| Hungary | Budapest |
Budapest - Queen of the Danube
Area: 525 square km
Population: 1.7 million inhabitants
Administrative structure: 23 districts Buda comprising one-third of the city on the hilly, right bank of the Danube. Pest comprising two-thirds of the city on the flat, left bank of the Danube.
Islands: Óbuda Island, Margaret Island, Csepel Island
Bridges: Nine bridges connect Buda and Pest across the Danube. From south to north: Southern Railway Bridge, Lágymányosi-híd (Lágymányosi Bridge), Petőfi-híd (Petőfi Brigde), Szabadság-híd (Liberty Bridge), Erzsébet-híd (Elisabeth Bridge), Lánchíd (Chainbridge), Margit-híd (Margaret Bridge), Árpád-híd, Northern Railway Bridge
Twin Towns: Berlin, Fort Worth, Frankfurt am Main, Lisboa, New York, Sarajevo, Tel Aviv, Wien
Don't worry! Budapest is a big and friendly metropolis, and its crime-level is low. The city is well policed, robberies are relatively few, just don't invite trouble by being careless with things like luggage, cameras etc...
The pickpockets like crowd. They work on different means of public transport, crowded buses, trams, undergrounds. They are usually young people in their teens, twenties wearing worse clothes than the average and carrying a piece of clothes on the arm to cover their movements. They never work alone. Someone is watching and spots out the potential victim. Some group members raise a conflict, pick a quarrel with the normal traveller, push and pull them while the other members take away the content of the handbag and pocket. Be an exception!
The majority of the beggars are not criminals they are victims as well. On one hand, they are victims of their circumstances (poverty, penury, unemployment, etc.), and on the other hand, they are sometimes victims of criminals who force them to beg and collect their income. There is a special programme launched for helping the homeless and poor people in Budapest. The essence of this programme is that until the homeless people cannot find a job they are allowed to sell the newspaper Fedél Nélkül, at busy crossings. The newspapers deal with homeless people's problems and lives. It is usually available in english as well.
In Budapest, you can expect to meet policemen at: Hősök tere, (Heroes' Square), Halászbástya (Fishermen's Bastion), Budai Vár (Castle of Buda), Szent István Bazilika (St. Stephen's Cathedral), Keleti Pályaudvar (Eastern Railway Station), Margitsziget (Margaret Island), Városliget, in the downtown, in the area of Március 15. tér, Duna-korzó, Vigadó utca, Váci utca, Ferenciek tere.
The police are allowed to restrain somebody's personal freedom, but only up to the necessary point, maximum for 8 hours. In a justifiable case, the commander of the police department is authorised to extend the length of this time on one occasion by 4 hours.
| Office hours | Mon-Fri 8-16 h | |
| Post offices | Mon-Fri 8-18 h Sat 8-13 h | |
| Banks | Mon-Thur 8-15 h Fri 8-13 h | |
| Shops | food | Mon-Sat 7-20 h |
| clothes | Mon-Sat 10-18 h | |
| shopping malls, supermarkets | Daily 10-21 h | |
| Emergency | 112 |
| Police | 107 |
| English-language police hot line | 438-8080 |
| Ambulance | 104 |
| Fire department | 105 |
| Pickpocketing department | 312-3456 |
| Car breakdown | 188 |
| International operator | 199 |
| Tourinform call center | 438-8080 |
| Tourinform hotline | 06-80-630-800 |
Lost&Founds - For articels lost on public transportation. VII. Akácfa utca 18. 322-6613
The emergency pharmacies can provide medicine 24 hours a day. Embassies can also recommend private, foreign-language-speaking doctors and dentists.
Hungarian men can be sexist in their thinking, but women in Budapest do not suffer any particular form of harassment (though domestic violence and rape get little media coverage). Most men - even drunks - are effusively polite with women. Women may not be made to feel especially welcome when eating or drinking alone, but it's really not different from many other countries in Europe.
Budapest had a significant gay and lesbian population all the time. The significant aversion against them, the legal and social exclusions started to decrease after 1990 only. A Hungarian word ”meleg” was born for homosexuality without abusive, discriminating content. It’s original meaning is „warm”. The annual celebration is the LMBT Festival (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual Festival) which is traditionally held in early July.
Mások (Differents) - Local gay monthly. Mainly in Hungarian, but contains informaiton in English as well. Available at most of the newspaper stands in downtown subways.
Navégre (At last) - Free of charge gay monthly with the latest information. Available free of charge in gay bars and saunas. It has an English language section.
It is difficult to get around in Budapest without help. Budapest has a very long way to go before it becomes truly accessible to the disabled. Most new buses have a lower floor and the new buildings, public places, and malls take into consideration the needs of disabled people.