Central European Time (GMT+1). Daylight saving time applies between the end of March and the end of October: Central European Summer Time (GMT+2).
1 USD = approx. 370 HUF (forint), 1 EUR = approx. 400 HUF (rates from January 2025). Please do not change money with strangers on the street. Change your money at an exchange office, in a bank or at the hotel reception desk.
You can make phone calls from hotels, from telephone boxes operated with coins or phone cards, or from the post office. Dial 00 (for the international line), then the country code, the area code and the number you want to call.
Almost all shops and restaurants in Hungary accept the most common credit cards (Visa, American Express, Mastercard, Cirrus and so on). It is always worth checking the entrance door of the shop, where the accepted cards are shown.
General opening hours of the shops: Monday to Friday 10:00–19:00, Saturday 10:00–14:00. On Sundays they are closed; only souvenir shops are open.
Hungarian or Transylvanian embroidery, Herend and Zsolnay porcelain, crystal, salami, red paprika (sweet or hot), foie gras (goose liver), pálinka (fruit brandy), Russian caviar, antiques, furniture and so on.
General opening hours of restaurants serving hot dishes: 11:00–23:00. Cafés and confectioneries: 09:00–21:00.
Budapest has 4 metro lines, which cross each other at Deák Square and Kálvin Square in the centre of the city. Line 1 (yellow), opened in 1896, is the oldest underground line on the continent and connects the downtown area with Heroes’ Square; the other lines are line 2 (red), line 3 (blue) and line 4 (green). There are also trams and buses. A ticket currently costs 450 forints and is valid for one journey only: if you change line (bus, metro or tram), you have to use a new ticket. For tourists there are travel cards for 1 and 3 days.
All taxis have yellow number plates. It is best to use taxis that belong to a taxi company and carry the company’s sign on the car (for example City Taxi, tel. 0036 1 2111111; Főtaxi, tel. 0036 1 2222222; Rádió Taxi, tel. 0036 1 3777777). In all 5-star hotels you can order luxury taxis or limousines. If possible, it is always worth ordering a taxi by phone.
Security in Budapest is no worse than in any other big European city, but you always have to take care of your valuables, especially in busy tourist places. In some downtown bars (near Váci utca) be careful with the price of alcoholic drinks: it is better to ask the price of a whisky, a pálinka or a wine before ordering. It is better to leave your passport and your plane, train or hydrofoil tickets in the hotel safe; you can identify yourself with your hotel key card as well.
International emergency call centre: 112. Ambulance: 104. Fire department: 105. Police: 107. These numbers can be called free of charge. Hungarian Automobile Club emergency phone: 188.