was time for me to create my Social Distancing Tours.
Rules are very simple:
I hope I’ll have the chance to finally meet real people and to show them around the city that I love the most. I hope that this is just the beginning and very slowly life will get back to normal, if you still remember what normal is 🙂
The golden age of the famous coffeehouses of Budapest was at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. However, we see now the renaissance of the coffeehouse and coffee culture. We try to see different coffeehouses on our foodie tours so that travellers can sample the best Hungarian coffee and cakes.
Book Café has always been a special place, hidden in a modern 20th century department store on Andrássy avenue. Unfortunately the building and the coffeehouse are both closed now and we don’t know yet when they reopen.
This is a really great experience, cooking with all of you online, teaching you how to prepare the best Hungarian dishes. I can’t remember the last time I used as much paprika as I did these last couple of weeks.
Thank you everyone for booking this tour with me and thank you for your enthusiasm! Also, I’m grateful for the inspirations, that’s why I was able to add more recipes. Now we can make together Flódni, which is probably the most famous Hungarian-Jewish cake with four delicious layers: poppy seed, walnut, plum jam and apple.
I’m also looking forward to cook more vegetable and cold fruit soups the next couple of weeks. Book a tour now, so that you can enjoy the great Hungarian dishes!
As of today there are 3892 COVID-19 cases in Hungary and 527 people died. This means that the numbers haven’t increased much since the restrictions were lifted about two weeks ago.
That’s again a very good sign showing that hopefully we might leave the pandemic behind us soon and we can start travelling again. Fingers crossed 🙂
It’s also safe to say that Hungary and the neighbouring countries were not as badly affected as other European countries, it might be safer to travel to Hungary than to Italy, France or England. And of course, private tours are much safer than any other group tour.
Restaurants and bars, most of the shops reopened but the touristy places are still deserted and it literally breaks my heart. It’s so sad to see that places that are usually packed with people talking a hundred different languages are practically empty even now.
I don’t know when travel bans will be lifted and when tourists can finally come to my beautiful Budapest but I’m very optimistic and excited. Also, I’m putting together the social distancing tours, they will be uploaded once travelling is safe again. In the meantime, I’m still offering my popular virtual tours.
We’ve been in self isolation for 9 weeks and I have to admit it’s a very long time. But it’s over for now, restrictions are lifted, shops, public areas, parks, restaurants and cafés reopened. We can even go to outdoor swimming pools, museums and the zoo, too. Social distancing measures will continue to apply and it remains compulsory to wear a mask in shops and on public transport in Budapest.
As of today the number of COVID-19 cases in Hungary is 3535 and 462 people died. These numbers are significantly lower than in many Western and Southern European countries, we can’t tell why but think it’s because Hungary was literally locked down very early, on the 16th of March.
We still don’t know when it will be safe to travel again but can’t wait to open our borders to all travellers when it’s safe again!!
Don’t forget, Budapest is waiting for you and of course I won’t stop offering virtual tours:
In some countries the statistics are showing that we might be close to the end of the first shock of the pandemic and governments started considering the options of lifting restrictions. This also means that sometime in the not too far future we can all travel again, however, we’ll be more cautious than we’ve ever been (as of today visitors not obliged to 14 days of self quarantine are the ones who come for business and their country of residence is Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Austria, Slovakia and South Korea).
I’m getting inquiries for tours for the end of summer – beginning of autumn and we’re discussing the different options of safe touring.
One thing is for sure, travelling in large groups will not be an option as long as we are still fighting the virus. That’s why private tours are better options, as it’s only you and your family members or friends in a small group, so it’s easier to keep social distancing.
We have discussed the topics below with my travellers but feel free to let me know if you have more ideas, I’m putting together the 2020 Special Edition Tours in the next couple of weeks:
As of today there are 3035 COVID-19 cases in Hungary and 351 people died.
Today is a very special day, because we’re moving to the second phase of easing out of restrictive measures. That might be the light at the end of the tunnel we’ve been hoping for for over two months now.
The good news is that life is slowly returning to normal in the countryside, restaurants and cafés reopened, movement restrictions remained in force only in Budapest and Pest county.
Also, Budapest Airport is gradually restarting passenger services and more and more airlines restart their flights to and from Budapest, mostly from other European cities. You’ll find here all details about the rules of entry to Hungary.
I’d like to finish this post with a personal note. May is my favourite month and I think that’s when Budapest is the most beautiful. I really miss real tours and I’m so sorry that travellers from all around the world can’t see this beautiful city with all the bright colours and lights. I’m showing you as much as possible on my ON-THE-SPOT tours, feel free to ask for a customised tour!
