Parliament reopens – reduced ticket prices until September 2021

Great news from Budapest: from the 14th of May the fascinating building of the Parliament of Hungary can be visited again, there are tours every day between 9.00 AM and 3.00 PM. What’s more important is that the ticket prices have been reduced by 50%:

EU citizens: HUF 1600 / person

non-EU citizens: HUF 3200 / person

I think it’s a great opportunity to visit the Parliament now, I often tell that this really is one of the most spectacular buildings of Beautiful Budapest and definitely is a must-see when you visit my city.

As for now the COVID regulations are very strict: “The House of Parliament is open for visitors with an immunity certificate or immunity certificate application as well as for minors under their supervision; after their body temperatures are taken. The use of hand sanitisers installed in the Parliament building and the Visitor Centre is mandatory. Wearing a mask covering the nose and mouth is recommended. Please observe the social distancing rule and keep a 1.5-metre distance from others. Visits are to be undertaken on the sole responsibility of the visitors.”

The only problem is that it’s impossible for individuals to book a tour in advance, tickets can only be purchased on the spot on the day of the visit. I’m an official Tour Guide partner of the Parliament Visitor Center with special permissions so if you book a Full-day tour with Parliament visit with me I can book your Parliament tickets in advance. The Parliament visit can be incorporated in other tours, too, just let me know about your preferences!

Budapest Cafés: Gerbeaud Café

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.

I’ve already posted about Central and Book cafés, although I should have started with Gerbeaud, as it’s the probably the most famous and known coffeehouse of Budapest.

The story of the Gerbeaud family is very impressive, Emile Gerbeaud, the French bonbonnier was invited to Budapest by Henrik Kugler, the owner of the very popular cake shop and coffeehouse on Vörösmarty square. Emile Gerbeaud’s contribution to the cake shop was a huge success, he invented and created a great assortment of bonbons that were sold in millions every year. He overtook the business and the Gerbeaud name became a highly renowned trademark not only in Budapest but all over the European continent.

The Gerbeaud Café was the ladies’ coffeehouse at the end of the 19th, beginning of the 20th century, meaning that young ladies frequented the place in the hope of finding a rich husband. Even now there are rumours and urban legends about how lady guest can give a secret sign if they are in search of a husband or a lover. Join my foodie tour if you’d like to know more about the details and this beautiful café of Budapest.

 

Statues of Budapest: Count Gyula Andrassy

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 equestrian statue of Count Gyula Andrássy is at the Parliament building. He was a great politician and statesman, one of the key figures preparing the Compromise that created the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in 1867.

Must-See: Heroes square and City Park

We were finally very lucky to enjoy a lovely spring weekend with great weather and a lot of sunshine. Yes, our borders are still closed and we have absolutely no idea when travellers can visit our Beautiful Budapest, so here is a short video of the Heroes square – City Park area to get a little taste of the Budapest spring.

 

Spring in Beautiful Budapest

This is my favourite season and I can’t get enough of the spring colours, smells and lights. Here are a few pictures but they don’t do justice, I recommend you come and see for yourself in person or virtually!

 

Getting ready for the summer months

It’s hard to tell now what happens next week or next month and when and how we can start travelling again. The crazy April weather wouldn’t help either, it’s raining and cold in Budapest and it’s hard to believe that summer is only two months away.

However, I’m optimistic and I got my first COVID-19 shot yesterday, so I start planning for the bright summer months to come. I’ll continue offering virtual tours because I know this is the only option for many of you for the next couple of months so feel free to book a live tour streamed from the streets of Budapest or an authentic Hungarian cooking class.

I’ll also offer social distance friendly tours, those were very popular last summer and I think that it’s a safe option for families and groups of friends travelling together. The social distancing tours are available in English and French, as for now I have four options:

  • Buda Castle District walk
  • Downtown Pest walk
  • Jewish quarter walk
  • Szentendre tour by car

All of the tours are designed to be 100% social distance friendly. We don’t take public transport, avoid crowds and admire all buildings only from the outside. It’s not a group tour, it’s only for you, your family or friends.

Rules are the same as last year:

  • Tours are maximum 3 hours long
  • Only walking and driving tours are available, we don’t use public transportation
  • Travellers, tour guide (and driver) are required to wear a mask for the length of the tour
  • No inside visit of the monuments, attractions, museums
  • No coffee or lunch break together
  • Maximum number of travellers on the tour shouldn’t exceed 4 people

Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any question or need more details.

Happy Easter!

Because of COVID and travel restrictions tour guiding has only been available virtually for the last 13 months – and yes, I love virtual tours and I think that participants love them, too.

However, it was time to start a new adventure and we launched Budapesti Helyszínelők with my sister last year. As for now it’s only available in Hungarian, we’re offering scavanger hunts in Budapest, crime mysteries to be solved in the picturesque Buda Castle District, City Park area or Downtown Pest. It’s all about Budapest and its stories, we were mostly inspired by murders, robberies or other mysteries that had happened decades ago.

At Easter we had a special program for families, it was an egg hunt for kids who had to investigate the mystery of the egg theft. So let me take this opportunity to wish you all very Happy Easter with pictures we took on the egg hunts.

 

Good morning Beautiful Budapest!

One of my favourite moments of the day is when the street lights of Budapest are switched off just a few minutes before sunrise. Eventually the best place to film it from is the very top of the Fisherman’s Bastion.

 

Statues of Budapest: Stalin’s boots

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 giant, 8 meters high statue of Stalin was erected in 1951 to commemorate Stalin’s 70th birthday. The statue was destroyed during the 1956 revolution and only the boots of Stalin survived. The replica of the boots is at the entrance of the Memento Park in Buda.

15th of March in Hungary

Today is a national holiday in Hungary, we celebrate the outbreak of the revolution of 1848-1849.

Today we celebrate our national independence, the freedom of speech, the freedom of press and we remember the heroism and the courage of the young Hungarians who became united to confront and fight the oppressors.

I hope that the spirit of the revolution lives on in the Hungarian soul and we never give up fighting for the values our ancestors had been fighting for 173 years ago.

 

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