Budapest

After visiting more times than we can remember how many, Budapest has crept into our hearts and to this day, like for so many others, it is a firm favorite. Of course we have had the advantage of knowing and employing Hungarians who have helped immeasurably in getting to grips with a city that has so much to offer and in the following pages I hope we can pass on some of that experience.

It seems that we are not alone in our love of this city: Budapest was recently voted above Prague in a poll of best cities to visit and is according to many currently the top new destination in Europe.

The city was originally three: Divided by the Danube flowing north to south, to the west Buda, to the east Pest with Obuda, meaning old Buda and now district III, sitting to the north-west…

One of the reasons it has lately become so feasible for people to travel to Budapest for dental treatments is the proliferation of low cost airlines that regularly fly in and out of Budapest’s Ferihegy [ferry-hedge] airport. This is set to continue for a long time especially since the British Airport Authority (BAA) has just bought a 75 year contract to exclusively run and develop the airport.

The airlines listed below are the ones that fly directly to Budapest from the UK but there are loads more offering stop overs in places such as Milan, Amsterdam and Vienna to name a few. Prices tend to be higher and overall time in the air is longer….

As with all no-frills airlines, booking in advance is essential for cheap flights and you should watch out for regular ticket give aways for as little as 99p each way. The usual taxes and additional charges seem to be very reasonable in comparison to most airlines charging, only £5 for Budapest.
The range of places you can fly from and back to makes this certainly the most flexible of airlines. Flights from Luton and Gatwick….

Originally operating under the name Channel Express and founded by Philip Meeson, Jet2 has now refreshed its fleet with sparkling new 737 and 757′s. Currently proudly serving the north of England they are the airline of choice for those travelling to Budapest from anywhere seriously north of Watford. Winner of numerous awards including ‘Best Short Haul Airline’ and ‘Most Punctual Airline – flying into Amsterdam’….

Budapest is full of sights so if you only have a limited time the best place to start is from as high up as you can. Luckily you can start your sight seeing before you even get off the plane. Some of the airlines, in particular Hungary’s own Malev tend to fly directly over Budapest on their way in to Ferihegy Airport’s Terminal 2….

Immediately recognizable by one huge statue of a stocky woman holding a palm frond and seemingly turning her back on most of Budapest, Gellert Hill affords some spectacular views of the city. Taking in four of the bridges straddling the Danube, the parliament, most of Pest as well as the Castle on the Buda side…The Chain Bridge is straight ahead, the Royal Palace is to the left on the hill and the Parliament can just been seen on the right hand bend of the river behind the Chain Bridge….

Another great look out on the Buda side and this time surrounded by a wealth of old time sights of it’s own. If you turn immediately behind you after you’ve seen the view, walk past the first junction and continue on to a statue of a horse. The tradition is for those coming first and last of every graduation from the university to climb up and polish a certain part of the horse. We’ll leave you to find out just which part. Oh, and there’s St Matthias church up here as well which is very famous.
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