Budapest was the favorite city of Sissi, Empress of Austria-Hungary. And no wonder, because the Pearl of the Danube, as it is known, offers visitors something wonderful. In spring it is packed with cultural festivals, but in winter it’s a winter wonderland, like something out of a Christmas movie.

The Spa City, which is full of hot springs and spas for all tastes, is also perfect for traveling with children. If little ones get bored visiting the many historic monuments (Castle, Chain Bridge, Heroes Square or Fisherman´s Bastion), here are some ideas that will certainly appeal to your children:

The Zoo

The Budapest Zoo, with wild animals in semi-freedom, has its own activities that include workshops, conferences and specific routes. A walk to enjoy the animals can be more than enough to satisfy their curiosity.

Városliget Park

Városliget Park was a former royal hunting ground that today is open to the public. In addition to the large green areas, there’s also a wooden castle from the late nineteenth century that looks like something out of a fairy tale. The building is used as an agricultural museum and also has a small chapel of great beauty. As if this were not enough, within the perimeter of Városliget, is the Vidám Park, an amusement park with a roller coaster, Ferris wheel and other rides. The Széchenyi Spa is located also on the premises.

Strandok Park

The Strandok Park is a water park that is open all year with fun activities, multiple pools and settings with little ones’ favorite heroes. It also has green areas and a spa inside.

The Railway Museum

The Railway Museum is suitable only in good weather, since it is not covered. What is surprising is that they have real, old locomotives and trains parked on the tracks. Children can learn how steam engines work and how journeys were made in the past by climbing aboard wagons. You can have a picnic there or ride the little train specially adapted for small children.

The Aquarium

The Budapest Aquarium houses tropical species of fish, birds and reptiles. The most fun part is the transparent tunnel that is surrounded by water to give you the impression of walking along the ocean floor. Marine animals roam about freely without noticing or being stressed by the presence of small children, who greatly enjoy themselves.

A river cruise

Another option is a cruise on the Danube. Budapest, as every city built on a river, offers tours aboard riverboats. Some of these boats also offer fun programs for families. Children can learn about the history of the city while enjoying the ride, which is also usually accompanied by music.

Millenáris Park

Millenáris Park offers a variety of activities for children. Their puppet shows and clowns are very popular.

The hot springs

If your children are tired or anxious, you can also take advantage of the healing power of some of the hot springs that flow into the city at the many spas. There are programs tailored to everyone’s needs and requests.

Candela Vizcaíno

With these ideas in mind, you´ll arrive home at your Budapest apartments with children who are relaxed, tired and satisfied from their full day full of fun in the city.

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Budapest is one of the few cities in the world that have access to hot springs and it is also known as the city of spas since the 30s.

Visitors have the chance to visit a wide variety of hot springs spas, which offer many health treatments and other leisure services.

At the end of the 19th century, a sauna and a therapeutic swimming facility were added. The bath also has an outpatient hospital during the day, which contains a complex physiotherapy section and a drinking hall, where the water of the springs Hungária, Attila and Juventus can be consumed.

Gellert may be the most famous spa in Budapest, but Rudas is the oldest one. The building dates from the 16th century, when the Turks built the spa facilities to make the most of the 80 geothermal springs in the city. The Ottoman influence can still be seen in the octagonal pool, covered by a huge 10-meter diameter dome, eight pillars, six pools and steam baths. Try a massage under water at 3 am (the bathroom is open until 4 on Fridays and Saturdays). Note that the spa is open only for men during the week, except Tuesdays when it´s just for women; the weekend is mixed bathing.

For just 4 € you can access the baths in the morning, from 10 € you can enjoy the baths at night and the cheapest package of massages costs 8 €.

The spa is open from 6 am every day and closes at 6 pm from Monday to Wednesday and at 8 pm from Thursday to Sunday. The hot spring section is open from 6 am to 8 pm every day. The bath section is open from 8 am to 8 pm Monday through Friday only. The night swim schedule is from 10 pm until 4 am on Fridays and Saturdays.

Remember that on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the spa is only open for men and Tuesday is a day only for women. Saturday and Sunday is open to both men and women, during which time the bathing suits are required.

The spa is located below the Gellert hill right next to the Danube, close to Elisabeth Bridge (Erzsébet híd), on the Buda side of the city. To reach the Rudas spa, you can use public transportation. To get there by bus: take lines 5, 7, 8, 86 or 112. It is also easily accessible with the tram: lines 18 and 19. The address is Döbrentei tér 9, H-1013 Budapest, Rudas Gyógyfürdő és Uszoda.

This spa was built in 1550 and then rebuilt in 1566 by Mustafa Pasha Sokoli. Some characteristics of the Turkish period are still being used today: the octagonal pool, the four small pools, each with different water temperature, and the characteristic Turkish dome.

Cornejo

Rent apartments in Budapest city center and go back in time, while enjoying the ancient Turkish Rudas Thermal Baths.

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From the 23rd of November 2012 until the 17th of February 2013, the Ludwig Museum, Budapest´s contemporary art museum, will hold the exhibition The Freedom of Sound. John Cage behind the Iron Curtain.

John Cage was undoubtedly one of the most influential composers of the past century. To put him simply as a great musical artist would be a far cry from the achievements this unique American artist got.

To be able to summarise John Cage´s CV, we could say that he was a pioneer in the art world. In many fields he is known as the father of electronic music. He experimented with rhythms, with musical structure and with the instruments themselves. He had a huge influence inside the movement known as aleatoric music. He was a revolutionary in each of his controversial works. This skill meant that he had a huge number of detractors, although they were overwhelmingly beaten in numbers by his supporters and admirers. Cage was influential to more than one generation of composers and artists. Modern dance wouldn´t exist as such as we know it today had it not been for the collaboration of John Cage and Merce Cunningham.

He also participated in the field of visual art of the 20th century. Chance was the essence in which he based his works. he also innovated in the use of materials to carry out his works. Foam, stones, cotton wool or even fire were used by Cage for the making of some of his most famous works.

He even produced a film, also based on the aleatoric phenomenons of One, although he never saw it on the big screen since he passed away before the film premiered.

John Cage is also catalogued as a philosopher and writer. His dense bibliography is made up by a large variety of books, essays and articles.

Without doubt, he was one of the most influential figures of the post-war avant-garde. His light illuminated even the composers of Eastern Europe, as he was invited to numerous events and conferences in the main capitals of these countries.

This exhibition pays a deserved tribute to the mark left by this 20th century genius in the countries behind the iron curtain. During that time, Cage collaborated often with the Ludwig Museum in Budapest.

For two months, the second floor of this museum will exhibit writings, documents, works of art and visual and sound files by both John Cage and many artists influenced by him. Also, many lectures will be carried out, documentaries will be screened and colloquia will be organized. This is a great chance to present this fantastic figure of the 20th century to the new generation.

The museum will offer guided visits in order not to miss a single bit of the exhibited material. You can book your tickets in advance from the official museum website for 5 euros each.

Hungary is a beautiful country and its capital, Budapest, has all the ingredients to leave the visitor satisfied: culture, leisure, history and hidden places with a lot of charm to get lost in for hours on end.

Salermico

To visit the Pearl of the Danube, we recommend that you rent Budapest accommodation apartments . There are many apartments to stay in when spending a few days visiting a city. There´s no need anymore to go to a hotel to feel at home when you´re travelling. If you´ve not tried it yet, I highly recommend it.

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Budapest is known for its elaborate bathing experiences, which combine the therapeutic qualities of city’s mineral-rich thermal waters, with the ornate grandeur of Ottoman architecture. Adding to this luxurious traditional experience, is the novelty of night bathing, as offered at the well-known Rudas Baths throughout December 2012.

As winter sets in with a stubborn chill, visitors to the Rudas Baths will now be able to warm their bones during night-time bathing sessions, which are open between 10pm and 4am on Fridays and Saturdays in December 2012. This evening novelty is fast becoming popular and offers a enchanting edge to the mystic ritual of thermal bathing.

The 16th Century Rudas Baths, with their colour glass windows, vibrant Turkish tiles, streaking natural light, grand domes overhead and soothing hot springs, have long been a popular day retreat for locals and tourists alike. While traditionally only men were admitted to the baths, modern changes have introduced women-only bathing on Tuesdays, and both male and female admittance on weekends, when bathing suits are a must.

Sourced from hot springs beneath the city, the hot water is believed to be a medicinal treatment and is recommended for relaxation and relief of muscle and joint pain. With a series of renovations over the centuries, the complex has expanded to include six steam pools of various temperatures, a sauna, changing chambers, as well as an octagonal swimming pool that sits under a stunning dome that is ten metres in diameter. A range of services, including massage and physiotherapy, are offered at this wellbeing hub at additional charge.

Access fees to Rudas Baths start at 1300 Hungarian forint (HUF) and increase according to activity.

Rudas Baths are located at Döbrentei tér 9. Budapest 1013. You can make your way to Rudas Baths by tram (numbers 18 or 19) or bus (numbers 5,7,8 and 86).

Nic Freeman

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If the Swedes have a reputation for being the creators of the IKEA world, the Hungarians are not far behind in that aspect. They are the kings of what could be labelled the eighth art. WAMP is the design fair par excellence and if you go to Budapest, you can come back with many ideas and anecdotes of this field. This is a fair for professionals and design fans attracted by the beauty of its shapes. Welcome to the International Design Fair.

WAMP is a fair that makes the Hungarians proud, and rightly so. It´s definitely worth a visit. Its first edition was in 2006 and it was so successful that it has been prolonged until today, with a record attendance in each edition. It takes place once a month and, on many occasions and weather permitting, the stands are set up on Erzsébet Square, while in the winter, the fair takes place indoors at the Club Gödör.

This design fair is very successful not just in Budapest but also in other places around the world. The mouth-to-mouth and the social networks are in charge of spreading its message and attracting thousands of followers. Actually, on its Facebook page, it has millions of fans, since WAMP isn´t just a place for shopping but also a meeting point for young Hungarians.

There are items for all tastes and some of them very original. And that´s what it´s about, from clothes, leather goods, furniture, photography, paintings, recycled items, jewellery, ceramics, gastronomy items, toys and decoration items. This is a place where electronic music mixes with art, a curious mix but a unique experience nonetheless. In this independent design fair, that seems to be very popular and in fashion, more than a hundred artists take part in it. Entry is free and it´s also within everyone´s reach. Art isn´t a luxury and we have to get that idea out of our head when we go to this type of events. We could say that “design isn´t a luxury product” is its motto, since there you can find affordable items for all wallets. The most exquisite characters can also buy luxury items, but the norm is that most things on sale are excellent value for money.

The profile of the WAMP visitors is varied. Young people from 15 to 35 years old attend, as well as some 40 and 50 somethings that are in search for something different to what they already have. The truth is that it´s a meeting place for artists and buyers, one of those places that you always end up buying something.

Such has been its reception in the city of Budapest that the organizers of the International Fair of Design, WAMP, have been studying the possibility of extending and setting up in other Hungarian cities, and even as far as moving to the Netherlands.

And if you visit this fair and you still want more art, the best thing to do is walk around the beautiful Chain Bridge (crossing the Danube is pure art) or visit the Parliament Building, where you can lose yourself in the beauty of the ancestors of this city. In Budapest, everything is affordable art; in the streets, in the squares… there´s nothing like travelling to this city, known as the Pearl of the Danube, to enjoy its street art.

DianaRPretel

If you want to visit the International Fair of Design, WAMP, start by booking your accommodation in Budapest here. Come on, what are you waiting for? This is a luxury within everyone´s reach, since design can fit in any pocket.

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If you love jazz and are planning to visit an Eastern European capital … you´re in luck. If you travel to Budapest, you’ll kill two birds with one stone. The capital of Hungary has a long tradition in the world of Jazz. There is a widespread culture of this musical genre in the city. In the wide range Jazz clubs that you’ll find in Budapest, you’ll get to listen live performances of great quality. Not surprisingly, Budapest host several Jazz festivals annually, which bring together musicians from all around the world.

Let´s visit some of the best jazz clubs in the city, so during your visit to Budapest you don’t miss the action.

Let’s start our tour at the most important Jazz Bar in Hungary, the Budapest Jazz Club. Anyone looking for quality Jazz in town regularly visits this popular club. Here you can listen to artists coming from all over the world. The Budapest Jazz Club hosts the best jazz musicians from all over Europe without forgetting emerging young talent. Hungarian Jazz fans visit regularly this bar.  The place is a small palace with a very special atmosphere that makes everyone feel that something magical is just about to happen. In the cafeteria we will enjoy the melody of a Blüthner piano, while we enjoy some of its magnificent coffees. The sound system is innovative and its performances are recorded in high definition by modern equipment. Budapest Jazz Club is situated at Ernő Hollán utca 7, near the banks of the Danube River.

Columbus Jazz Club is a bar-restaurant located on the Danube River. The club is actually located on a boat docked in Pest. Here you can see live performances by famous musicians, while enjoying dinner and the stunning views of the city. This is a truly unforgettable place to visit.

Cotton Club is an American style jazz club. This restaurant, game room and bar, hosts great Jazz performances in a very cozy atmosphere. It is situated at Jokai utca 26. Don’t forget to order cocktails at the bar, they are really good.

Jazz Garden Music Club is a small venue that hosts outdoor performances. Enjoy the beautiful Budapest nights, while listening to the best jazz. This club offers daily performances, but mainly during the summer.

We look forward to telling you about more jazz clubs in Budapest and about this magnificent musical style.

Salermico

find great places to stay in Budapest . There is a wide range of properties at various prices. During the low season it is possible to find impossible-to-believe offers to stay in the capital of Hungary. Book online.

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As if a punishment, the Budapest skyline changed dramatically after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The reason is that all the statues that were once scattered throughout the city to commemorate the era of triumphant communism suddenly disappeared and were taken to the outskirts of Budapest, to Memento Park to be precise. Since there wasn’t a plan for getting rid of them or wiping out the history of the Hungarians in this manner, these giant statues were relegated to occupy the place that the citizens of Budapest determined. Memento Park is located in an area where there is nothing beyond it.

In 1993, Lenin, Stalin, Marx, Engels and company were given a new home. That was the year the park opened. The statues, which reflect several episodes of the history of yesteryear’s communism, are of breathtakingly impressive size. Here, size does matter. It´s like riding in a time machine and going back several decades, like walking among dead giants. In some cases, the views give enough respect and make you want to put your head down instead of lifting it up to see all those statues up close. It is very striking, once there, to see where each statue was once located in the city of Budapest before being punished to spend eternity in Memento Park. It is now a museum.

There is a statue in particular whose story is priceless: It is a work in which Stalin’s gigantic boots appear first and above them only a life-size sculpture. This attention-grabbing statue is this way due to the revolt against communism in 1956, when the Hungarians were angry with the regime and decided to cut off Stalin’s feet and then did so at the knees. All that was left were the pedestal and boots. Later another sculpture, one that was different, smaller and therefore less monumental, was created on top of the original feet of the statue of Stalin. In 2006 it rose again but was a less offensive figure to the Hungarians.

The faces of the works you will find in Memento Park are fine, with very pronounced features and particularly tense muscles. The appearance reminds one of the Soviet propaganda posters that were deployed during the Cold War with the ideals of the good communist. And it´s funny because if you take a good look you will also find several sculptures that recall the Spanish Communists in the Civil War of 1936. The park was designed by a famous modern architect named Akos Eleöd.

Useful Information: The park opens at 10 am and closes when the sun goes down. Admission for adults is 1,500 forint (about 5 euros), but with the “Budapest Card” you can get a discount of 40%. And how do you get there? You can take the tram to Kelenföldi Pályaudvar (lines 19 and 49). From there, a good means of transportation is the bus. In the bus shelters 7 and 8 you’ll find the lines 710, 720, 721 and 722 with a final destination of Memento Park, and the ride is less than 10 minutes. Another way to get there is to take a direct bus, which costs 4,500 forint (about 15 euros) to the park from the stop of the metro lines 1, 2 and 3 at Deák tér. Going by car is ideal if you have one, since the area is pretty far removed from civilization. Visiting the park will probably take up an entire day or afternoon. But it’s worth it.

DianaRPretel

What are you waiting for? apartments in Budapest and come get to know the Communist history that´s preserved at Memento Park.

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Muse is touring. During November and December they will be in Europe in January they go to Japan. Between gigs cities like Munich, Bologna, Vienna, Prague, Oslo, Helsinki and Amsterdam will receive them. But today we will speak of their concert in Budapest.

Muse is a band originally from Devon, UK. They released their first EP in 1998, but success was slow to arrive. It was not until 2003 with the arrival of their album Absolution and with songs like Hysteria, Time is running out or Endlessly which won the audience and their next album, Black Holes and revelation already had rock and symphonic fans addicted to them . Since then they have released two more albums: The Resistance, which was criticized and praised in equal measure by the unconditional and skeptical of their music. For some they were enshrined for others, they began to decline.

Now they have new album. It´s called The Second Law and it sounds darker than ever, in it you can find  from electro to metal and even dub step droplets appear  but yet they remain themselves. Some say they have shifted to pop. I do not see that.  What I do think is worthy of this album is the group´s courage to risk losing radical fans. Clearly it is a heterogeneous disk because every song sounds like that something is different. This is not a bad thing. In diversity you find wealth. So every song on this album seems a tribute to mega groups of the twentieth century, such as U2, INXS and George Michael. Without sounding like covers and, despite everything, still being Muse. Listen carefully and you´ll see what I mean. It is certainly a more risky and brave album for Muse.

They say you know whether a group is good by their live show. If they are better than the recording it is a good sign. If the sound worse, it´s not a good thing, but luckily for them, and their fans, Muse is of the first option. They deliver electricity on stage and next to them an enveloping atmosphere of symphonies that grabs you and lifts takes place

As I said, they will be in the Hungarian capital next Tuesday, November 20, 2012, after playing in Vienna and Prague. The concert is at the Budapest Arena. The appointment is at 20.00, but the doors open at 19.00. Here is the website to buy tickets: http://www.livenation.hu/event/321547/muse-tickets

If you are far from Budapest but do not want to miss going to one of their concerts, you can wait a couple of months, since after their concerts in Japan, that are frog leaping the Atlantic pond and landing in California and there continue their U.S. tour through Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Texas, New York (I´m leaving cities, eh) and end, in April in Quebec

Maria Climent

Whether you live in Budapest, if you´ll be traveling there or if you are a fan catching a plane to go see your favorite band where needed, remember that if you need to stay in the city, you can apartments in Budapest

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A trip to Budapest can be cheaper than you expect. We have taken as reference a trip for two people for four days. You will see that it is possible to travel to the capital of Hungary (without suffering) for less than €.200

First thing to consider is the flight. A round-trip flight to Budapest can cost between 20 and 200 Euros, depending on the dates you fly and city of origin.

For example: If traveling from the 28^th of November to the 2^nd of December 2012 a return flight Barcelona – Budapest can cost between 20 and 30 Euros, Paris – Budapest between 30 and 40 Euros, London- Budapest between 40 and 50 Euros, Madrid-Budapest 50 or 60 Euros, and from Lisbon, to name just a few examples, about 200 Euros, for the same dates.

But let´s get to the important thing: once there, how much you can spend on a 4-day trip?

It depends on (I assume you are going to stay in an holiday apartment) if you will be eating out or cooking in the apartment… but let´s assume that you’ll always cook at least a meal in the apartment.  After grocery shopping, you’ll be ready to cook “light” meals and, for example, a sandwich or a snack on the go. Let’s Suppose that you cook one of the two major meals of the day in a restaurant,  we add a drink or a snack mid-afternoon, plus two drinks every night. Breakfast at home, ok? Let´s see what we have:

Grocery shopping (including breakfast and lunch / dinner for up to 2 people for 4 days = € 50 approximately).

Apartment in Budapest (a person, € 11.80 / day x 2 people x 4 days = € 94.36).

Restaurant Menu (in Budapest a meal in a restaurant can cost between 6 and 12 Euros per person, which is not expensive.) We average € 9, multiply by 2 people and 4 days = €.72

Snacks and beverages a day (a burger can cost €1 and a beer, €0.80 . So, let´s say that on average, per day, for two people, you can spend €15, and counting some glasses of wine during the evening (a glass of wine it’s really cheap, less than a euro) = (15×4) € 65 + € 6,5 tip = € 71,5

Transportation: Transportation in Budapest is quite cheap in comparison to other cities: € 1 single ticket for metro, bus or tram. In our specific example of 4 days, we recommend you to buy the 72h ticket, with which you can use all public transport services. Each costs 13.7 € X 2 = 27.4 €.

Okay, we add € 10 for two tickets to a museum (the museum tickets cost between € 2 and € 5 per person) + € 30 for a tourist activity on your taste, such as a cruise on the Danube, € 15 / person.

Let’s recap: Suppose you´re traveling from Barcelona (but if not, find the right flight fare)

Flight ……………………………… € 30

Apartment ……………………….. € 94.36

Food supermarket ………………. € 50

Eating out ………………………… € 72

Booze………………………………….. € 71.5

Transportation …………………… € 27.4

Tourist activities …………………. € 40

Total______________________ € 385, 24 for two people, which is less than € 200 each.

Maria Climent

Remember you can find cheap apartments in Budapest on our website.

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When you’re visiting Budapest, you’ll find plenty of activities to fill up your time. Many folks don’t realize, however, that there are some outstanding spots just outside the city that are definitely worth a half-day or full day trip. From fabulous wine tasting trips to impressive art collections and stunning ancient castles, there’s so much to do and see that you just might want to extend your trip to take it all in!

Danube Bend Tour

If you don’t know where to start, a great option is this day-long guided bus tour of the prominent cultural and historical Hungarian landmarks. Heading out from Budapest, you’ll soon arrive at the Danube Bend, one of the most stunning natural reserves in Hungary. After touring the Visegrad Citadel (a formal royal fort and residence), you’ll stroll through the castle museum and take in the gorgeous Danube river S-curve. Near the Slovak border in the town of Esztergom, you’ll enjoy a 3-course meal of traditional Hungarian delicacies before going on to explore the largest church in Hungary.

Wine Tasting in Etyek

While Hungary doesn’t typically come to mind when thinking of major wine producing nations, vintage wines from the region of Etyek have won international awards. Grape production in the region dates back to the 2^nd century AD, during Roman times. Throughout the Communist years, the entire region was devoted to the production of excellent Hungarian champagne, as the grapes produced here have the perfect acid content for the purpose. These days, wine is produced by family-owned and run vineyards. Each family is devoted to the craft, and you’re sure to find this region a real treat to the palate.

Art and Culture in Szentendre

Just 20 kilometers north of Budapest lies the little village of Szentendre. The town is rapidly becoming a popular tourist destination – and for good reason. It’s historic atmosphere, Mediterranean feel and colorful Baroque homes make visitors feel like they’ve stepped into another era. The town is known for its culture and art, and is home to such internationally renowned museums as the Marzipan Museum, the Ferenczy Museum and the Margit Kovács Museum.

Szentendre is also home to the “Skanzen” exhibition. This large-scale ethnographical display gives visitors a glimpse into the traditional life of Hungarian peasants in their homes, mills and churches.

Castle of Gödöllő

This castle dates back to the 1740s, when it was built for the Hungarian noble Grassalkovich family. The castle was designed and constructed by architect Andreas Mayerhoffer of Salzburg, and is the second largest Baroque style castle in the world. When the last member of the Grassalkovich family died in 1841 without leaving an heir, the castle passed to the reigning king of Hungary and became the holiday castle of the royal family.

The Soviet army occupied the palace in 1945, causing it to go into steep decline. Today, however, the castle and gardens have been beautifully renovated, and have become a prime destination for hundreds of tourists from all over the world.

Hans

Enjoy all the beauty that the capital of Hungary has to offer. Get apartments in Budapest //apartamentos en Budapest and forget those stuffy hotel rooms.

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