New clubs and discos are constantly sprouting up all over Budapest and there is no district especially renowned for its nightlife. The bars offer something for everybody – from sleazy sex bars to calm cafés – and there is plenty of time to experiment. Many bars are open until dawn, although most close at around 0400. Borozos are cheap wine cellars, where it is rare to see women, especially unaccompanied. Sorozos, are beer houses that will also serve good and moderately priced food. Clubs charge Ft500-1000 entry and may ban people in shorts or tracksuits. The minimum drinking age is 18 years. Alcohol is inexpensive, with a beer costing Ft200-300 (far more for imported bottled beers) and sprits Ft500. Under no circumstances should one clink beer glasses – this was adopted by the Austrians, when Hungarian generals were executed after the failed Revolution of 1848-49.
Probably the best source of nightlife listings in Budapest is the free weekly publication, Open (published on Thursday). Pesti Est is also very complete and is available free from cinema foyers. Pesti Müsor costs Ft99 and is also comprehensive. However, these are in Hungarian and English-speaking revellers may prefer to pick up a copy of Budapest Week or Budapest Sun for Ft250. Where Budapest is a monthly guide in English, available free at most hotels. The bi-monthly Budapest in your pocket costs Ft300 or free on Malév airplanes.
Bars: The Crazy Café, VI Jókai utca 30, stocks over 20 draught and 100 bottled beers and is popular with the young set. Café Mediterran, VI Liszt Ferenc tér, is open until 0200 and has a friendly atmosphere and attractive terrace that is packed in summer. Night and Day, VI Andrássy út 46, draws an older crowd 24 hours a day, as its name suggests. For those yearning to hear their native language spoken, the Irish Cat, V Múzeum körút, provides relief. It is open daily until 0200 and is often packed – there is Latin music on Monday and blues on Tuesday. Beckett’s, V Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út , is one of the few bars that accepts major credit cards. This huge Irish pub with excellent food draws the Anglophone business community, as most Hungarians are out priced. Portside, VII Dohány utca 7, is popular with a young crowd, at the weekend, with an excellent menu, pool tables and dancing.
Casinos: Budapest has over a dozen casinos, mostly located in the luxury hotels along the Dunakorzó. Anything but formal dress precludes entry, except at the Las Vegas Casino, Hyatt Regency Hotel, V Roosevelt tér 2 , which is open 1400-0500. In all casinos, photo ID must be presented for registration on the first visit and the minimum age is 18. Credit cards are now generally accepted. The Casino Budapest Hilton, I Hess András tér 1-3, is open 1900-0200, Casino Budapest Gresham, Gresham Palace, V Roosevelt tér 5, is open 1400-0400, and the grand Várkert Casino, 1 Ybl Miklós tér 9 , designed by Miklós Ybl (architect of the State Opera House), is open 1400-0500.
Clubs: Most clubs are open until at least 0300 (many until 0600). The admission fee varies from about Ft300 to over Ft1000. Most do not accept credit cards and English is not spoken in some clubs. Budapest bouncers often belong to organised crime, so it is best to smile sweetly and pay the entrance fee. The young and beautiful flock to E-Play, VI Teréz körút 55, at the top of the grand Nyugati station, for the latest house tunes. The nearby Franklin Trocadero Café, V Szent István körút 15, plays good Latin music. Retro is provided in the cellar-club Nincs Pardon, VIII Almássy tér 2. Fat Mo's, V Nyáry Pál út. 11, is always busy and the dancefloor is usually filled. Piaf, VI Nagymezo utca 25 has a piano bar upstairs and a lively bar with a dancefloor in the basement. Despite its inconvenient location in Obuda, the Supersonic Technicum, III Pacsirtamezô utca 41, a former factory cellar, is very much the centre of Budapest’s underground dance scene, with three dancefloors with ducts, pistons and fountains and two bars – the music ranges from Goan trance, drum ‘n’ bass, reggae to techno. Kashmir Underground, IX Ülloi út 151, near the Ferenc Körút metro, is a new hip club with very good food. The Old Man’s Music Pub, VII Akácfa utca 13, although crowded, is one of the city’s most fun night-time hotspots, with live music from 2100 to 2300.
Live music: Mexican music is played on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings at Latin Kocsma, V Havas utca 2. Mellow jazz is featured at Club Seven, VII Afácfa utca 7, a classy café, bar and music club, and at Incognito, VI Liszt Ferenc tér 3. Dance Houses (Táncház) feature Magyar folk music from isolated areas such as the Transylvanian region of Romania. Gyökér Restaurant, VI corner of Eötvös utca and Szobl utca, is popular (especially on Friday) and also serves good food. Kalamajka DH (Belvárosi Ifjusági Muvelodesi Haz), V Molnár utca 9, was started by Béla Habmos – the founder of the Dance House movement in the 1970s – and is open Saturday 2000-0100. The Petofi Csarnok, in Városliget , and the Almássy téri Szabadidoközpont (Almássy Square Leisure Centre), VII Almássy tér 6, are the two favourite venues for small pop concerts and folk music. International stars perform at Népstadion, the main sport stadium, XIV Istvánmezei út 1-3.
Tickets for rock and jazz can be purchased at TEX ticket express, I Déli pályaudvar, VI Andrassy út 18 and other locations , and at Publika, VII Károly körút
Events
Budapest is a cultural mecca and has a long tradition of celebrating its chequered history; each of the four seasons has its own festivals. Budapest Búcsú (June) is a fervent rock and pop festival held at several open-air venues around Budapest and celebrates the last Russian soldiers' departure from Hungary in 1991. September's International Wine and Champagne Festival is held in the Castle District. The Budafest Summer Opera & Ballet Festival provides the opportunity to see some of the world's finest high culture in Budapest's amazing Opera House at very affordable prices. Not to be missed.
If the classics are not your thing, join the frenzied throng on Óbuda Island - an old disused shipyard - at the Pepsi Island Music Festival, where you'll find central Europe's highest concentration of the 'mullet' hairstyle and a crowd moshing and doofing with the best of the West. Hungary's premier sporting event is the Hungarian Formula One Grand Prix, held in mid-August each year.
Public Holidays
25 Dec - Christmas Day
1 Nov - All Saints’ Day
23 Oct - 1956 Remembrance/Republic Day
20 Aug - St Stephen’s/Constitution Day
May/Jun - Whit Monday
1 May - Labour Day
Mar/Apr - Easter Monday
15 Mar - 1848 Revolution/National Day
1 Jan - New Year’s Day
Climate and Weather
The climate in the southeast of Hungary is very different to the climate of North- and West-Hungary and is similar to the climate of the Mediterranean.The summers are long, hot and nearly without rain. The temperature is rising up to 38 degrees. Autumn stays like the indian summer warm and without much rain. October is still a good month for canoeing. Start of the canoeing season is the middle of April. Higher rainfall is at the beginning of June but without
rainperiods over several days.
Reasons for this good climate are the southerly position of southeast Hungary, the stable high pressure areas and the mountain ranges which surround Southeast Hungary. The warmest point in Hungary is the village of Gyula at the river
Feher-Körös, about 40km south of Gyoma. The sun is shining here 2038 hours
a year, this is one of the highest records in Europe.
