Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it serves as the country's principal, political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre and is considered an important hub in Central Europe. In 2009, Budapest had 1,712,210 inhabitants, down from a mid-1980s peak of 2.1 million. The Budapest Commuter Area (or Greater Budapest) is home to 3,271,110 people. The city covers an area of 525 square kilometres (202.7 sq mi) within the city limits. Budapest became a single city occupying both banks of the river Danube with a unification on 17 November 1873 of right (west)-bank Buda and Óbuda with left (east)-bank Pest.
Regarded as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, its extensive World Heritage Site includes the banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter, Andrássy Avenue, Heroes' Square and the Millennium Underground Railway, the second oldest in the world. Other highlights include a total of 80 geothermal springs, the world's largest thermal water cave system, second largest synagogue, and third largest Parliament building. The collections of the Natural History Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts are also significant.
The city ranked 3rd (out of 65 cities) on MasterCard's Emerging Markets Index (2008), and ranked as the most livable Central/Eastern European city on EIU's quality of life index (2009). It attracts over 20 million visitors a year. The headquarters of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and the first foreign office of the CIPA will be in Budapest.
Some data about Hungary
Hungary is situated in Central Europe, in the Carpathian Basin. The country covers an area of 92,966 sq km, and out of around 10 million inhabitants, 2.2 million live in the capital, which is Budapest.
| Full Name: | Republic of Hungary | |
|---|---|---|
| Capital City: | Budapest | |
| Population: | 10,083,000 | |
| Time Zone: | GMT/UTC +1 () | |
| Languages: | Hungarian (official) - Hungarian (Magyar) is a member of the Ugric group of the Uralic family of languages. | |
| Religion: | 68% Roman Catholic, 21% Reformed (Calvinist) Protestant, 6% Evangelical (Lutheran), 5% other | |
| Currency: | Forint (Ft) -1.00 GBP = 315.556 HUF - April 2009 | |
| Country Dialling Code: | 36 | |
| Driving: | Speed limit in the city 50 km/h, on roads 90 km/h and on the highway 130 km/h. The alcohol limit is zero percent. | |
| Electricity: | 230V 50HzHz | |
| Electric Plug Details: | European plug with two circular metal pins |
Useful links
- BBC - About Budapest
- Best of Budapest
- Budacast - Hungary's first weekly English-language podcast
- Budapest Portal
- Budapest Tourism Office - Official website
- Budapest Week - Online Magazine
- GoToHungary - Hungarian National Tourist Office London
- In Your Pocket - About Budapest
- Lonelyplanet - Budapest Travel Information
- Timeout - Budapest City Guide
- Talkingcities - Budapest City Guide
- Wikipedia - About Budapest