English
Español
中文
हिन्दी
FrançaisTravel and Tourism
Travel and Tourism in Hungary
Travel alerts, currency, climate, transit, health, and safety information for visitors to Hungary.
Practical Information
Travel alert status, currency, climate, and transit details.
- Travel Alert Status
- Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions
- Time Difference
- UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
- Currency
- forint (HUF)
- Climate
- Temperate; cold, cloudy, humid winters; warm summers
- Ethnic Groups
- Hungarian 89.9%, Roma 4%, German 2.6%, Serb 2%, Slovak 0.8%, Romanian 0.7%
- National Holiday
- Saint Stephen's Day, 20 August (1083); note - commemorates his canonization and the transfer of his remains to Buda (now Budapest) in 1083
- Geographic Coordinates
- 47 00 N, 20 00 E
- Location
- Central Europe, northwest of Romania
- Airports
- 43
Destinations
Regions and cities, top sights, national parks, UNESCO sites, and festivals for visitors.
Budapest's Thermal Baths: The City of Spas
Budapest's status as the City of Spas rests on a geological foundation. The city sits astride a major geological fault line where the Buda Hills meet the Pannonian Basin, and along this fault, thermal water heated by geothermal energy rises through the Earth's crust in more than 125 springs. The water temperature varies from spring to spring, ranging from around 21 degrees Celsius to as high as 78 degrees Celsius, and the mineral content of the water — typically rich in calcium, magnesium, bicarbonate, sulfate, and other minerals — has long been held to have therapeutic properties for a range of conditions including arthritis, rheumatic diseases, and skin conditions.
The Romans were the first to build bath complexes above the Budapest springs, and the ruins of Roman baths have been found throughout the Obuda district. But it was the Ottoman occupation of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that truly established Budapest as a bath city. The Ottoman administrators, following the tradition of hammam construction that was central to Islamic culture, built a series of magnificent bath houses above the thermal springs.
Health and Safety
Medical facilities, vaccinations, disease risk, and sanitation conditions.
Medical treatment in Hungary is adequate, but hospitals and other medical facilities are not always comparable to what you may find in the United States. Doctors are generally well trained, but there is a lack of adequate emergency services. Some doctors speak English. The Embassy maintains a website with more information about medical care providers, including English-speaking physicians.