Links to useful sites

Budapest Links

Name and URL

Details

Airline/Airport Information sites
Discounted flights online
www.gohop.ie
Book cheap flights online in 4 easy steps with this online booking flight website.
Budapest Ferihegy Airport
http://www.bud-airport.hu/
Official website for Budapest Ferihegy International Airport, which contains detailed information on flight arrivals and departures, airport facilities and customs/tax refunds.
Car Rentals
Budget Rent a Car
www.budget.hu
Useful site (in English and Hungarian) for anyone wanting to rent a car during their stay in Budapest. Budget provide general information on hire arrangements, price listings and specifications for cars in their fleet plus online booking. Now fully redesigned, it's an easy to use and very neat looking site.
Avis Car Rental
www.avis.hu
Official website for the global Avis car rental group. But why oh why is the site in Hungarian only (especially when their slogan is "We Try Harder")?
Hertz Car Rental
www.hertz.hu
Clear, concise website for Hertz Hungary. Although there's no online reservation system, an address, telephone no. and e-mail address is given for those who plan to rent. 
Entertainment Sites on Budapest
Budapest Week
www.budapestweek.hu
Bright, lively, well-designed site which includes business, performance, exhibition and restaurant listings. Features a useful (if slightly confusing) 'book a table' service covering a selection of eateries in  Budapest (in English). 
Government Tourist Sites
Hungarian Embassy Washington
www.hungaryemb.org
Neatly designed site belonging to the Hungarian Embassy in Washington. As well as useful information for tourists, the site has an excellent selection of links to other Hungarian related sites (in English and Hungarian).
Hungarian Tourist Board
www.hungarytourism.hu
Official site of the Hungarian Tourist Board Tourinform. Now nicely re-designed, it offers plenty of useful information for anyone considering a trip to Hungary (in English, Hungarian and German). Recommended.
Goto Hungary
www.gotohungary.com
A neat, well presented site run by the Hungarian National Tourist Office in New York, which contains useful information on both Budapest and Hungary including 'Calendar of Events' and 'Latest News' sections.
Hungarian Internet Directories
Hudir
www.hudir.hu
The major on-line directory for everything Hungarian, with literally hundreds of links organised into 22 main subject areas ranging from business to society and culture. There's the odd duff link now and then, but it's still arguably the fastest way to gather information for those speaking Hungarian.
News and Weather Sites
Budapest Sun
www.budapestsun.com
Much improved following a recent redesign, the online version of Budapest's best English weekly brings you all the top news stories, plus sport, business and style pages. A well-written restaurant guide (the paprika rating system is a nice touch) and a useful movie listings database make planning an evening out easy. Well-worth bookmarking (in English).
Budapest Business Journal
http://www.bbj.hu/
Mirroring the style of the printed Budapest Business Journal, the online version gives the low-down on all things financial in Hungary. Indispensable for anyone owning shares on the BUX (in English)
Budapest Style
http://www.budapeststyle.com/
Odd looking site which looks to be very much in its infancy (for example the 'what and where' and 'film listing' section simply link to the Budapest Week site). Nevertheless, it does have some interesting articles and book reviews (in English).
MTI
www.mti.hu
Home of the Hungarian news agency MTI. Good coverage of top news stories, current affairs and business information for expats living abroad. However, English speakers must settle for a poorly laid out 'Daily Bulletin' section.
CNN
http://weather.cnn.com/weather/forecast.jsp?locCode=BUDX
Budapest weather in a nutshell. Clear, concise five day weather forecasts with sunrise and sunset times (in English).
Tourist Related Sites
Malenco's Pocket GuideChock full of useful information on Budapest, Malenco's Pocket Guide also contains some stunning aerial images of the city, essential business information and a well-written tourist guide.
In your Pocket
www.inyourpocket.com
Concise, easy to follow guide which includes excellent listings on accommodation and sightseeing.
Travel to Hungary
www.traveltohungary.com
Comprehensive, well-designed website that offers more than most in the way of tourist information on Budapest. The 'Virtual Tour' isn't quite the multimedia extravaganza we expected, but nonetheless offers some great pictures of Budapest.
Welcome to Budapest
www.fsz.bme.hu
 
Useful personal guide which includes some lovely historical pictures of Budapest, plus tours of the major sights and a large 'clickable' map of the city.
Other Interesting/Useful Hungarian Sites
State Opera House
www.opera.hu
One of the most frequent requests we get to our site concerns programmes at Budapest's State Opera House. Well, this beautifully laid out website tells you all that you need to know and it's in English too. An excellent resource!
Herend
www.herend.com
Official site of Hungary's most famous porcelain factory Herend. The site, which is well laid out and easy to navigate, neatly reflects the elegance and beauty of the handpainted figures and dinner sets manufactured by the company.
MAV (Hungarian State Railway)
www.elvira.hu
A genuinely useful site for anyone planning to travel to/within Hungary by train. The Hungarian Railway site is chock full of useful information (available in English and German) and features the excellent (but rather gothic sounding) 'Elvira' timetable/route planner system. Listings are also available for International departures from Hungary to other European destinations. The site's funky control interface is also extremely easy to use!
BKV (Budapest Transport Ltd.)
http://www.bkv.hu/
For anyone planning to use public transport while in Budapest, a visit to this website should be considered obligatory. Up to date fare information for the metro, bus and tram network is difficult to find elsewhere, so the English version of the site is a bonus. For anyone tempted to ride the system without a ticket, the section on fines should put you off. Pleading ignorance will get you nowhere!